Travellers' Tales: From Copenhagen to Shrewsbury

Back in June 2019 I made one of my best cycling decisions when my dream bike shifted from classic steel, through bling titanium, past trendy gravel to… cargo bike! I wanted it simple and usable and settled on the Larry vs Harry Bullitt (non-electric) from Denmark. You can buy these in the UK but I decided it would be more fun to go over to Copenhagen to pick mine up.

Two days, with a mix of trains and Flixbus, got me to Copenhagen. On a bright Monday morning I was at Larry vs Harry’s ready to collect. There is a ‘getting used to’ period with cargo bikes, and perhaps the middle of a strange capital city with different road rules is not the best place to try this out. Still, I survived a quick sightseeing tour and got back to the campsite unscathed.

Then it was a matter of heading west for just over 980 miles, a task that took me 11 days, included six countries, a few wild camps, and luckily no punctures.

I soon learned that the Bullitt can handle singletrack (I was lost) and that it’s also pretty nimble. But if you come to barriers, steps or fallen trees you’re in trouble, especially if you’re carrying a load. Other benefits include easy and stable parking on ferries, and it can also be used as a washing line support. Handy when you run into the amount of rain Storm Miguel delivered!

The Bullitt made a great touring machine. It was a nice change not to have to be too precise with pannier packing, and I’d always got a seat/table for road side picnics. For cargo bike riders there is a big difference between the infrastructure on the Continent and in the UK. As I rode home across my home country, the days were interspersed with frustrating cycle path barriers.

Three years later the Bullitt is still in almost daily use. It has carried everything from washing machines to the weekly shop.