Getting a young farmer an electric-cargo-bike!

Hello all!

 

I’m a young farmer in the Chimacum area. I often bike commute to work and it can be arduous due to the physical demands of my job. Musing on how our community can invest more in its local agriculture I thought that helping farm workers gain access to reasonable low emissions transport was a splendid idea. There are only so many kale bunches one can buy at the market.

 

I am asking for donations so that I may purchase an electric cargo bike.

 

Here are the bike details if you are interested. If you aren’t, skip this paragraph! The bike i’d like to get is called a Yuba Mundo. It comes with all the bells and whistles, integrated lights, fenders, disk breaks, puncture resistant tires (whose tube you can buy at any bike shop because of it’s common size), and more. It is a class 1 e-bike which means that the motor assists pedaling up to 20mph and there is no throttle. The motor is a trusted brand (Shimano steps) and is mid-drive, which means it is in-between the pedals and thus evenly distributes the weight to the low center of the bike. The motor is common enough it can be serviced at bike shops here in Port Townsend. I am raising funds for a bit over the asking price so that i can purchase the large panniers that are made for this bike and possibly also a front basket. The bike price from the website is 4,699 dollars. (It is more expensive than the very popular Rad bikes mostly because of the mid-drive motor). I will be thrilled to get donations nearing the bike price, and I thought that I would just ask for the moon because I am practicing dreaming big.

 

An electric cargo bike is a good fit for me because i often am carrying lots of farm shoes/clothing, my lunch, random veggies (like kolhrabi— those who frequent the Finnriver market stand in October know how enormous and heavy those can be!). The extra long rear rack would allow me to carry what I need comfortably. I might be just going to work or I might be biking to town to get groceries and to stop by the hardware store for a hose. Either way the extra carrying capacity and the motor to help propel that weight is essential.

 

Here is my small appeal on the situation of human created climate change. I believe that with every passing day the crisis we are creating for our world is getting more and more dire. We need to get serious about transitioning away from fossil fuels and I think e-bikes will be crucial in that transition. The batteries are small compared to electric cars so they use fewer precious metals. They get folks out in the fresh air and moving their bodies which helps with the fear and dread and depression of this environmental crisis. I know that biking to work has helped boost my mental health. Additionally it is important to note that I am privileged with a body that can bike, and bike longer distances. I think it is part of owning that privilege to be using alternative forms of commuting.

 

Finally, community. I have a deep belief that my community (mostly near but also far!) wants to invest in itself and especially in its food growers. I know that there are many ways that many folks are already doing so. I think we can do more. My one small idea is to give young creatives (in my case a farm worker) access to more forms of alternative transportation. To do the varied and important work we do in this rural county we drive a lot. I think that provided with e-bikes we could choose the car less.

 

So my plea starts here with me. Help me buy an electric cargo bike and it may just start something.

 

With wild hopes,

 

Julia

P.S. I began initially asking for donations through posters out in the world and on nextdoor Port Townsend. Two wonderful folks gave money directly to my Venmo. I send a big thank you to those two generous souls! If you’d like to use that platform instead my Venmo is: joo-lee-ah

If you donate through Venmo i’ll update my fundraising goal on here and give a shout out to you on this page. I want all efforts of giving to be acknowledged and recognized!!