A Family [business] Affair

Missy MacRhodes and her three children rode to victory on a Bike Friday Haul-a-Day in the Women’s Class at the Eugene DRT

The buzz began months ago.

Check that. It began a year ago.

Back in October 2013, a couple of Bike Friday employees rode some prototype Cargo Bikes in the Eugene Disaster Relief Trials. Engineer Willie Hatfield was first across the finish line. Michael Macemon was fifth.

You could say from that moment, the race was on.

Over the course of the past year, Bike Friday moved aggressively to get its Cargo Bike, the Haul-a-Day, into production.

All the while, the list of employees hankering for a Haul-a-Day grew. So did the list of those who wanted to spend a Saturday riding around Eugene, hauling challenging loads up to 200 pounds, and just testing the limits of our bike.

When they lined up for the 2014 Eugene Disaster Relief Trials on Saturday, October 11 at Eugene’s Alton Baker Park, no less than 10 Bike Friday employees straddled Haul-a-Days.

Bike Friday Engineer Willie Hatfield won the Responder Class at the Eugene Disaster Relief Trials. Willie has crossed the line first in the three Disaster Relief Trials he has competed in on a Haul-a-Day in the past year.

When all was said and done, Bike Friday Engineer Willie Hatfield won the event. But not without some extra challenges thrown in.

The night before the event, Hatfield’s modified Haul-a-Day that he raced to victory in the Portland Disaster Relief Trials this summer was stolen.

At the last second, Willie switched to a production Haul-a-Day decked out in Gaylynn Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And he still won!

Bike Friday General Manager Hanna Scholz carted the booth canopy to the event on her Haul-a-Day, a little pre-race work for the bike.

From start to finish, it was a Haul-a-Day event.

The wide range of Haul-a-Days showed off the custom designs available to all customers.

Bike Friday donated a Haul-a-Day to be raffled off at the event. And we loaned two Haul-a-Days to officials from FEMA, who competed to see what a real Disaster Relief might feel like.

Bike Friday’s Hanna Scholz (right) helped FEMA official Thomas Sendgraff prepare to race on a Bike Friday Haul-a-Day.

Of course, the proud papa of the event was Bike Friday Co-Founder Alan Scholz. He worked closely with Eugene Safe Routes to School Coordinator Shane MacRhodes to design the Haul-a-Day. Shane’s wife Missy won the Women’s Class on a Haul-a-Day carrying three kids!

For Alan, who invented the Burley Trailer in the 1970s to transport his young daughter Hanna, it wasn’t just seeing his bikes everywhere that was inspiring.

“We had so many families out there,” Alan said. “That’s where my heart is. With families. So to see a lot of parents with their children was really rewarding for me.”

Bike Friday Co-Founder Alan Scholz prepared for a day of Disaster Relief on his Haul-a-Day, and he won the Resilience Class.

A lot of those parents felt the same way.

The heartfelt bond between a parent and child has been a driving force in Alan’s designs of tandems, and that translates easily to the Haul-a-Day. Bike Friday Production Manager Jordan Bishko enjoyed working closely with his five-year-old son, Eli.

“The DRT and Haul-a-Day allowed us to participate in a competitive event together as a team,” Jordan said. “I knew the stakes were high when I heard Eli mentioning the race to Mom and friends multiple times, as well as his expectations of winning. I was certainly engaged and excited, it was refreshing to see him as engaged.”

Bike Friday’s Jordan Bishko and his son Eli charged toward the finish line and won the Family Class.

The fun unfolded over days, not just on race day.

“We practiced mounts, dismounts and talked about the various obstacles we might face,” Jordan said.  “We even practiced the finish line salute and high five, if we were first.”

Although they didn’t get to do their salute, they did win! They were first in the Family Class.

“The Haul-a-Day set him (Eli) up right behind me during the event,” Jordan said. “We were able to chat a bit, as much as my elevated heart rate would allow. We both had a great time; Eli particularly enjoyed the variety of surfaces we traversed.”

Bike Friday’s Walter Lapchynski worked on his hefty load, with more than 200 pounds of equipment strapped on his bike.

For many of the Bike Friday entrants, the Disaster Relief Trials represent more than just a day of fun. They ride their bikes every day, and cycling is a key element in their lives.

Bike Friday Consultant Walter Lapchynski experienced a roller-coaster of emotion during the day as he described his time on his Haul-a-Day.

“Useful. Fun. Painful,” Walter said.  “Saving lives is hard work, but rewarding. Springfield’s Washburne district and the path leading to it is darn pretty. It was an awesome turnout. It’s way better to be at a DRT in your community — it opens you up to opportunities to help your community be prepared for disaster.”

Bike Friday Service Rep Kelly Humber moved to Eugene this year and is still exploring the city.

Seeing the various challenges a city like Eugene offers a bike proved to be educational for riders, and a good challenge to show off the Haul-a-Day’s features.

“I loved the off-road section,” Bike Friday Service Rep Kelly Humber said, echoing a sentiment shared by many of the Bike Friday riders.  “I also really enjoyed getting to see parts of the city I’d never been to before.  Anna, my girlfriend, accompanied me for a lot of it, which made it like a really fun ride all over Eugene/Springfield where you get it to wave at friends passing every few minutes.”

As for his Haul-a-Day?

“My Haul-a-Day performed excellently,” Kelly said. “Point it uphill and it goes like any other bike. I climbed up Skinner Butte no problem. Well, OK,  it was hard still. The foot rails allow bulky weight to be carried low; it’s great for stability and handling”

Bike Friday Sales Manager Robbie Dow is ready for a zombie apocalypse.

Like Kelly, Bike Friday Sales Manager Robbie Dow was impressed with the Haul-a-Day’s ability to feel like a regular bike, especially while climbing Eugene’s challenging Skinner Butte.

“I was impressed with how well the Haul-a-Day handled, particularly on the off-road section,” Robbie said. “I climbed Skinner Butte on the bike, which was my first time ever climbing Skinner Butte on any bike. Even with 75 pounds of cargo, the bike handled the steep hill like a champ.  The DRT proved that the Haul-a-Day is an indispensable tool for surviving a natural disaster or a zombie apocalypse.”

Bike Friday Webstore Manager Todd Reed won the Electric Class at the Eugene DRT for the second straight year, this year on a Haul-a-Day.

Bike Friday Webstore Manager Todd Reed has been experimenting with various electric assist devices over the years, and used an experimental prototype while winning the Electric Class.

“I used up almost my entire charge on three batteries I carried, so at the end was pretty much limping home,” Todd said. “One of my axioms for e-bikes is that they have to be good bikes when the power is off, so in that respect, the bike works pretty well.”

No, we aren’t quite ready to announce an electric assist Haul-a-Day is ready for production. Still more testing to do.

FEMA Official Keerthi Vemulapalli splashed a Haul-a-Day through the water hazard, getting a cold wet feel of what Disaster Relief might be like.

Bike Friday Consultant Michael Boggs summed up the event, which fits the Bike Friday mission statement and the goals for the Haul-a-Day

“The Eugene DRT was a wonderful event full of people trying to make the world a better place for bicycles,” Michael said. “It was so much fun seeing the things they wanted us to carry and to test your mind flexibility in packing your bike with water jugs, pumpkins, grain, and variety of smaller goods.”

Bike Friday’s Michael Boggs (left) and Walter Lapchynski chill before the Eugene Disaster Relief Trials. Bike Friday had 10 employees compete in the event and Bike Friday Haul-a-Days won three categories.

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One thought on “A Family [business] Affair

  1. Gail

    I was visiting my family in Eugene; we went and I fell in love with the red Haul a day up for raffle.

    We went to the store and I test rode a Pocket Companion.
    I now have a production date and am shopping for ridiculously cute red and white polka dot with pink roses paniers to use on my new bike.

    Reply

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