Let me start by admitting two things:
Even though this issue seems trivial in the grand scheme of parenting woes, it’s one that Tim and I have been pondering, discussing, obsessing over and pondering some more: What does a ‘bike family’ do when their teen rejects her bike?
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
Posted in bikes, family cycling, kids, seattle, transitions
Tagged 2010, bikes, family, Family Cycling, friends, kids, summer, summer riding, transitions
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.
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
Posted in bikes, family cycling, kids, transitions
Tagged "bike parenting", Family Cycling, kids, riding with kids, transitions
This is our second post in our transitions series. The other day we talked about parents preparing to let kids ride their own bikes in the road. If you haven’t read the comments from that post, do it. You all have so much great insight to share.
Based on your comments, it looks like we’re all in agreement: When we talk about riding in the road, we’re not talking about a couple of kids racing each other around the block to blow off steam (not that there’s anything wrong with that). No, we’re talking about real mobility, car-replacement stuff: riding to the library, the local lake or pool. Grocery shopping at the store with the good cheese aisle and more. It’s fairly easy for younger kids to ride to a neighborhood play-date with parents. The next step is incorporating normally car-centric errands into longer rides with traffic. For most kids, or maybe more accurately, their parents, it’s that jump up to the next level that’s the big deal.
Continue reading
Posted in bigger than here, bikes, family cycling, kids, neighborhoods, transitions
Tagged bikes, community, Family Cycling, riding with kids, transitions
Car Free Days Kids (Summer 2008)
Our summer series about transitioning kids from being cargo hauled by parents to pedaling on their own power was born a couple of weeks ago when I wrote about luring parents back to bikes to get more kids riding. I loved all of the comments; they sparked such a rich discussion among parents and non-parents alike about riding with (or as) kids. Continue reading
Posted in bikes, family cycling, kids, kids' bikes, transitions
Tagged Family Cycling, kids, kids' bikes, riding with kids, transitions
Like many parents around the world, we have embraced using bikes instead of cars to haul our kids around the city. It’s been 3 years since we built the Xtracycles and started using them for everyday transportation.
First Ride, August 2007
Wow, 3 years already? How did that happen?
It’s been a great run: we’ve learned so much, met some fantastic people, laughed and smiled a lot….and developed some beefy quads. We wouldn’t go back to our short-distance car driving ways for anything. We’re hooked on bikes.
If you read Car Free Days with any regularity, you already know that. I don’t want to talk about the benefits of cargo bikes.
I want to talk about growing kids and what to do about them. Because while we were out enjoying cargo biking, our kids have grown.
A lot. Continue reading
Posted in bikes, cargo bikes, kids, kids' bikes, transitions
Tagged cargo bikes, Family Cycling, kids, riding with kids, transitions
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We LOVE to share our work, but the number of commercial sites using our photos (of our kids!) without permission, and/or non-commercial sites not following Creative Commons use and attribution terms is getting out of hand.
If you have questions about: allowed use of our content, need help understanding the Creative Commons link and license terms, want permission for another type of use, or need a quick refresher on the etiquette of photo use-and-reuse, please contact Carfreedays.com. Seriously, just ask. We're happy to help.
Anne & Tim
Tim King
Anne
cfdgirl
Tim K
Car Free Days 