bicycles

A black diamond-frame bicycle with 27" wheels, a rear rack, and a three-speed bub.

Three sprockets lined up on a tile background. From left to right the sizes are: 19-teeth; 17-teeth; and 14-teeth.

A close-up of the assembled rear sprocket, chain, gearshift mechanism and rear stays of a three-speed bicycle. The sprocket in this view has 21 teeth.

In March this year (2024), I’ll be making a journey to visit friends further to the west, beyond bicycle distance. They are cyclists, so I’ll be keen to take along a bike for local use, and that poses a thread-the-needle problem for my current stable of four steeds. The Dahon K3 is a tiny folding bike that can be taken on the train with no problem, but it’s not meant to carry loads, and it’s not geared for hills.

A wooden sign reading (in translation): “Family Rental Bicycle (literally ‘rider-propelled vehicle’) Path”

Four-wheeled pedal-powered carriages parked in a lot. The vehicles are in various colors and configurations, but all have two seats for adult riders and one or more child seats mounted somewhere on the frame.