Lookie what I picked up in December of 2009, a Coker Monster Cruiser!

This is an earlier deluxe model, no longer in production. It is not modded, and has the factory black paint, chrome fenders, headlight, leather pouch, and Persons leather saddle. These were expensive new (over $1000 I believe), but thanks to boise.craigslist, I picked up this rare specimen in great condition for $275. Score!

The photo above doesn’t quite communicate how big this bike really is. Here it is with my 1995 Schwinn Classic Cruiser:

Those are 36 inch tires on the Coker, compared to 26 inchers in the Schwinn. The seat is sitting at the lowest height setting in the picture and I need to lift it a little for my height (6 foot). As you might imagine, this ride gets some looks. Not nearly what the Rickshaw gets, but compared to the Schwinn it’s crazy.

One great thing about the Coker is the inefficiency. It’s a quicker and easier ride than the Rickshaw, though. I’ve enjoyed the Coker and am glad I bought it.

So, if you want to ride a bicycle with some size and mass, I recommend the Coker Monster Cruiser. Another great way to extend the S.U.V.-like “More is more” mentality to cycling. Two wheeled fun!

The 2009 season was not the pinnacle of all Rickshaw Seasons. It had its moments, but clearly was not at 2008 season level.

Dad smiling and wearing a sweater vest while traveling in 2009.

The season came to an ugly end when Dad died in his experimental airplane, but to be honest, this season wasn’t comparable to the prior season regardless. After his death, I turned down what would have been a great night of Rickshaw because, in my own words at the time, “I just don’t have it in me.” It was hard. I did graduate from MBA school with nice marks, so life does go on, but Dad’s passing had a profound effect on me, including the 2009 Rickshaw Season.

Let’s look at the 2009 season highlights, shall we? The ultimate highlight was having Kelly and Faye on the Rickshaw for the Eagle Days Parade. Faye loves waving at the crowd, and Kelly got out of her shell a bit.

Doug and Mark rode on the back for a night out, which was fun. The next day was very interesting since I didn’t anticipate the calorie deficit I set myself up for, and I was hungry all day the next day. I finally pigged out that night during and after class. I’ll have to watch that in the future.

There’s never been a bad Rickshaw Season, and 2009 was no exception. The trips taken were enjoyable. Hearing Bryce tell me what he was observing while we were riding was wonderful. He wasn’t in a rolling tent behind me, he was with me on the Rickshaw.

I probably would have completed a dual child seat assembly for the Rickshaw in the 2009 season, but that was derailed by Dad’s passing. Oh well. It’ll be working for 2010. Kid trailers aren’t favorites anyhow, and after seeing the kids fight over who got to ride on the single seat last year, it became more clear that the assembly needs completion.

Neither of the top riders of prior years were even on the back this season. The #1 rider for the 2009 Rickshaw Season was Bryce. Certainly one of the easier pulls I’ve ever had.

Total mileage for the year: 73.37 miles (odometer reading at 204.29). The goal for the last two seasons was to clear 100 miles by the end. This year fell short, but I’m sure I’ll be back over the 100 mile mark in 2010.

I haven’t seen it, and probably never will (since it isn’t a documentary), but regardless, I’m not fond of “The Bounty Hunter” with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, at least from what I’ve seen in the previews. Why? Check this out:

For a brief second I’m thinking “Oooh, rickshaw!” but then it turns to an ugly scene of car on rickshaw violence. I’ve now had a taste of what Mopar-loving first time “The Dukes of Hazard” TV watchers must have thought. “Cool!” followed by “Nooooo!” after they see the first of many Chrysler products get trashed.

I do like the idea of a rear window on the back canopy. I had a similar fold-up canopy on my Rickshaw when I got it, but mine had no window. When the new full canopy was done, the fold-up canopy was removed and has never returned. Not only did the fold-up windowless canopy block vision, but it also worked as an undesirable sound barrier.

Kevin Cyr’s art project was brought to my attention, and it got me wondering if I would ride an RV rickshaw if I owned one. Would I camp with it? Not too far from home. Here’s a link to the RV rickshaw gallery:

Camper Bike: KEVIN CYR

Where this might be great is Boise State games. Pull that up to the bike rack and start tailgating. Hope it doesn’t get windy! Is there camping overnight at Eagle Island or the area just below Lucky Peak? I don’t know, but both of those would be challenging to reach. I’ve hit some notable winds by the Greenbelt on the way to Lucky Peak before, for example.

I’m not convinced I need an RV rickshaw, but it would be fun to borrow one for an afternoon.

Great Eagle Fun Days Parade this year. Kelly (wife) and Faye (daughter) decided to ride on the back, and dress for the 1950s theme. This sort of high profile appearance is uncharacteristic for Kelly, and was much appreciated. Faye loves waving to the crowd.

And yes, sometimes when it “rains on your parade”, there’s an actual parade with actual rain. It was extremely light, however. After the parade, Kelly and I hung out and listened to our friend Brother Bob play guitar and it started to rain a little more, so we sat together in the back of the Rickshaw together under the canopy. Nice and dry.

Bryce and I were going to go on a bike ride our normal way, with my Schwinn hooked up to the In Step kid trailer. Well, it was a little wet out with clouds overhead. I could have canceled but the little dude was stoked for a ride. Well, the Rickshaw does have a full canopy…

I took Bryce’s car seat out of the “Big Rig” (our van) and put it on the foot grate on the Rickshaw. Kelly checked it out, we tried mounting the seat up in the seat area (which failed), and then went back to the grate area. This is where Bryce ended up riding. It wasn’t perfect. Bryce had to keep his feet up to give me pedaling room, but he didn’t mind.

We went to the bank downtown, then to Hyde Park, and finally back home. It was the classic triangle ride but in reverse. There was a light rain for a little bit of the trip and between wind and my speed I got a little wet up front but the Rickshaw canopy for the most part kept me dry, and Bryce was doing well behind me.

Bryce and I will have to ride again. He enjoys riding. The biggest difference between the Rickshaw and a bike/trailer setup is Bryce talks and makes observations to me, since he’s riding with me instead of being isolated off in the trailer. It was pretty cool. It was a pretty good ride, but Bryce wanted more, requesting we go on a bike ride after returning to the garage and seeing the Schwinn and trailer sitting there.

Today was the day to replace the batteries in the Rickshaw that needed replacement at the end of last season. The headlight needed 3 AAA batteries and the canopy needed 4 C cells. The taillights are still going reasonably well on the 4 AA batteries installed two or three years ago.

On a hunch I went to Rite-Aid guessing there might be batteries on sale. It was my lucky day. The Rite-Aid batteries were buy one, get one free, and both packages (4 C and 8 AAA) were priced at $6.49. Nice.

Here’s some video showing the canopy and how the lights and battery boxes for it are positioned:

It was around 65ºF or so, and time for that first ride of the season. I didn’t do any adjustments on the Rickshaw, and sure enough the chain wasn’t dead on. I’ll go over everything with a wrench before I ride next.

That first ride is always the worst. Months of Rickshaw inactivity let my lungs get a little lazy, but another ride or two and I’ll be doing well again. The legs were doing well, however.

We went from the house to about 20th Street on the way to Hyde Park. On the back (as pictured) is my Mother-in-Law and Bryce. They enjoyed the ride, and I’ll enjoy the rides more as the season goes on and my performance improves from the sluggish early season levels.

We have now been to Jaipur, Delhi, and Agra on this trip and the rickshaws in each stop were basically the same and came in two form factors:

1. Simple:

   

   These are smaller with a simple, short, shallow passenger area. An advantage with this configuration is that the rickshaws can also handle cargo duty. I saw multiple of these rickshaws with cargo, and though there is still a capacity hit from having the passenger-centric area, it is much more cargo usable than other designs I’ve seen. The most quirky part of these is the two wedges of wood underneith the passenger compartment which sets the seat and floorboard at an odd angle, sloping towards the rider. I thought this was a hack at first, but I saw this all over the place, and the paint matched as well.

2. Deluxe:

   

   I rode on one of these this week. They have a canopy over the passengers, the passenger area is larger than the “Simple” ones, and there is room to put luggage under the seat. Some of these have mesh seats rather than a padded one as pictured here.

The rickshaws are certainly different in India than my Chinese one. Both styles are smaller, more practical, and likely lighter. The build on the Indian ones, overall, appears to be superior as well.

It finally happened. I got to ride on a rickshaw in India.

I forgot my camera so there’s no footage, but here’s a picture. On the back is a fellow MBA student’s wife, Marsha Condie.

Our driver did not speak English, but he flagged a friend over from nearby to translate. We only had 15 minutes for a ride, so it was a quick loop.

It’s odd to be on the back. I am rarely there on my own Rickshaw. Then there was the whole other thing about being half a world away.

Our driver was a pro, and he negotiated traffic and got us around an back in time. Marsha got a huge kick out of the ride. I was also entertained. Everything was smaller: the driver, the rickshaw, the overall trip.

The total fare was 50 Indian Rubies (about $1 US) but I was so pleased with the ride I gladly paid double. I did pick up on the frame before I left and it was notably lighter than my Rickshaw. It was also quite a bit smaller.

It was cool to take a ride in such a different environment and with a friendly professional at the helm.