Category Archives: neighborhoods

Confessions of a Bike to School Advocate

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Anne | 2 comments

I think I’ve mentioned one or two (or a hundred) times over the past seven years that I’m a bike to school advocate. If you’ve been reading Car Free Days for any amount of time, you’ve most likely surmised that I’m a tiny bit passionate about encouraging kids and families to bike and walk to school.

One message I’ve repeated over the years is how easy it is to bike and walk to school. Since my first kid started pre-school in 2004, I’ve talked about the simplicity and the joy and the fun of biking to school with kids.

But lately, I’ve started to wonder about the ease of this whole bike-to-school thing. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, Everyday Biking, extravehicular activities, family cycling, neighborhoods, School, sustainability

Tagged bigger than here, bike advocate, bike to school mom, bike-to-school, looking back, mom, reflection

Navigating the Maze of Kid Activities (on bikes)

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Anne | 8 comments

Have you listened to the latest NPR health story? In Many Families Exercise Is By Appointment only? The story highlights two very different approaches to kids and activities and how their parents ensure they get exercise. Some families choose organized sports, driving kids to various practices and games. Some choose walking and biking and playing outside.

Which is better? To schedule or not to schedule? And if you schedule, how do you transport kids to all of their various activities? By car? Or by bike?

I sometimes take this issue up a notch and start to worry about over-scheduled kids. What about them? Do they really enjoy having that much going on? Don’t they just want to hang out at home on occasion?

If you were blissfully unaware of this problem, don’t fret, you can find books and articles on the subject. You too can read about how to avoid over-scheduling your kids. Then you can sit down and watch a documentary and learn about the perils you will certainly face if you don’t get this problem resolved now. After you have yourself in a tizzy about your kids future, you can go back to news and articles regarding childhood obesity. The grim stats will certainly depress you: 18 percent of kids are obese in the United States. “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years”

Feeling crazy, confused and on-edge yet? I know I am.

What’s a parent to do? To schedule or not? To relax or worry? Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, kids, neighborhoods

Tagged activities, exercise, family, kids, schedule, sports

Streets are for People! Kids at Play in the UK

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Anne | 8 comments

I love this video from Playing Out! (Thanks to Sarah Goodyear for sharing it along with her insightful post). Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in bikes, extravehicular activities, Human Powered Politics, In other Cities, kids, neighborhoods

Tagged kids, play, Playing Out, street, UK

Is “Liking” Riding & Walking Good Enough?

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Anne & Tim | 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

Groceries by Bike: Turn a Chore into Fun

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Anne | 36 comments

Carfreedays and Shopping: the Journey to Bikes

Tim and I didn’t always grocery shop by bike.

Before the summer of 2007, other than an occasional walk to the store, we bought and transported groceries exclusively in cars. At the time we owned a bike trailer and we could have used that to grocery shop. But dragging it out of the basement or garage and hooking it up to the bike just to go to the store? Nah, too much trouble; the car was easier. Panniers were the same, I had plenty of those lying around. But I was a busy mom and shopped for a family of 4, I could barely fit a days worth of groceries in two panniers, let alone groceries for a week.

August 2007, enter two Xtracycles. Those bikes changed everything. Continue reading →

36 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, cargo bikes, neighborhoods, shopping

Tagged carfreedays, groceries, groceries by bike, grocery shopping, history, shopping by bike, tips

Seattle Children’s Livable Streets Open House June 23rd

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Anne | Leave a comment

Are you interested in learning more about the Seattle Children’s Livable Streets Initiative? Head on down to their open house at Gould Hall on Saturday, June 23rd and find out what they’ve been up to.

Continue reading →

Bike to School Day

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Anne | 2 comments

7222292360_0bdf0728cb 128 kid bikes, add some parent bikes, 8 dozen doughnuts, much-needed coffee for the parents who don’t like to get up earlier than necessary, police escorts riding with the kids and blocking intersections with patrol cars = successful Bike to School Day.

We hope you enjoyed Bike to School Day and Bike to Work Day!

more photos here

– Anne and Tim

2 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, extravehicular activities, family cycling, neighborhoods, School, seattle, sustainability

Tagged Bike to School Month, family, Family Cycling, kids, School

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways Action is Afoot (and a-Bicycle, for that matter)

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Tim K | 10 comments

(edit:I’ve been told that a shared definition of a Neighborhood Greenway would be helpful for some readers. We’re working toward our “ideal vision” but in the meantime check out the “What is a neighborhood Greenway” section in this post by Sally Bagshaw for the basics. -Tim)

The Carfreedays family is jumping into the hotbed of Seattle Greenways grass-roots activism and joining up with our neighbors in NE Seattle on the NE Greenways project!

Greenways fit with the kind of riding we do (parent and kid-powered transportation), and c0uld really be the key resource for making it safer and easier for kids all over this city to skip the minivan and ride bikes or walk to school!

We don’t claim to be Greenways experts but we have some strong feelings, nonetheless. We’ve been riding around Seattle for longer than we’d like to admit. We know this city pretty well. We know the terrain and the people and the baggage that comes with both. And we’ve been avidly riding the streets of PDX on visits for the past five years or so. We aren’t Stumptown natives by any stretch, but we have more than a passing familiarity of what it feels like to ride the Green Streets of our fair neighbor. Continue reading →

10 Comments

Posted in bikes, Human Powered Politics, neighborhoods, seattle

Tagged bikes, greenways, Safe Routes to School, seattle, seattle neighborhood greenways

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

Wednesday is Intl Walk to School Day (but you can walk/ride all month)

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Anne | 4 comments

We’re kicking off Walk to School Month on Wednesday at our kids elementary school with some hot beverages and tasty snacks on the playground.

If you’re so inclined, and with a few modifications to the 7 day plan, you too can pull off a last-minute event. All you need is some enthusiasm, a few signs, some warm bodies and maybe some food and drink. Continue reading →