Daily Bike surfaced this beauty with the title “Most Awesome Wheelie ever.” While I won’t disagree with that assessment, I can’t help but notice the photo is chock-a-block full of awesomeness (like most-awesome everyday-cycling role model, most-active grandma, best Parisian folding-bike wheelie, and best Parisian cargo-bike wheelie, for starters).
Je tire mon casquette à vous grand-mère!
-Tim
Yesterday I began a post about our summer bike tour. As the post progressed, I realized it was becoming bigger than just recounting our trip. It was more about the lessons we all learned. As parents, Tim and I want to teach our kids about character and grit, and bike touring is a great way to accomplish that.
(continued)
…How many of the character traits have I covered so far?
With two kids along for the ride, bike touring is even more challenging. Because bike touring involves some suffering and grit and our modern-day, middle-class kids aren’t accustomed to that.
Karen Fierst, a teacher who oversaw the character program at Riverdale, reflected in the aforementioned NYT piece:
“Our kids don’t put up with a lot of suffering. They don’t have a threshold for it. They’re protected against it quite a bit. And when they do get uncomfortable, we hear from their parents. We try to talk to parents about having to sort of make it O.K. for there to be challenge, because that’s where learning happens.”
Yes! I completely agree. Suffering is OK, it’s where learning happens. Continue reading
Posted in bigger than here, bike touring, bikes, family cycling, San Juan 2011
Tagged bike touring, family bike touring, grit, success, suffering
Too many months have passed since we returned from our family bike tour last summer to justify a trip report. But I think just enough time has passed to allow me to reflect on the experience and look forward to the next one.
Last summer we loaded up Tim’s Big Dummy (with most of our gear), the tandem (equipped with 3 Ortliebs and a bucket pannier) piloted by Anne and the 8-year-old and the 10-year-old’s bike (toting her clothes, sleeping bag and thermarest) and pedaled away from our house on a sunny Saturday afternoon in August.
We ended up in the San Juan Islands 5 days later.
The family spent 5 more days camping, relaxing, reading, playing on the beach and enjoying the tranquility of Lopez and San Juan Islands. We then hopped on the Victoria Clipper and motored back to downtown Seattle (covering the same distance on the passenger ferry in a few hours that took 5 days on the bike).
The trip came to an end after a 5 mile ride back to our house in North Seattle on a quintessential Seattle summer evening.
Sounds nice, huh?
Recounting the trip in that manner makes it seem like a piece of cake. We pedaled, arrived 5 days later, hung out on the Islands for 5 days and took a ferry back to Seattle.
Truth be told, there was plenty of suffering mixed in as well. And some grit and definitely some character building.
This NYT education piece about education, failure, building character and ultimately success reminded me of bike touring.
(stay with me for a bit). Continue reading
Posted in bigger than here, bike touring, bikes, kids, San Juan 2011, sustainability
Tagged bike touring, character building, family bike touring, grit, kids
Mother/Daughter Panda
We’ve been getting some flak these days from our 10.958 year old about our lack of car. She’s entering those tween years: asserting her independence and trying to blend in with everyone else. And this whole bike thing sometimes cramps her style.
Not sure if you’ve noticed, but you kind of stick out when your family rides bikes instead of riding in cars.
Posted in bigger than here, bikes, dates, extravehicular activities, family cycling, kids
Tagged bikes, mothers and daughters, tweens
I’m feeling nostalgic today. My kids are growing up. Gone are the two-kid-hauling days when they read books and ate snacks and wondered and giggled with pure innocent joy while riding on my Xtracycle.
And took rides then ran a little bit and hopped back on:
Continue readingPosted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, family cycling, kids
Tagged growing up, kids, nikes, nostalgia
Grab a cup of coffee and take 8 minutes and 33 seconds to watch this trailer for a new documentary being created about cargo bikes.
More on the project here:
Do you love your cargo bike? Has it changed your life? Your family? Your town?
Join me in producing an authentic crowdsourced document of a cultural revolution in progress. I’m seeking submissions from cargo bike folk all over the world to combine in the form of a feature length documentary. Send me your video, audio and photos by uploading to Youtube and emailing me a link. More info at http://www.lizcanning.com. Watch the trailer, visit my site, send me an email and learn how to become a co-director!
via Matthew
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, family cycling, longbikes, sustainability, xtracycle
Tagged cargo bikes, documentary, Family Cycling, film
Val (in the hat) at the start of 2008 Labor Day ride at 20/20 Cycle
As many of you know, Val Kleitz was a driving force for the Seattle holiday cargo bike rides. For us, he was the spirit of cargo bikes in general. So it’s quite fitting that this year’s Labor Day cargo ride is honoring Val as a memorial ride.
The Labor Day ride traditionally runs (very roughly) from 20/20 Cycle on Union St. to Cowen Park in Ravenna. Plan on a slow, cargo-and-kid-friendly pace. Make sure you carry enough in the way of food, beverages, and picnic supplies. Just in case!
We’re hoping to see a lot local riders and family cyclists showing support for Val’s memory, as well as enjoying some transportation cycling on a lovely day. As always, a cargo bike is Not Required (If you are hauling yourself, you’re hauling a load!). So come on out and join the pallet.
Details: Meet at 20/20 cycles (2020 East Union) noon Monday. The Pallet leaves at 1:00 and should take about 90 minutes to arrive at the Cowen/Ravenna park picnic shelter. Later Monday night is a wake for Val at Pike Brewery.
More details about both events here….
See you there!
-Tim & Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, cargo bikes, Events, family cycling, seattle
Tagged cargo bikes, Labor Day, seattle, xtracyle
We got the sad news tonight that Val Kleitz (ie, Bike Pilot, the Instigator, Rolling Jackass, Dreadnought, former owner of Bike Smith, and all around amazing spirit), died Wednesday at age 51.
Val had been fighting cancer for about two years.
If you knew Val, even a little, then you know what kind of loss this is. And if you don’t know Val, here’s a little story.
My earliest memories of Val are tied to fast road bikes and hot pink Lycra spandex, circa 1990.
Posted in bigger than here, bikes, cargo bikes, news, sustainability
Tagged RIP, Seatttle, Val, Val Kleitz
We found these stickers on our bikes today (outside of Goodwill in the U District).
When we got home, I looked up kickstandcampaign.org and found this blurb on their About page: Continue reading
Yesterday, I got a Zipcar to pick up the 10-year-old at my parents house in the suburbs. On the walk to the Zipcar parking spot, the 8-year old negotiated a chance to play with my phone in the car. His excuse: “we never ride in cars, won’t you let me play games on your phone while we’re in traffic?”
It’s hard for me to resist that sweet boy at times, and he had a point, we would be stuck in traffic for awhile.
Later I found it kind of interesting that while playing with the phone, he chose to snap this photo to document something that seemed odd from his perspective: his mom at the wheel of an automobile. Continue reading
Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, kids
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Anne & Tim
Tim King
Anne
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