I just wheeled the Brompton into the Publick Cup, a downtown New Haven coffeeshop, and found myself surrounded by a crowd of wide eyed young people.
“Is that a bike? It folds? It’s a folding bike? Can you unfold it for us?” The kids were really excited. They raptly watched each step, asking smart questions about how all the parts work, and making guesses about what came next.
I folded the bike back up. “Can you do it again?” asked one. As I complied, several of the kids were ushered away, leaving only three. Their mom came over to see what was going on.
“Oh, look, it’s from Clever Cycles!” she exclaimed — “I’m ordering a Bakfiets from them!”
The kids continued to check out the bike while I chatted with their mom. Her name’s Sara Armstrong, and if all goes as planned by spring she will be the proud first Bakfiets owner in New Haven. She decided on the purchase based on online research and a trip and she hopes to take a trip up to Northampton, Massachusetts to test ride one of the only other Bakfietsen in New England.
She’ll use her Bakfiets to take her sons Sam, Caleb, and Finn Crumlish to school, and it’s hard to imagine kids who could be more pleased by the prospect.
Good luck, Sarah and company, and don’t forget to send photos once you have the bike!