Category Archives: family cycling

Bike to School Month 2011

Posted on April 27, 2011 by Anne | 1 comment

Here at Car Free Days HQ, we’re busy with preparations for the fourth-annual Bike to School Month kickoff (this Friday on the school playground).

Bike to School Month Family Bike Extravaganza

look how little...and cute

Four years already? Seems like just yesterday, we were planning our first event.

Tim and I love planning Bike to School month: it’s become a much-anticipated spring tradition at our kids’ elementary school. We share the planning and execution with our friends and fellow family riders, Clint and Leslie. Each of us brings the perfect mix of enthusiasm, mellowness, last-minute surprises and creativity that makes the event a super fun spring tradition at our school. And this year we’ve recruited some new bike riding parents who will hopefully carry on the Bike to School month tradition long after our kids “graduate” from elementary school. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, family cycling, kids, neighborhoods, School, seattle

Tagged "bike to school" kids families school Seattle 2011 May

Bike Radio: Families on Bikes

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Anne | 3 comments

A couple of weeks ago the ten-year-old and I had the immense pleasure of riding with and being interviewed by Benji Perrin for the Bike Commute (part of KBCS One World Report).

The Bike Commute:

brings us interviews on wheels…bike wheels. Producer Benji Perrin discovers what inspires and drives interesting people to do what they do both on and off their bikes. It tells their stories and ideas amongst the sounds of the streets while cycling throughout the Puget Sound. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, family cycling, kids, seattle, xtracycle

Tagged 91.3, Benji Perrin, Bike Radio, bikes, Families, KBCS, One World Report, radio, the Bike Commute

Kidical Mass, Halloween edition

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Anne | 2 comments

We don’t have a great track record for Kidical Mass. We attempted a Kidical Mass ride in the Spring. But we never made it to the actual ride because we got completely utterly and totally rained out (literally).

We’re ready to put that experience behind us and do it all over again in one of the rainiest months in these parts.

Why, you ask?

Because riding with other families en masse is a life experience not to be missed.

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in bikes, Events, extravehicular activities, family cycling

Tagged halloween, Kidical Mass, Oct 30, seattle

Reason #6789 For Riding Bikes

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Anne | 20 comments

The other day, Josh Cohen ( aka Publicola Bike Nerd) did a post with a link to a Jay Jansheski piece Some Things I’ve Seen While Riding a Bicycle in Seattle.

A harmless fluff piece wouldn’t you think? No lectures, no stats and nary an environmental or health reason sited. He merely highlighted some positive reasons for riding a bike: because it’s just plain fun.

And before I read the comments, I too was enveloped in a blissful bike loving fog. There are so many reasons I love to ride a bike. And I daydreamed about all of them for at least 5 minutes.

This weekend we experienced reason #6789: because little detours sometimes change everything.

When you’re on bikes, you may go a bit out of your way to check out the mysterious blue glow. And when you get there, you discover it’s a giant grim reaper ( The Greenwood Reaper no less). Continue reading →

20 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, family cycling, Ha, kids

Summer by Bike: The Video

Posted on September 21, 2010 by Anne | 8 comments

As we’re wrapping up Summer 2010 (aside from 1980, the worst summer in 5 decades) and looking ahead to Fall, we still can’t stop talking about our terrible weather. Where did our glorious Northwest September go? (usually our favorite month of the year).

Despite the rain and clouds, we still enjoyed many fun times on the bike with family and friends. Check out the video we put together of Car Free Days summer riding.

When we watch the video we realize, it wasn’t all bad.

How about you? Tell us about your summer riding.

– Anne and Tim

8 Comments

Posted in bikes, family cycling, kids, seattle, transitions

Tagged 2010, bikes, family, Family Cycling, friends, kids, summer, summer riding, transitions

Fiets of Parenthood Seattle: HOT HOT HOT

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Anne & Tim | 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 →

19 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, family cycling, kids, seattle, summer, weather

Tagged bikes, family, family bikes, fiets of parenthood, fop, xtracycle

Fiets of Parenthood Seattle, Sunday Aug 15th

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Anne | 4 comments

(Video by Todd at Clever Cycles from Portland FoP)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Fiets of Parenthood” Event Will Celebrate Family Cycling

SEATTLE, Washington (August 3, 2010) – On Sunday August 15th, from 3-6 PM, at John Stanford International School (just two blocks from the Burke Gilman Trail in Wallingford), local family cycling advocates will present Seattle’s first Fiets of Parenthood Family Cycling Extravaganza. Meant to celebrate and inspire families going by bike, this free event will feature a kids’ bike skills race, parent/child family bike obstacle course, bike decoration station, “Gelato Bike,” and a bike raffle for a stylish cargo bike from Globe Bicycles, with proceeds to benefit Bike Works in South Seattle.

The organizers, local family bike bloggers Totcycle.com, CarFreeDays.com, and friends, find Seattle to be a delightful city to bike a la familia, and have been encouraging a burgeoning community of families using bikes for everyday transportation, through their websites and events like Kidical Mass, a monthly fun, law-abiding family bike ride to local parks and attractions. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in bikes, Events, extravehicular activities, family cycling, seattle

Tagged 2010, August 15, events, fiets of parenhood, seattle

It’s not you, it’s me

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Anne | 13 comments

This is our fourth post in our summer transitions series, How to transition kids from being cargo to riding their own bikes.
Sometimes parents use their kids as excuses when they (the parents) don’t want to do something. Come on, admit it, you do it too.

“We can’t make it to (insert destination or event) because Johnny is real real tired and cranky”.

Biking with kids is no different.

Parents use their kids as excuses all the time.

Billy can’t make it up all those hills so we can’t bike to school (translation: there is no way in hell I’m getting my a** on a bike and riding up all those hills with Billy)
Billy is scared to ride a bike (translation: I’m scared to let Billy ride a bike)
Billy is too out of shape to ride (translation: I’m too out of shape) this one is stretching it a bit…who says their kid is out of shape? ; -)

For us cargo hauling parents (or parents who want to be cargo haulers but haven’t made the leap yet) kids are a great excuse to continue hauling (or driving) them around. Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in bikes, family cycling, kids, transitions

Tagged "bike parenting", Family Cycling, kids, riding with kids, transitions

Look Both Ways

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Anne | 13 comments

Tip of the day: crossing busy streets with kids

Crossing a busy arterial with two young riders is sure to rattle any normally calm, cool and collected parent. Many parents simply won’t do it: “Too many busy roads to cross where I live” is one of the most common reasons I hear from parents for why they don’t get around town on bikes with kids.

How do you get everyone across safely and keep what’s left of your sanity? Like everything else in life, it takes lots of practice. And you have to cross many intersections with kids before it becomes second nature.

We cross several of these intersections on a daily basis and have come up with a system that works for all of us and allows for safe crossing. Continue reading →