Before I launch into the sweet topic of my post, I’d like to welcome another researcher to the cupcake commuting circle. Girl on a Bike has sucessfully completed her first cupcake experiment. She used cakelove cupcakes. I love how she describes cupcakes as “a frosting transportation device.” She has a point. Read about her experiment here.

And now a return to the topic at hand, birthday cake commuting. This past week I celebrated my birthday. Another year older, another year ____________ (insert clever word here). Because it was my birthday, Felkerino was in charge of tracking down a cake. You just can’t have a birthday without cake, and I don’t believe in cupcakes for birthdays.

Felkerino ordered a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting from Furin’s of Georgetown and used his bicycle and pannier to pick it up.
His commute setup is similar to that of my Surly LHT (except that he is riding a Rivendell Atlantis). We both use a Nitto Camper rear rack and Ortlieb panniers. Below you can see a shot of my Surly LHT (for basic comparison purposes only).

Surly LHT outside of Furin’s

Sometimes I wonder if Felkerino reads my blog. I think I’ve given some good ideas about carrying baked goods, such as cupcakes, and I would have thought these helpful hints might transfer over to cake transport. When I opened up the cake box, here is what I found.

Felkerino informed me that he inserted the cake with care, and made sure it was laid flat in the bottom of the pannier. He flanked the box on both sides with some sort of material to make sure the box did not wiggle back and forth as he pedaled. However, he also thought it would be a good idea to put something over the top of the box to prevent any upward motion. This last step was the fatal flaw in his cake commuting technique, as this made the box bend inward and left the cake slightly marred.

That’s ok. Felkerino’s just a beginner with this stuff. I’m sure his skills will improve over time. Despite the commute-induced cosmetic flaws, the cake was delectable, and I think its taste was improved by the fact that he brought it home by bicycle. I’m off to have another piece right now. Thanks, Felkerino!

And as always, if you have any of your own cake-by-bicycle-transportation stories to share, I’d love to read them. Oh, and if you know of any other bakeries in the area that we should investigate, please let me know. I’m always looking for new places!