via Freakonomics blog
This Freakonomics piece made me chuckle. I’m pretty sure we’ve visited a couple of those used bike shops in Portland and were shocked by the prices as well.
In our quest to get more people to use bikes as transportation, we’re constantly telling people to check craigslist. We also tell people they can get a commuter/grocery getter for around $100. Am I telling lies?
How much for a decent used commuter bike in your city?
– Anne
For those of you who were wondering, no, the heat wave hasn’t lasted three weeks. We’ve just been lazy bloggers of late!
We recently returned from a fantastic short bike camping trip with our kids. Tim and I haven’t been bike touring in 15 years. Not sure why, I guess we just haven’t made it a priority. Our kids are now old enough to carry some of their own weight (both on and off the bike) so we decided to give it a whirl.
Huge success.
Our destination: Lopez island in the San Juan Islands, a classic Northwest bike tour. The San Juan Islands are touring gems, and for good reason. Scenery is beautiful, the ferries make it fun and convenient to shuttle between the islands, people are friendly, and if you choose the right islands and the right route, the hills aren’t too bad. Best of all, once you’ve unloaded from the ferry and lets the high-speed hordes roar past, you’re free to roam on relatively traffic-free roads. Continue reading
Posted in bike touring, bikes, kids, summer, xtracycle
Tagged bike camping, bike touring, family bike touring, Family Cycling, kids, San Juan Islands, summer, xtracycle
photo courtesy of Cliff Mass Weather Blog
We’re wilting up here in the Northwest. After a week of warmer than usual weather, we broke the record today and surpassed 100F. It’s definitely too HOT for us!
Just last week I read about New Yorkers and Floridians who are unplugging their air conditioners to save energy and some cash. Meanwhile, we’ve had one week of hot weather in the Northwest and stores can’t keep air conditioners on the shelves. Continue reading
Posted in bikes, seattle, weather
Tagged heat, Northwest Weather, riding in the heat, seattle
James W and kids on the Green Moose (photo courtesy of James)
Tim and I blather on and on about bikes and our adventures on the blog and we love to hear from people who find some of the info useful.
Posted in bikes, longbikes, xtracycle
Tagged community, Green Moose, local, seattle, Xtracycle Build, xtracyle
Columbia City station on Seattle's Link light rail from rutlo on Flickr
Sound Transit is launching it’s starter light-rail line from Westlake Center to Tukwila tomorrow.
Today’s Seattle Times reports that some would-be light rail riders are upset by the lack of parking around the light rail stations. According to Rick Sheridan, SDOT spokesman, this was done on purpose.
“Light rail was meant to be fed by people taking the bus, walking or biking,” said Rick Sheridan, spokesman for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). “It was not meant to be fed by cars.”
Sounds like a great opportunity to promote cycling. One mile is a doable bike ride for most people. Let’s hope people get inspired to give cycling a try since they won’t have any place to park their cars. Go ahead, buy a beater bike and ride it to the light rail station.
Does anyone know if they put in adequate bike parking?
I’d love to hear from some South end readers about what you think of this topic. The Times has 329 comments at this time, so it looks like a hot one.
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, Commute, neighborhoods
Tagged light-rail, parking, seattle
Awhile back, Tori over at Gracie’s Wrench asked for suggestions for a new term to describe cycling as transportation or everyday cycling. “Commuting” usually refers to going to and from work. “Riding” usually refers to sport riding. What do you call everyday cycling? I read all the comments to her post, and quite frankly, none of the terms really spoke to me. Not in the same way “commuting” does.
I’m looking for a good one (maybe two) word term to describe using a bike to go to the store or to get coffee or out to dinner.
Does anyone have a good one?
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, Everyday Biking, shopping
Tagged cycling, everyday biking, everyday cycling, words
Heading Home from the Farmers Market
Summer in Seattle is in full swing. We’re taking advantage of a streak of near perfect weather by drinking a few of Tim’s Mojitos , swimming and kayaking in the lake, enjoying backyard BBQs, visits with out-of-town friends, staying up late, reading lots of books and neglecting our blog.
Here are a few photos of our summer adventures so far. I hope you’re enjoying your summer too!
– Anne
Tim's famous Mojitos, always worth waiting for
3rd of July Kayaking on Lake Washington
Jim Needs an Xtracycle
4th of July Neighborhood Bike Parade
17lbs of Backyard Raspberries
Posted in extravehicular activities, neighborhoods, summer
Tagged carfreedays, seattle, summer
Anne's latest dream bike
School gets out today. This time of year is bittersweet. We are all ready for a break from our normal routine and are looking forward to some carefree summer times. I’m sure the kids will be happy not to hear the words: get dressed, eat your breakfast, put your book down, brush your teeth and we’re going to be late for a few months. Continue reading
Posted in alternative transportation, bike lust, bikes, kids
Tagged Family Transport, riding with kids, summer, WorkCycles, WorkCycles Triplet
We like visiting Portland, not just because of it’s bike culture, yummy food and modern architecture, but also because we know some great people in town.
Last week, Tim and I got together with some of my college friends for dinner and beers as part of a long weekend (without children!). We went to college a while ago so these really are old and super fantastic friends. As always, we had a great time catching up and sharing stories and cutting loose with them. Even us semi-old people need to do that from time to time.
Mitch, Julie, Vincent, Anne and Tim enjoying dinner and beer at Seraveza. Photo by Jennifer
Since our kids were at home with grandparents, we were the only couple that didn’t have to worry about relieving babysitters and picking up kids and putting them to bed etc. So naturally when our friend Jennifer had to leave early to pick up her kids, we offered to be helpful and give Vincent a “ride” home.
As most of you know, our four wheels are not of the usual variety but since we ride practical city bikes, an extra passenger was no problem. Continue reading
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, cargo bikes, dates, PDX
Tagged beer, bikes, biking with friends, friends, portland
Tim has been combing craigslist for the past six months looking for some inflatable kayaks that we can haul to the lake on the Xtracycles. We used to own sea kayaks before we had kids but sold them a few years ago. Loading and unloading the kayaks on the car and driving a mile to the lake was never worth the effort for us and we didn’t use them that often. It wasn’t that hard for us to let them go.
Still looking for a way to escape the beach crowds during the warm summer months, inflatables that can be hauled on the bikes seemed like a good solution for our summer boating needs. These inflatables aren’t going to get us to the San Juans, but are perfect for floating around the lake with the kids on a hot day.
Continue reading
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