Tag Archives: Christmas Tree

2012 Xtracycle Tree Haulin (6th Annual)

Posted on December 7, 2012 by | 5 Comments

The Tree HaulerYear Six is D O N E.

We all pedaled up to our local tree lot the other evening, chose a 8′ Noble fir and headed home. Simple, straightforward and almost no drama. Continue reading →

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Posted in bikes, extravehicular activities, family cycling, longbikes, xtracycle

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Tree Haulin, Year SIX

Posted on December 5, 2012 by | 2 Comments

We’re gearing up for Xtracycle Tree Hauling, year six! We plan to get our tree in the next couple of days and promise to post photos of year six later in the week. Not as cute as when the kids were little and riding on the Snapdeck, but still fun nonetheless.

For now, check out years 2007 – 2011. How the kids have grown! More blog posts and photos of all tree hauling adventures here and here

2007 Family Long Bike Christmas

2007, look how little!

Continue reading →

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Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, bikes, longbikes, xtracycle

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Fifth-Annual Xtracycle Tree Haulin

Posted on December 17, 2011 by | 7 Comments
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Tree Haulin Track Stand

Thought we’d post some photos of our 2011 Xtracycle Tree Haulin event.  We won’t bore you with another retrospective of all of our tree-haulin adventures, you can read the one we wrote last year if you’re interested. Continue reading →

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Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, bikes, extravehicular activities, family cycling, xtracycle

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Fourth-Annual Xtracycle Tree Haulin (plus retrospective)

Posted on December 13, 2010 by | 23 Comments

4th Annual Xtracycle Tree Haulin

We used to make a huge production out of the annual-tree claiming event. We’d load up the VW camper, grab a $5 (bargain!) Forest Service tree-cutting permit, drive up toward the snow for a while, and tromp around in the (snowy, wet, muddy,etc) woods, until we found a tree we could all agree on. Of course, said tree was always double the size we needed (they look smaller in the forest), so fresh we couldn’t bear to take it down until Valentine’s day, and that five-dollar permit usually involved an oil change, a swap to the snow tires, and at least a tank of gas. So really, $5 plus another eighty or so & change.

Bargain?

So when we seriously started doing the long-bike thing, we thought we’d give our auto-induced tree haulin’ a break for a year so we could support our local, neighborhood tree lot and find out if was really possible to haul (it seems so obvious now) our family tree via bike. I mean, it’s just a year, right? Then we’ll go back to fun way up in the snow.

Except, all of sudden it’s our fourth, haul-by-bike Christmas. It turns out we didn’t miss the old that much at all. In fact, we’d argue the new way is much, much better. Here’s why: Continue reading →

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Third-Annual Xtracycle Tree Haulin’ Adventure

Posted on December 9, 2009 by | 4 Comments

Xtracycle Tree Haulin 2009

When the already short Seattle days end at 4:18 pm (the earliest of the year!),  the window for an after-school tree-gathering-family-bike adventure is small.

We tried to grab the kids right after school, bundle them up in extra (or is it Xtra) layers and hustle our way over to the local summer berry stand/temporary pumpkin patch/Christmas tree oasis while the feeble sun still shone.

ChoosingThough we did our best to make our selection in the waning light and hightail it home before everyone turned into a Popsicle, it wasn’t meant to be. Not to point fingers, but damn, those kids are picky. I think we liked it better when they didn’t get to vote. Instead, we shivered up a storm while we picked up, fondled, and rated what seemed like every Noble Fir on the block. I finally stepped in with fatherly veto power to break a three-way tie (no surprise to anyone who knows me: The winner was $11 cheaper) and get us on our way with a minimum of bloodshed.
Tree Haulin

Then it was on the bike for a should-be-quick trip home in the dark. And Did I mention it was cold?

Hell yes. We even resorted to ducking into a Starbucks for cocoa and cider so the kids’ little piggies could thaw out before the final leg home.

Said Fir now sits in a bucket, hydrating in preparation for its month on stage in the lights. And me? I’m already over the voting scandal and looking forward to the fourth anniversary adventure.

More photos here

-Tim

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Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, bikes, kids, shopping, xtracycle

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Second Annual Xtracycle Tree Haulin’

Posted on December 15, 2008 by | 14 Comments

Xtracycle Tree Haulin 2008We pedaled up to the local tree lot over the weekend and picked up our Christmas tree. Although the novelty of hauling a large tree by bike has faded a bit, it was still pretty satisfying to pull up to the tree lot on our bikes, park right in front, choose our 6′ Noble fir, strap it to Tim’s bike with very little effort, and pedal home. No drama, no fuss, no big deal. Continue reading →

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Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, bigger than here, bikes, kids, seattle, streetsblog, sustainability, xtracycle

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Tree Haulin’

Posted on December 17, 2007 by | 3 Comments

You sure that’s on there OK?You’ve probably seen about a zillion Christmas-Trees-on-Xtracycle photos already this year. I mean, everybody is doin’ it.

Said photos are usually cute and harmless and kind of fun to look at. For our sake, let’s hope that’s true because the CarFreeDay team is making it a zillion and two right here. Continue reading →

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Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, extravehicular activities, kids, seattle, shopping, sustainability, weather

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