bakfiets of velocipedal opulence

fancy bikes.  they're everywhere from portland to amsterdam!  these and other tales of two-wheeled transport are stored humorously between the covers of "bike snob abroad" by eben weiss (more commonly referred to as www.bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com ).  eben, a columnist for Bicycling magazine is also the author of "bike snob" and "the enlightened cyclist".  bakfiets, as his family learned from firsthand experience, are dutch cargo bikes known for their handiness at carrying gear, groceries and small children.  such displays of velocipedal opulence, weiss hopes, will be more the rule than the exception.  he dreams of the day when it is more normal to ride your bike than drive a car.  i didn't even mind that he found our city of portland to be a little too in love with itself in terms of bikes.  (as in we're so aware of how cool we are that it's not cool.)  he has a *point (*see also portlandia).   it's ok, we're a lot younger than the founding countries of bicycling and it's fun to grow up in good company!  in waiting and reposting and waiting some more, trying to sell my road bike on craigslist in hopes of getting a new commuter bike, i recall how my father used to ride an old schwinn to work.  it wasn't "cool" but it worked.  now it would be called "vintage" and therefore hip. basically, what i've come to is this:  if you love to bike, any wheels will do!