Category Archives: bigger than here

Dear SDOT: A little Sand on the Univ. Bridge, please

Posted on December 16, 2008 by Tim K | 1 comment

Day: The only stretch of ice on the whole commute

Night: University Bridge: Glare Ice on the Bike Path

To my friends at Seattle DOT,

If, by chance, you happen to read this little blog before heading out Tuesday morning, I’d first like to mention how much me and my bike commuting buddies appreciate the great job you did clearing the University Bridge deck Monday morning. It was cold but you were out there working it.

Thanks!

With that out of the way, do you mind if I ask a small favor? Is there any chance that you could pretty-please finish the North and South approaches to the deck? It’s very slippery, especially at night.

I know it may not seem like there are many riders out right now, but you’d be surprised: I think more than a few of us would benefit from such an effort.

Keep up the good work!

-Tim

PS: I used your online contact form to report this issue, but it said I’d hear a response in 10 days. I figure it will be 55 F and raining by then, so this venue will have to do.

1 Comment

Posted in bicycle neglect, bigger than here, bikes, Commute, kids, seattle, streetsblog, weather

Tagged ice, seattle, streetsblog, traffic, weather

Second Annual Xtracycle Tree Haulin’

Posted on December 15, 2008 by Anne | 15 comments

We 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 →

15 Comments

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

Tagged 2008, christmas, Christmas Tree, local, seattle, streetsblog

Times bike fee plan: Let’s get us some readers

Posted on December 10, 2008 by Tim K | 1 comment

By now, most of you have read the “bicycle licensing” nonsense in the Seattle Times by formerly ready-for-pasture James Vesley:

Seattle went through a lengthy process of enhancing the Burke-Gilman Trail through industrial Ballard. Among the pretzel routes, all were made to make cycling as easy as possible. Those costs, born by the industries of Ballard and the city, could be offset by a modest fee.

Good James or Bad? Do you ride a bike or own a shopping mall?

Uh, you mean the trail project that voters levied themselves to pay for as part of the Complete Streets/Bridging the Gap measures? Yeah, that one.

In the past couple days I’ve read a number of the comments in response to the editorial and for the most part they are fairly civil, reasoned, and lacking in the hate that the PI Soundoff seems to generate. Frankly, most people are shocked that Vesley could put forth such a stupid idea.

Personally, I don’t think the guy is stupid.

Instead, I see his tirade as a well-planned effort to show that even the aging dean of the newsroom can still can bring in the readers. Newspaper budgets are shrinking, after all. You’ve got to demonstrate your worth to the advertising machine, and Vesley did just that.

Of course, as a long-time crony of Kemper Freeman and the Bellevue pavement brigade, it’s not like he had to stretch to play the part. (Side note: Kemper Freeman doesn’t have a Wikipedia entry. Interesting….)

All this allowed James to score points with the pro-development community just when they were stinging from their election losses, while shoring up his big man on campus reputation with those whipper-snapper Gen-Y kids in the Times analytics department. Well played, James.

Never mind that some will use his pathetic ideas as an excuse to validate their hatred toward cyclists.

It’s just business, right?

– Tim

1 Comment

Posted in bicycle neglect, bigger than here, bikes, sustainability, traffic

Tagged bellevue square, kemper freeman, seattle, seattle times

Bike the Vote: Car Free Days goes Xtracycle style

Posted on November 4, 2008 by Tim K | 6 comments

Anne and I are holdouts. We, unlike the rest of the county, prefer in-person voting over the mail-in/absentee alternative. Call us old fashioned if you like (and this article does), but we really enjoy seeing our neighbors while we soak up the mood at our local community center on Election Day.

We also think in-person voting is darn useful for getting get the kids involved in their democratic responsibilities at a young age. For my money, there’s nothing better for inspiring responsibility than bringing your kids with you to vote. I vividly remember standing behind my mom in the big metal voting booth and craning my head in wonder as she yanked the curtain and started pulling the levers that cast her vote. By the time I was old enough, those booths were gone (dang!) and I had to make do with hanging chads and coloring in bubbles.

But I still got to vote.

Booth or no, the experience is rich. Our polling place was just humming this morning. We’ve been voting at the same community center for 12 years and have never seen it so busy.

Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, extravehicular activities, Human Powered Politics, xtracycle

Tagged bikes, election08, election2008, xtracycle

Kids Will Keep Us Honest

Posted on October 20, 2008 by Anne | 10 comments

This past Saturday my biking motivation was in the toilet. I had a terrible cold that left me feeling a tad lethargic, plus Tim was out of town and I was flying solo with the kids. I tapped all of my energy pedaling both kids to a soccer game in the morning. So, when it was time to go out again in the afternoon, I heard the car calling my name and begging me to take it for a short drive. I convinced myself that I could justify a trip in the car to pick up a birthday gift at our local bookstore and then drop the seven-year-old at the party. At least I was combining trips.

I had all of the excuses covered.

As we were walking out the door, I said, “Let’s go get in the car, kids” To my surprise, the seven–year–old protested said trip: “we’re not driving, I hate cars, let’s take the Xtracycle”. Continue reading →

10 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, kids, sustainability, xtracycle

Tagged alternative transportation, biking, kids

October is International Walk to School Month

Posted on September 25, 2008 by Anne | 5 comments

Lots of Bikes at School - Bike to School Day 2008

October is International Walk to School Month. Walk and Wheel Month is part of an international movement to encourage active transportation to school. Kids are encouraged to use any type of human–powered mode of transport (feet, scooters, bikes) to get to school.

My friend, Leslie and I are leading the effort at our local elementary school. We were so inspired by the success of Bike to School Month last spring, we thought we’d encourage more kids to join us this fall. Cascade Bicycle Club sponsors the program locally, giving prizes to kids who make at least seven car-less trips to school in October.

Is any one out there leading a walk, bike or scooter–to–school effort this October? It’s not too late to get something organized.

I’d love to hear what you’re doing to promote it.

– Anne

5 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, kids, neighborhoods, sustainability

Tagged alternative transportation, bike, bike-to-school, kids, scooter, walk

Are Xtracycles taking over in your part of the country?

Posted on September 21, 2008 by Anne | 22 comments

photo by Beth Hamon via BikePortland

According to BikePortland, Xtracycles are taking over. Have you experienced the phenomenon in your part of the country? I love the shot of the gaggle of Xtracycles all lined up. Awesome.

Can’t wait to see a similar shot in Seattle. Seattle definitely has more Xtracycles cruising the mean streets than a year ago.

If the seven Xtracycles in the photo do in fact all belong to women, there’s something to be said for women being the key to a successful bike culture. What an excellent shot and powerful statement about the success of Portland’s bike culture.

– Anne

22 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, longbikes, sustainability, xtracycle

Tagged bike culture, bikes, women, xtracycle

World Carfree Day is Monday, September 22

Posted on September 20, 2008 by Anne | Leave a comment

Leave your car at home on Monday in honor of World Carfree Day. Tell your friends, family, neighbors, and co–workers to do the same.

World Carfree Day is an annual celebration of cities and public life, free from the noise, stress and pollution of cars. Each year on September 22, people around the world organize events of all sizes to showcase alternatives to the automobile.

Check out the World Carfree Day events page to find a gathering in your part of the world.

Seattle has an event in Ballard: Get your Undriver License in honor of World Carfree Day. Just pedal, walk or bus it over to the Ballard Neighborhood Service Center, NW 56th St and 22nd Ave NW on Monday, September 22, 2008 from 1-4pm to get your undriver license.

We got Undriver licenses last year at the Sustainable Ballard Festival – hopefully they aren’t expired yet.

Have a good weekend.

– Anne

Back to School (on Bikes)

Posted on September 9, 2008 by Anne | 5 comments

School started in Seattle last week. Hurray. Yippee. Yahoo. I’m not even going to try to contain my excitement as I now have two kids in school full time. After seven years of kids-all-the-time, it’s nice to have some time to myself to do whatever I want.

And I want to ride my bike. Alone. (I’d also ride with a friend if the opportunity presented itself as long as they promised not to whine or bicker or proclaim, “it’s not fair” if I pedaled a little faster than them.) Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, kids, seattle, sustainability

Tagged bike-to-school, bikes, bikes as transportation, seattle

Has it been a year already? (our year of Car Free Days)

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Anne | 12 comments

Life and summer and perfect weather and kids going to bed late and too much work for Tim have gotten in the way of bike blogging these past few weeks. We figure it’s summer and the kids are out of school and we’re free and easy to go where we want, when we want and we’d much rather be outside riding than sitting in front of the computer prattling on about riding. A long winded explanation excuse for why we’ve been lame bloggers these past few weeks.

We have a lot of experiences stacked up to share with you–they will most likely trickle in this fall when the weather turns and we’re hunkered down inside. There you go, all the excuses we could muster for now. Continue reading →