Thank you to the mothers who read Lori's Kids Ride Free column on Gapers' Block for choosing Rapid Transit as your favorite bike store. The column may be obscure, but the author is darned right when she says the title is coveted.
Problem is, most bike shops don't exactly bill themselves on being family friendly. We are, and it's time we made a big deal about it. There are a few very serious limitations, largely having to do with our crowded urban location, that make us less than ideal shopping destination for moms with small kids.
- Lack of parking, particlularly for minivans.
- Mom-unfriendly doorway.
- No child play area.
- Lack of display space for specialty items, such as jogging strollers.
However, we bend over backwards for moms and families, and try to offset the foregoing shortcomings in lots of different ways.
- You can always bring your bike, or stroller, or trailer inside. No matter how cumbersome.
- You can bring your children inside. Don't worry, we won't offer them espresso or a free puppy.
- We will hold the door for you.
- We will let your children entertain themselves with squeaky horns, blinky lights and floor pumps (due to insurance restrictions, however, we cannot let them ride adult trikes around the store...)
- We carry the most adaptable of bike trailers by Chariot, which convert easily to various stroller configurations. This allows us to display the most bang for the buck in out cramped space. We make it real easy to special order anything else you might want that we don't have in stock.
- We will help you make sure your child's helmet fits properly (we know how to talk to kids who resent having something put on their heads).
- Believe it or not, we carry kids trikes and bikes that will see your child from about the age of two through teen.
- We carry a variety of products that make it easy for you to ride bikes as a family, including child seats, the above-mentioned trailers, trailer bikes, and the greatest item for family cycling since sliced bread, the Family Tandem by BikeFriday.
- We know what works, because we cycle as a family. While some of our products may be a bit costly, our advice is completely free.
We hope you visit us at Rapid Transit, and see what we can do to help you and your family enjoy cycling more this coming season. And here are some coupons to help make getting ready for the season a little easier. Just click, print and redeem at Rapid Transit Cycleshop.
*She always, always, always wears a helmet. We just really wanted that photo of wind in her hair.



Aww, it's my old old OLD bike! Well, not really, but very similar. Basket and everything.
Posted by: Jennifer | January 28, 2008 at 05:35 PM
Cute, isn't it? Sadly, she's on the verge of outgrowing it...
Posted by: Justyna | January 29, 2008 at 10:35 AM