Transporting cello & 2 kids by cargo bike
Hello, my BUSD 4th grader is thrilled to have just received their cello. We are thrilled for them. We also now have a problem to solve: how to get 2 kids and a cello (in a hard case) to school by electric cargo bike twice a week. Can it be done?? Looking for experience & tips from any fellow bike-riding-parents-of-cello-players. We're considering getting a trailer but not sure yet if that set up will work. (Kids ride in the back in a hooptie.)
Oct 15, 2024
Parent Replies
There are at least a few cellos in the district that have soft-sided, backpack-style cases. If carrying the cello on your back would work, you could have your student explain the situation and ask for one of the soft-sided cases (or you could write to the teacher directly and ask).
We spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out how to get my son's violin on his bike (he's an eighth grader and outgrew the cargo bike years ago.) After a lot of trial and error we just wound up renting a violin from Ifshin, which he keeps at home, and the BUSD violin stays at school. I don't know if this is feasible for you, but has worked out great and we don't have to worry about damage to the instrument.
I'd be cautious about switching to a soft case. Our son's cello was not safe in his fifth-grade classroom in the soft case he was given. It needed repairs after one classroom accident and there were some close calls, too. No experience transporting by bike -- he used school bus and sometimes our car.
Hi,
I was doing carrying our 4th grader's cello on the back of our Xtracycle using hardware that I had around the house with carabiners that attached to the cello and all was working perfectly until one of the attachments on the cello case broke.
I'm confident that we'll be able to make it work without using a trailer (although that would work too, but takes up too much storage space for us).