Author Archives: Anne & Tim

Tree Hauling, Year Nine!

Posted on December 16, 2015 | 2 comments

You might be (editor: probably are) bored of tree-hauling posts by now, but I’m not. And since this is our NINTH-annual-Christmas-tree-by-bike post, and I already have kids in middle and high-schools, you’ll have to suffer through another sentimental one. The kids are growing up so fast <sniff> and our time with them is almost done. They’re already talking about their future holiday traditions, the ones they’ll start when they have their own (more stylish than our) homes and families. But for now, they’re still stuck with what passes for tradition around here.

Little boy in 2008; Much bigger boy in 2015

See that cute, little, three-year-old, riding on the back of Tim’s Xtracycle Mad-Max style? He’s now twelve! And almost taller than me! AND this year, he hauled the tree home on my Xtracycle! (I hope my overuse of exclamation points has properly conveyed my enthusiastic mirth.)

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2 Comments

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

Tagged 2015, carfreedays, christmas, Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree by bike, holiday tree, Holiday Tree Haulin, Year 9

Tree Hauling, Year 7: Kids Hauling Trees

Posted on December 17, 2013 | 7 comments

Happy Holidays! It’s time for our seventh-annual Christmas-tree hauling post. You’re probably bored of our tree-hauling exploits at this point. But it’s a tradition so we’re sharing anyway!

Last year our friend, Charlotte, suggested that the kids need to start hauling the tree. And since our daughter now fits Anne’s bikes, Tim floated the idea by her a couple of weeks ago. As a new 13 year old, she’s lukewarm about even riding bikes, let alone hauling trees on bikes in public, where, you know, like, her friends and, like, the whole world might see her!

So we weren’t surprised then with her less-than-enthusiastic response.

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7 Comments

Posted in BIG Loads, bikes, family cycling

Tagged 2013, Bicycle Christmas, carfreedays, Christmas Tree, seattle, Year 7

Is “Liking” Riding & Walking Good Enough?

Posted on February 8, 2013 | 4 comments

This week everyone is talking about the Danish study linking walking and biking to school with better concentration. Kids + walking/biking + education = hot topic, right?

The story has legs and is making the rounds on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and news outlets. Everywhere we click (at least in our admittedly bike- & walk-centric world), we see a link to the study.

You’ve seen it, haven’t you?

Like many of you, we get excited about these articles and want to pass the on to our network of friends.

Click! Like! Share! +1!

The resulting flurry of retweets and likes is a good thing, isn’t it? “Hey look here’s a great story. Let’s share it with our friends!” We click and make a difference. And then …. nothing.

For all their worth so many of these stories fade quickly, replaced with the next alt-transpo buzz (like … “e-bikes are coming and they are going to change everything!”). Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in bikes, Human Powered Politics, kids, neighborhoods, School

Tagged advocacy, bike advocacy, bike-to-school, bikes, kids, motivation, parents, School, social media, walk

Fiets of Parenthood Seattle: HOT HOT HOT

Posted on August 17, 2010 | 19 comments

We’ll admit it. We were worried. When the mercury climbed above 90 on Saturday, we were pretty sure most everyone would call in “hot” and go to the lake instead.

Hey, that’s what we would have done.

But still, what were we going to do with four freakin’ gallons of Grade-A gelato, 120 spoke cards (note to self: don’t print the date; you can re-gift them later), and enough Slow Race Silly Bandz to outfit the entire 2-4th grades of the John Stanford School? Continue reading →