What a fantastic (almost) free bike hire scheme, hands down 5 star service!
By Jonathan Goater – Treasurer WBRA
27 September 2022
We heard about LBHF’s new fleet of cargo bikes for hire near North End road a while ago, but we hadn’t previously had a chance to check them out.
Last weekend, our best friends came to visit us from Hampshire. Like us they are a family of 4 with 2 young boys. Whilst my family are lucky enough to already have a cargo bike, even if our friends did own their own cargo bike, they cannot conveniently bring it up from Hampshire. So, when we do have friends come visit us in Fulham, we have always previously opted to take public transport for our group excursions into town.
This weekend was different, this weekend we hired an extra e-cargo bike from Becky’s Blooms near Fulham Broadway as part of the OurBike scheme supported by LBHF. Our 4 hour hire cost a bargain £6 (the first 2 hours were free, and then it’s £3/hour after that) – Ultra good value!
Hidden Gem
We booked ad hoc that morning, for a 2pm hire by telephone, no problems. Given such great availability, it appears this service is still a hidden gem for weekend use. If you plan ahead, perhaps you could even hire all three cargo bikes for a fun day out with friends.
Together, with the mums on normal bikes and the dads cycling the children in the e-cargo bikes, we travelled as a family peloton all the way up to Green Park to see the flowers and pay our respects to the late Queen. Given we were being powered along by electric motors, the dads also had no need for lycra!
A real treat
It was so much fun to travel together, seeing the sights and having the freedom to stop wherever we liked. It was a very fast and safe way to get to Green Park from SW6. Cruising through Brompton Cemetery and Hyde park all abreast of each other was a real treat in our otherwise very Urban Jungle.
The bikes were quick and easy to ride, although they can feel a bit unusual at first, especially on roads with a steep camber – the tricycles don’t behave like a 2 wheel bike which are always upright vertical whatever the terrain.
Anyway, we couldn’t recommend highly enough! These bikes are fun, cheap and offer a fab way to have a day out with the kids. And obviously the are green (literally and figuratively) which we also love!