We’re having a great, virtually car-free summer. After a horrendous spring, with snow and cold rain way too far into June, the weather in Seattle has improved to a near perfect 70° and sunny on a daily basis.
Tim’s working his ass off for the the man this summer, but other than morning swim lessons, the kids and I have no set daily plans. From lunchtime on, we’re free to pursue classic summer activities: park visiting, swimming, gardening, reading in the hammock, beach combing, library visits, insect studying, berry picking, lake wading, and just about anything else that involves transport by bike. (more…)
Capitol Hill Welcomes you - Jason Anfinsen on Flickr
The Seattle PI reports that the Boren /Pine intersection is getting much needed pedestrian improvements. Seattle DOT is eliminating a car lane to improve pedestrian access. Early next year, a sidewalk will be added to the north side of the I-5 overpass on Pine street, the main route from Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood to downtown. (more…)
I first talked about Walk Score back in September. I’m a big fan of the site and think it’s a great tool for motivating people to get out of their cars and walk (or ride) more. When you see all of those businesses within walking distance of your home, how could you not walk to some of them?
The new version has already been covered by Eric de La Place at Siteline. and Aaron at Streetsblog. I don’t have anything new to add to their insightful posts. Just go check it out for yourself. I will say – it’s much improved over the last version.
That headline from the Freakonomics blog caught my eye this morning. While Americans are slowly changing their evil, car–loving ways (mostly because of skyrocketing gas prices), we certainly have a long way to go before we get close to European transportation standards. (more…)
Alan of ecovelo posted this wonderful Cargo Bike Pilot interview of Val Kleitz. The video, by the Cargo Bike blog, shows why Val’s a legend around here.
He’s been an inspiration and a huge support of our move toward (and efforts to blog about) family cargo-biking goodness. Since we love the Val and all of his infinite wisdom, we thought it was worth posting here as well.
The group cargo ride images make us lament our late start for the July 4th ride even more. Who would have thought they’d leave close to on time for once! For what it’s worth, the photos from our cargoride of two+two are up.
We’re always hunting for fun car-free day trips. Since our kids aren’t riding too far on their own yet, (they ride on the Xtracycle Snapdeck) we’re limited to one-way distances under 10 miles or so.
That’s why the Elliot Bay Water Taxi, which runs from downtown Seattle to Seacrest Park, is a great day trip. The ferry leaves from Pier 55 – roughly a seven mile ride from our house. Once the ferry docks, Alki is a quick 2.5 mile spin along the waterfront to all the sand, sun, cruising, and beach volleyball you can handle.
The bike friendliness of the Water Taxi is a bonus. There’s plenty of room for bikes inside toward the bow (that’s the front for you landlubbers). Just roll your bike on the boat, pay your $3 (or $1 with a Metro transfer), bungee it to the railing and enjoy the 12 minute crossing.
We have taken our road bikes on the taxi before but we weren’t sure if the crew was going to balk at the longbikes— transit workers can be cranky about bikes (especially really big bikes) sometimes. It turns out the Argosy (the tourist boat company contracted to run the water taxi) employees were great and loading the bikes was no problem—even on a busy weekend day.
The beach, bikes, and a big boat. All easy and hassle free.
Val sent us the info about the Fourth of July Cargo Bike Ride. Sounds like fun. Meet in Pioneer Square at the Pergola – First and Yesler @ noon. The ride will commence at 12:30. Details here.
We’ll probably wander down and ride part way. We have Fourth of July plans so we won’t be able to linger. Hope to see you there.
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Car Free Days is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, expressed or implied. Riding your bike is serious stuff. Riding with kids even more so (but always better than riding in a car). Obtain proper training, use a helmet, ride smart, have fun, wear clean underpants when appropriate (but not under cycling shorts!), laugh a lot, and whenever possible, stay out of cars.
We’re having a great, virtually car-free summer. After a horrendous spring, with snow and cold rain way too far into June, the weather in Seattle has improved to a near perfect 70° and sunny on a daily basis.
