Busby the bakfiets is back in business

I stopped riding our bakfiets, Busby, back in 2018 when we got the electric cargo bike. Poor Busby has been sitting in our backyard ever since, tolerating all weathers and filling up with leaves and debris. I finally decided I couldn’t neglect him any longer and we booked him in for a service with the idea to sell him on to another family.

This was trickier than I thought. The neglect had left his stand rusted and unable to be lifted while his front wheel wouldn’t turn. I gave him a good wash and oiled the stand to eventually get it moving. Fortunately we use a mobile bike mechanic who was able to come and collect him – since we couldn’t ride him anywhere – and after a few days at the hospital he’s back in tip top condition. The bakfiets is a beast that is made to last forever. I can’t praise how tough these bikes are.

I took him for the first ride in years yesterday and he’s just as much the joy to ride as he was before. It’s my favourite bike ergonomically. The sitting position and the angle between the pedals and seat as well as position and shape of handlebars beats every other bike I’ve tried. Now of course I don’t want to sell him.

Not long after Busby arrived back home was he called into action. Daniel fell off his bike on the way home from school yesterday and needed rescuing. I took Busby and carried Daniel home first then went back for his bike.

Daniel had to get three stitches in his elbow and he sprained his foot to the extent that he can’t put any weight on it. There’s no fracture though thankfully. We went to the hospital late yesterday afternoon to have it checked out. If only there was an easy way to cycle to hospital I could have taken Daniel there by bike but alas we had to drive.

When we got there I discovered how surprisingly difficult it is to get from the multi-storey carpark to the emergency department when you can’t walk. A kind soul offered to go and get us a wheelchair but for some reason whoever designed NHS wheelchairs chose to fix the front wheels of the chair. Only the back wheels turn making it very difficult to push the thing forwards in a straight line. Instead you have to walk backwards and pull it. What was the product designer thinking? Did they deliberately want to drive people insane? Trying to pull this wheelchair with an increasingly anxious Daniel over bumpy, sloping pavements and across roads without careening into buses was more than a little stressful. Then we got to the main hospital building but you have to walk the Kokoda Trail of tunnels to get to the emergency department including taking two separate sets of lifts, both of which gave me an electric shock when I pressed the buttons. It felt like the hospital was trying to maim or kill us.

Fortunately the wait wasn’t too long and once we got to see someone it was all very good and quick with first a wound clean, then x-ray, then stitches, then home. Thank goodness for the NHS and modern healthcare.