I like the YikeBike

My dad walked 6 long miles on the evening of August 14th, 2003 from his office at 40 Wall Street in New York City to Queens with about 10,000 of his closest coworkers. It was about 90 degrees when he started his trek, along with other stranded New Yorkers. He was wearing his favorite loafers and carried his briefcase in one hand and a shopping bag he'd found around the office before he started down the 14 floors in the stairway illuminated by emergency lighting that was quickly fading in his other hand filled with projects he was working on. Who knew how long the lights would be out and he had some things he could get done at home, when he finally got there - if he got there, he began to wonder.


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It was the beginning of the Northeast Blackout of 2003, the most widespread power outage in history, affecting about 50 million people in the U.S. and Canada. Dad had worked in the shadow of the World Trade Center for years - he was in London on business on 9/11 - and was ready to return to his office as soon as they reopened about 6 months after the collapse of the towers, undeterred by fear of terrorism or inconvenience of new security measures.

I wish Dad had a YikeBike back then!

The YikeBike is a folding electric bicycle with a carbon fiber frame and a top speed of 12 mph. Designed for urban use, it's mechanicals are enclosed, protecting them from the elements and adding to its durability. Weighing less than 22 pounds, the YikeBike folds up in about 20 seconds and slips into a shoulder bag. This device would've been perfect for Dad to keep under his desks and could've been part of his urban evacuation plan during an event where normal commuting was unavailable, like the blackout or perhaps even a labor strike.

The design is clever, described as a mini-Penny Farthing bicycle, the rider sits above the drive wheel and controls direction from the level of the hips. It sounds precarious but when seen in pictures and video, looks quite agile.

Dad finally made it to the Long Island Expressway where my stepmom was waiting for him and eventually made it home after a very long day. If he'd had a YikeBike he would've just made the 6 mile trip in record time and probably wouldn't have trashed those fancy loafers.

Sure, $4900 is a bit much but it certainly looks like fun and with features like anti-skid brakes, built in lights, quick acceleration and the ability to get an 80% charge in about 20 minutes - you get what you pay for: Renewable, Reliable and Remarkable transportation.