Villagers Arrive at School in New and Exciting Ways

Village, being a choice school and not a traditional neighborhood school, traditionally elicits lots of morning traffic. However, Village Voice staff have noticed an exciting new trend at Village in the wee hours of school drop-off — some students are arriving in a variety of uniquely configured bikes. #coolthings

Kayla and Lonan

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family.
Kayla is a hair and makeup artist who grew up in Los Altos, and Lonan is a Chemical Engineer who grew up in Ireland. We met in San Francisco eleven years ago and are raising Anthony, age 21, Rio, age 6, and Luca, age 2, here in Campbell.

What is the name of your school transport? How did you come to use it?
It’s a Cargo bike. We are avid bikers and were inspired to buy this particular bike while spending time in Amsterdam this summer.

How far do you travel to school and how long does it take you?
We travel four miles each way and it takes about twenty minutes to get to Village.

What is your student’s favorite part of this travel method?
Cranking up the music on our solar-powered speakers and picking up friends on the way!

Do you use it in other parts of your day/week?
Yes, all the time.

Is there anything unexpected that has come of your commute?
The amount of smiles and waves we get while riding it!

Stasia and Dan

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family.
I’m Stasia, my husband is Dan, and we have two boys, Blake, a kindergartner in Lori’s class, and Chad, 4 yrs old. We’re from the San Diego area, and we moved to Santa Clara three and a half years ago because Dan got a job at Apple. We chose where we live so that Dan could ride a bicycle to work, which he does every day. I have always loved riding a bicycle recreationally, but it wasn’t until we moved here that we began to realize how easy it is to ride a bike almost everywhere we want to go!

What is the name of your school transport? How did you come to use it?
I ride a long-tail cargo bike called a Yuba Mundo. It’s a bike designed to haul heavy things like kids, so it has a long rack in the back to mount kid seats or other cargo. When the kids outgrow the seats, they can just sit on the rack itself and can then continue riding for a super long time. My bike is also an electric bike which means it has a battery and motor that assist me while I pedal. It helps me travel over long distances, at high speeds, with less physical effort than a traditional bike. It’s perfect for taking my kids to school and going to a variety of other places.

I actually just got this bike in May. We attended the electric bike expo show in San Mateo this past spring where we got to test ride a variety of electric bikes, including several different cargo bikes. I fell in love, and we decided this bike would complement our active, outdoorsy lifestyle really well.

Before my cargo bike, I hauled my two kids in a Weehoo trailer behind a regular bike for two years to preschool and all over town. Before that, I used a regular bike trailer where two kids sit side by side.

How far do you travel to school and how long does it take you?
We travel to school from Santa Clara, near Valley Fair Mall. It’s about 5 miles away with the route I take. I travel parallel to San Tomas Expressway through neighborhood streets that aren’t as busy. It takes me just over thirty minutes usually.

What is your student’s favorite part of this travel method?
Blake says, “Feeling the wind!” Both boys love the fresh air as we ride along and we enjoy not having to stop and wait in traffic like you do in a car.

Do you use it in other parts of your day/week?
I use my bike pretty much every day to go everywhere I need to go! I take my younger son to preschool on the bike. We also travel to church over by Westgate Mall, grocery stores, the doctor and dentist’s offices, and of course to parks and other fun things—we love riding along the Los Gatos Creek Trail! We even ride it to Great America theme park!

Is there anything unexpected that has come of your commute?
Haha, yes. I’ve had a few issues with the bike, including a few flat tires recently, and we have tried some things to prevent those in the future.

In addition to those issues, I am amazed at how many crazy drivers there are out there! I have seen so many people run red lights and drive distracted. But on a positive note, most drivers are very kind around us and give me plenty of space when passing us. I also get tons of smiles from other people as we pass by and comments about how cool the bike is :)

Life on my bike is always very exciting and challenging! It has taught me a lot about trust, trusting God to keep us safe. And He is absolutely watching out for us, I see Him at work in our lives every single day.

Sadie and Mark

Tell us a bit about yourself and your family.
My husband and I have lived in Campbell for over ten years and have two wonderful children — Ryan, who just started kindergarten at Village, and Nico, who is 2 years old. Last year we had the opportunity to live in Amsterdam and it changed our outlook, especially on bikes. We went from driving everywhere to riding our bikes everywhere, even in the cold and the rain (which is very typical weather in Amsterdam). As a result of our time there, bikes have now become a central part of our transportation needs — and we have lots of them!

What is the name of your school transport? How did you come to use it?
Bikes! We have a few different types of bikes. Our primary bikes are electric, and when riding as a family, we use our electric bakfiets, which is Dutch for “cargo bike.” We also have a three-person tandem kid/adult bike and many other fun rides.

How far do you travel to school and how long does it take you?
We live only a half a mile from school so we can be at school in about 5 minutes.

What is your student’s favorite part of this travel method?
I think it’s the view — being able to sit and see everything around us as we bike by. The kids also love it when we bring our portable stereo and listen to “kids” music while we ride.

Do you use it in other parts of your day/week?
Yes. We try to use if for about fifty percent of our transportation. Besides commuting to Village School every day, other routine trips we make by bike include commuting to work, daycare, the swimming pool, and the Farmer’s Market.

Is there anything unexpected that has come of your commute?
It’s just amazing and refreshing to start each day with crisp wind in your face as we pedal to school. We certainly don’t miss the stress and frustration that comes with sitting in traffic behind the wheel. Not to mention that at certain times of the day, like the morning commute, it’s both easier and faster to ride a bike.

Stasia and Sadie with their future Villagers after morning drop-off

Kayla

Fancy ride

Sadie with her kids