You may have seen Abigail Pope Spurrell riding her beloved Bunch bike through town.
When she moved to Rye from Simsbury, Conn., in 2020, she and her three young children walked everywhere. Then one day she spied someone with an electric Bunch bike; a cargo bike with seats — and seat-belts — intended to cart people. Spurrell knew instantly she wanted one. Not cheap for a bike —they now cost about $5,400. But she justified it as an inexpensive vehicle. And she has not looked back.
“Honestly it has been the best purchase I could have made,” she said. “There is always guaranteed free and easy parking no matter where I go. We are doing our part to reduce our carbon footprint — we are close to 5,000 miles on our bike.” Just for reference, that’s how many miles it is from New York to Las Vegas and back.
According to the University of Oxford research, choosing a bike over a car just once a day can reduce the average person’s transportation-related emissions by 67 percent. Besides that and the free and easy parking, she also gets the benefits of exercise and being away from cellphones.
Both Spurrell and her husband, Jonathan, use the bike with their kids — now 10, 8, and 5 — rain, snow, or shine. One of her hesitations in buying the Bunch bike was that the kids would grow out of it too quickly, but they still fit, and she regularly “Bike Pools.”
Spurrell often pedals four kids and all their stuff on the bike, which has electric power when faced with a heavy load or big hill. After three-and-one-half years, Spurrell is happy to see that others now have cargo bikes, including several at Midland where her kids go to school.
Her goal is to use the bike for as many outings as possible. And she hopes others will do the same, reducing the number of cars on the road and making Rye even more friendly for bikers and pedestrians.
Spurrell noted that safety has to come first for both drivers and bikers. Bike road law states that bicycle riders have the same rights on the roadway that motorists do. Still, she offers some tips to motorists and bikers alike:
Be courteous and share the road.
Bike in the same direction as traffic.
Obey street signs, signals, and road markings, just like a car.
ALWAYS, assume the other person doesn’t see you.
Look ahead for hazards or situations to avoid that may cause you to fall, like toys, pebbles, potholes, or grates.