It was March 16th, a Thursday when Karol Long decided to take her Vintage Blue Madsen cargo bike in for a tune-up at Madsen Cycle in Murray. She had bought the bike from the previous owner almost a year ago and since, the ability to easily move about town and other cities with her young child had “changed her life.” The first generation Madsen was working well, although there were a few adjustments she would have liked, and Karol could think of no better place to have these done than at the actual “maker’s” shop. She dropped off the bike and then headed out to take care of some errands while the work was being done, to come back later that day and pick up the bike. But there is more… That day was also Jared Madsen’s birthday.
Karol has been biking around Provo for three years, she’s “never owned a car,” and has “tried other bikes before this one [the Madsen].” She likes the bucket for protection, “the bucket made a big deal for me,” she assures, “calms a lot of those fears, a real safe bike.” Her child sits comfortably and securely in the smooth, durable tub with a blanket, toys and snacks all handy, and a clear plastic cover stretched over the top of bows to keep out any seasonal wind, rain and snow. Home schooling her child, Karol finds all these above advantages important, as she wants this more personal, close-up means of travel to be experienced as part of that education she’s giving her child.
Riding around Provo and other cities with a cargo bike affords Karol opportunities to pass through parks and approach monuments, art and historic buildings more often. She travels via Frontrunner with her Madsen on occasion to Salt Lake City to visit friends, museums and libraries, spending the day with all she needs stocked in the bucket; while at the same time she feels like she’s “a part of my environment, using my body like I want to,” and “the more people you see biking, the more people will want to,” Karol tells me. On a recent “Family Ride” in Provo, a monthly BikeWalk Provo activity Karol is leading, we stopped at Delipan Bakery on Freedom Blvd. Karol has passed by the bakery many times but she’s not had a chance to fully explore the tasty pastries and quaint cafe inside, and so, at Karol’s suggestion, we did!
When Karol returned to Madsen Cycle to pick up her bike that day, things weren’t exactly as she had left them. Her first generation Vintage Blue Madsen, the bike that had changed her life, had miraculously turned into a newer model Candy Apple Red Electric Madsen “Loaded” Cargo Bike. That’s right, a gift from owner Jared Madsen to celebrate his 50th birthday, because Jared “wanted to give something back to the amazing bucket bike community.” Karol was nearly in tears over the generosity of this family owned business. She and her husband had been saving to one day in the future buy an electric cargo bike, and now with this new Madsen being an electric-equipped model, it will be much easier for her to climb hills and to extend her riding distances. Traveling out in the “fresh air, sunshine, trips to Delipan,” she smiles.
