Tag Archives: bikes

Bike Rack Advocacy: A Message For Seattle Schools

Posted on April 7, 2008 by Anne | 2 comments

Full Racks in Portland Just last week, we wrote about the lack of safe bike parking at Seattle’s newly-remodeled Garfield high school. I meant to send the school district an email then but procrastination got the best of me. This evening, Cascade’s Braking News highlighted the problem in it’s Advocacy Issues section; I couldn’t let the opportunity to speak my mind pass again. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in bikes, extravehicular activities, kids, Rack that Bike, seattle

Tagged advocacy, bike advocacy, bike racks, bikes, racks, schools, seattle, Seattle School District

Still going strong…

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Anne | Leave a comment

We didn’t really trade our bikes for an Escalade….we’re having too much fun to do something crazy like that. The four-year-old and I had fun fishing in the creek a few weeks ago. We didn’t catch anything but beer cans, but we had a good time anyway.

– Anne

Movin’ on up… to a not-so car-free life.

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Tim K | 13 comments

We’ve been doing the bike thing for close to a year now and it’s been a pretty nice ride. We’ve lost a few pounds, got in decent shape, reduced our foot print on the environment, and saved some cash. We’ve ridden through rain and sleet and snow and survived it all.

In the meantime though, we kind of feel like we’re missing out as participants in American culture. Sure the Xtracycles can haul a lot, but just try using one after a Costco run for a 50″ Plasma TV, car battery, and family-sized box of ultra slim. It’s just not going to happen. And when was the last time we had time to go spinning class? Riding everywhere takes so long and so much energy that we don’t have a spare time for the gym or audio books or Oprah or anything like that.

We want a car. A big one. Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, consumerism, shopping

Tagged april 1, bikes, craigslist, suv

Update on Mayor Nichols’ racks

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Anne | 3 comments

I recently requested some bike racks for a fairly new commercial strip in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle. Over the past several years some “mixed use” apartment buildings have been built on NE 65th street. In addition to the two large apartment buildings, there are now four restaurants on the two-block stretch. And not a single bike rack. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, neighborhoods, Rack that Bike, seattle, shopping

Tagged bike parking, bikes, cycling, racks, seattle

Bicycle Neglect: $100M Buys Two Bike Racks?

Posted on March 27, 2008 by Anne | 2 comments

Richard Truax, YMCA Earth Service Corps adviser and social studies teacher at Garfield High School wrote an interesting opinion piece in the Seattle PI about what he says is a pathetic lack of bike parking at the Central District school and what he contends is complete indifference on the matter from both the mayor’s office and school district. Give the piece a read yourself, peruse the comments (the one from Beth2000, posted at 3:00 AM, is particularly entertaining – we love the middle-of-the-night-angry-ranting), and form your own opinion. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in bikes, Commute, Human Powered Politics, kids, Rack that Bike, School, seattle

Tagged bike racks, bikes, commuting, seattle, Seattle School District, transportation

Life Lessons from a Preschooler

Posted on March 19, 2008 by Anne | 5 comments

The four-year-old and I journeyed over the University Bridge to pick up some ski helmets we scored on Craigslist. We pulled into the Red Robin parking lot a few minutes early and waited for our helmet connection to show. While we were waiting, the little guy noticed the Bryce Lewis ghost bike memorial on the corner of Fuhrman and Eastlake. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, consumerism, kids, traffic

Tagged bikes, ghostbike, kids, parenting, safety, traffic

Awareness Test (yes, you should do it) Video

Posted on March 12, 2008 by Tim K | 6 comments

There’s no good way to tell you to take this test without giving it away, but trust me. You should follow this link and take the test. And tell your bio-diesel Suburban-driving neighbors to give it a whirl, too.

By the way, it’s OK to skip the intro, but unlike my spoilsport wife, you should really try to count. Thanks to my pal Kathleen for the link.

-Tim

6 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here

Tagged bikes, london, safety, video

Downtown Xtracycle Errand Day

Posted on March 4, 2008 by Anne | 4 comments

I had some stuff to return to Patagonia today so I rode downtown after I dropped the kids off at school. Since I was riding downtown anyway, Tim asked me to take a detour to his office and drop something off that he forgot this morning. So I took the route he usually takes to work. Man he is right about Eastlake and South Lake Union. What a mess. It’s really hard to believe the city lets developers get away with randomly closing lanes on well travelled streets. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, extravehicular activities, Human Powered Politics, neighborhoods, seattle, xtracycle

Tagged bikes, Downtown Seattle, pike place market, xtracycle

Why Do You Bike Commute? Why Don’t You Bike Commute?

Posted on February 27, 2008 by Tim K | 8 comments

We often get asked why we ride and we occasionally ask others why they do or don’t. Other than the usual (“it’s great exercise!”or “the weather sucks”), our insight into the matter has been lean. One thing I sort of remember from grad school (way back in 2007) is that sample size and makeup play heavily into the data returned by these adhoc surveys. To get better results, we’d need to reach beyond our little-ol’ personal network.

Luckily for us, superstar local bike blogger Kent Peterson has done just that. He invited his rather large readership to answer the why questions, going so far as dedicating a separate post for each. Continue reading →

8 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, sustainability, traffic, weather

Tagged bike commuting, bikes, commuting, excuses, why bother

Candy Will Keep Them Awake

Posted on February 26, 2008 by Anne | 3 comments

We went to dinner at my sister and brother-in-law’s house on Saturday night. They live about five miles from us. In the “old days” we would have driven over there. Although I never considered driving this time, the decision to ride did give me pause: it’s a little farther than we normally go with the kids after dark. I wondered how they would do on the back of the bike on the way home. Darkness and kids with full tummies at bedtime is a recipe for some nodding off. But it wasn’t enough to make me take the car.

As we hit the section of the Burke Gilman that passes the dreaded Montlake traffic, we were feeling smug about our decision to ride. We breezed by on our bikes passing all of the cars sitting in traffic. Right on.

We had a lovely time at dinner. And as I predicted, we stayed a little past the kids bedtime. It’s hard to get us out the door when we’re having a good time. To to keep the kids from falling asleep, we fed them sour patch kids all the way home. It turns out candy does serve a purpose. Since the four year old isn’t as skilled as his sister at riding no handed, he and Tim worked out a candy-eating-system. Tim gave the little guy some warning, then he opened his mouth like a baby bird and received his sugar bomb. The seven year old, ever so grown up and composed, casually sat behind me no-handed and fed herself. It worked like a charm – they got just enough of a sugar rush to keep them awake but not too much to keep them from going to sleep once we got home.

We really enjoyed the ride home – there’s something about riding at night that makes me feel extra free. Plus the kids get really excited when they are out after dark, they think they are getting away with something. We even saw a few raccoons peeking out from some shrubs: no big deal to us, but thrilling to kids who usually go to bed soon after the sun goes down. Ah the little things!

– Anne