bromptoning

2020 has been a lonely year of pandemic-induced isolation—except when we got outside on our bikes. So when a friend invited us to the Santa For Safe Streets ride down Yonge Street this month, we were thrilled to join in!

Though both Bromptons and Stridas are folding bicycles with little wheels invented by British dudes, that’s where the similarities end. So let’s examine how these bikes compare in terms of ride, fold, quaxing, and components.

We are big fans of rain capes and think every cyclist should have one – or two! In a previous post we compared the Cleverhood Zipster to the People’s Poncho. The Zipster won, but narrowly. So when Cleverhood came out with a new rain cape that fixed those shortcomings and asked if we wanted to review it, we said sure!

On what will probably be the last warm “coats-optional” weekend of 2020 in Canada, we cycled the Beltline Trail in Toronto.

This was an epic ride with breathtakingly beautiful scenery and a rainstorm of biblical proportions.

We took our Bromptons to explore the wild juxtaposition that is The Spit – half construction dumping zone, half protected wildlife park – in the heart of downtown Toronto.

We haven’t cycled much on Toronto’s east side, so we took the GO train to Rouge Hill station and checked out the eastern edge of the Waterfront Trail and the Highland Creek Trail.

On Toronto’s 100th day of coronavirus lockdown (in Stage 1 of reopening), we marked the occasion by cycling to IKEA and picking up some patio furniture.

We took our folding bikes on the bus from Hilo to Volcanoes National Park! It was a stunning day cycling and hiking around this must see sight.

We did this bike ride in February 2020, less than two years after Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted and lava covered 35 square-kms of land in the Puna area. It turned out to be our favourite ride on the The Big Island!