Image courtesy of www.re-cycle.org.In light of worries regarding energy consumption and congestion in our nation's right-of-ways, it's hard not to argue that more of this country's infrastructure budget should be devoted to rail and mass transit infrastructure improvement.  But we at The Functionality want to also take a step back and remind ourselves of the most efficient way to get around:  riding your bike.

In this entry, we wanted to specifically draw attention to how bike cargo trailers are becoming more and more popular and offer an efficient way of transporting goods relatively short distances.  One specific scenario is the typical grocery store trip, where someone gets into his or her car twice a week and drives four miles roundtrip to go only to the grocery store.  A quick calculation indicates that this adds up to over $200/year (at $0.50/mile total car operating costs), not to mention the environmental impacts.  Typically, the groceries purchased do not take up half of the total room in the car's trunk, and don't exceed 100 pounds. 

Bamboo bicycle trailer design courtesy of Carry Freedom.This type of load is ideal for a bike cargo trailer.  For anyone who has pulled a trailer behind their bike, he or she knows that it doesn't feel that much different than riding a bike without a trailer.  By keeping the load low to the ground and level (as opposed to on-the-bike racks and bags), the bike handles better around corners as the load does not lean side to side when you do.  Furthermore, aerodynamic drag is reduced because the trailer is essentially "drafting" off the bike and rider.  See more trailer science at Carry Freedom's bicycle trailer science document.

Carry Freedom also offers a free DIY bamboo bicycle trailer design that can be constructed with no welding, no bending, and can be made from bamboo or any other malleable material.  Additionally, the trailer can be constructed at little or no cost to the builder.  Now we're really talking about a nice cost/benefit ratio.