Operation Canal Clean Sweep by Xtracycle

We loving seeing the amazing things folks do with cargo bikes. Ashley from the Support Team here and as someone who personally uses my bike to haul out garbage from local trails, this story really warmed my heart. Kindred spirits in helping Mother Earth with bikes! Epic parent duo Chris and Kristen recently set out with their 4 kiddos to give back to the trail they love so much, the Erie Canal Bike Trail from Albany to Buffalo, New York. This was all part of the annual New York state sponsored Canal Clean Sweep, an event with the aim to beautify the parks and trails along the historic Erie Canal.

Sounds like they had quite the adventure!

“We had a sunny but rather breezy and cool day for Operation Canal Clean Sweep… Needless to say we embraced the sun and loaded the kids and trailer and hit the canal trail. Because of the heavy winds it made some areas more scarce then others when it came to location trash to pick up. When we found it though the kids popped up with all kinds of huge signs and bottles. I ended up towing a heavy duty garden trailer for the big stuff behind my Xtracycle, it proved up to the challenge giving the amount of weight that I was going to be hauling. It was a great way to celebrate earth day by going green and cycling and helping the environment. The neatest find was Kristen finding a mug in the ditch with a seedling growing in it, It was a cool sign of earth day and the warm spring weather to come.”

I especially love the ingenuity of attaching a yard cart as a trailer. And those previous hand-made signs <3 You can see a video of their epic endeavor here, with cute babies on bikes guaranteed:

“I think the one thing my wife and I can agree on is spending time doing things with the kids. We live right on the Erie Canal trail way. We spend lots of time especially Kristen biking with the kids on the Xtracycle on the canal way, she puts in 10 miles a day with our two young ones while the older two are at school. So a lot of our passion is on the Erie Canal and getting outside with the kids.”

Way to translate your love and passion for the outdoors into actionable efforts that do good in the world! And kudos to all you awesome parents out there raising the next generation of earth keepers. They learn so much simply by seeing us in action.

Kristen isn’t stopping here with her awesome efforts to do good by bike. Her and the kiddos will be taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge this month to raise money for childhood cancer. Check out her profile or make a donation here: greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/KristenNemeth

Are you out there making the world a better place with your cargo bike? If so, we’d love to hear all about it!