I've been riding my Bakfiets all fall and now into the winter. It has become my favorite vehicle, two, three or four-wheeled, motorized or not. I ride it everywhere, all times of day and night, in my civilian clothes and even my suit on a fancy night out to dinner. I throw whatever (wine, sandwich, camera, presents, extra clothes, giggling friends, groceries on the way home...) in the front and go. Even with all of the bikes from which we have to choose, more often than not I see Dave riding his Bakfiets to and from the shop too. Above you see Julie making her way down Ballard Avenue. We bakfiets everywhere. We love bakfietsing.
Now the
etymology of the word bakfiets is better explained by someone who uses the word etymology more often than I do. Suffice it to say that "bak" (say bahk, as in Bachman Turner Overdrive) means pan or box and "fiets" (say feats, as in feats of courage) means bike. Now it's also a brand, like Kleenex, but we're not going that far (today). Hence, simply, you see, a bike with a box. They can be two-wheeled or three, it doesn't matter. I prefer my two-wheeled variety because it's nimble and a not much wider than a city bike, though a lot longer. How long? A fireman friend described it as driving a hook and ladder truck from the back. We always coach a first-time backfietser to look beyond the front wheel (seems like magic, that you can steer it from so far away) and off into the direction toward which they wish to ride. So it goes, quickly a bakfietser and their cargo are one, jauntily backfietsing their way over hill and dale, receiving unsolicited complements from admiring bakfietsless others at every stop and turn. The joy.
As you can see, to better illustrate my bakfiets-amor, a new lexicon is in order, a bakfietsicon, if you will:
- bakfiets noun - a cargo bike
- bakfiets verb - to ride a bakfiets, to transport goods or friends or one's children or oneself by cargo bike
- bakfietser noun - one who rides a backfiets
- bakfietsing verb - to merrily make ones way about on a cargo bike in a liesurely manner while carrying cargo or conveying nothing but willingness to carry cargo, or performing the illusion that you are carrying cargo, all the while making it look effortless and fun
- bakfietsless adjective - the state of being without the conveyance of a bakfiets or the ability to transport cargo or the joy of carrying whatever you want while you ride
- bakfietsy adverb - the quality of being able to carry cargo; the quality or look of a handsome or hot bakfiets owner or operator; the quality or look of a sexy-sturdy cargo bike
Now are you down with the bakfiets? Excellent. Use these new words in a conversation with your friends or family and impress the heck out of them with your superior command of a made up language.
