A Dahon Folding Bike
I’ve always liked bikes. I remember being strapped into the chair in the back of my parents bikes when I was too small to pedal myself, rolling through the neighborhoods near our house. In high school I used to go out on long rides with my buddies, and after I beat cancer a few years back, I took cycling up again and rode 10,000 miles in my first summer.
But after that summer I ended up taking a lot of jobs on the road – tours, regional theatre, and now a cruise ship – and for the most part, that ended my access to a bike.
Last week I saw a crew member on a folding bike. I’d seen these on the internet and in New York City. They are strange looking things with an odd frame and smaller-than-normal wheels. I test-rode a few of these bikes last summer when I was thinking about going on tour. The way I saw it, I could take a folding bike as my second suitcase – quite possibly in my second suitcase (it’s true! You can do it!).
The only bad thing about folding bikes is that they are a little bit uncool. You sit much more upright than normal, and you can’t help buy look a little square when you are stiffly perched atop a bike with diminutive sized wheels. There’s no way around that. But I’m pretty sure a recent purchase of crocs has proven that I am no longer cool, and that I no longer even pretend that I might be.
I saw this same crew member today and I asked him about the folding bike. He said it had totally changed his experience of working on a cruise ship. He said he took his bike everywhere, and the low-impact transportation of cycling helped him a lot with his bad knees. He felt it was a great way to get around the islands (we’re in Hawaii), and there were others on the ship with folding bikes as well. He told me he had no trouble getting it on and off the ship or through security.
I bought a Dahon Vitesse folding bike about an hour later. There was a place just down the street, and I bought the only one they had.
I should make it sound like such an impulse buy. Really, I’ve been looking for an excuse (any excuse) to try one of these out for awhile now.
Maybe a folding bike might not be in your budget, and maybe it wasn’t even in my budget. But if you don’t like it, chances are good you could sell it to another crew member before you get off the ship. The guy I talked to said that other crew members are always asking him where they can get a folding bike for themselves.
I think the only way to see a place is on a bicycle. I already saw places today in Maui that I never would have gotten to on foot or in a taxi, bus or rental car. Plus, I’m very glad to lessen my carbon footprint and ride a bike around.
It’s not something you need on a ship, but it could really change your experience. Visit the Dahon website to see the brand I bought. There are a growing number of brands of folding bikes these days, but you are definitely going to want to buy one when you get to your ship and not before – and you’ll also definitely want to test ride a few as the ride is a little different than a normal bike and you’ll want to find the one that fits you best.
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