Tag Archives: Family Cycling

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

Fiets of Parenthood, Seattle Style

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Anne | Leave a comment

Save the date for the Seattle version of Fiets of Parenthood: Sunday, August 15th from 3:00 to 6:00 PM.

We had such a great time at FoP in Portland, we can’t wait to do it all over again in Seattle.

Location and all the other juicy details will follow in the weeks ahead.

Stay tuned, mark your calendar and plan on a super fantastic afternoon of family bike fun.

– Anne and Tim

Transitions: What does your neighborhood say about your (kid’s) riding

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Anne | 4 comments

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 →

4 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, family cycling, kids, neighborhoods, transitions

Tagged bikes, community, Family Cycling, riding with kids, transitions

Transitions: Am I ready for my kid to ride?

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Anne | 20 comments

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 →

20 Comments

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

Tagged Family Cycling, kids, kids' bikes, riding with kids, transitions

Transitions: from kids as cargo to kids as riders (a new series)

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Anne | 11 comments

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 →

11 Comments

Posted in bikes, cargo bikes, kids, kids' bikes, transitions

Tagged cargo bikes, Family Cycling, kids, riding with kids, transitions

Fiets of Parenthood…the Report

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Anne | 9 comments

Thank goodness Todd shot this great video of Tim and the 7-year-old on their 3-lap parent/child run at fiets of parenthood. Otherwise we would have no record of the boy tripping over the tape, and Tim would probably still think it was his fault and feel guilty for causing his kid to fall down and get a scrape. Despite the fall, the Carfreedays boys still managed to eek out a top 5 finish. Continue reading →

9 Comments

Posted in bikes, Events, extravehicular activities, kids, PDX

Tagged bikes, Families, Family Cycling, fiets of parenthood, kids, PDX, portland, sun

Xtracycle Bike Camping (with Kids)

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Anne | 7 comments

For those of you who were wondering, no, the heat wave hasn’t lasted three weeks. We’ve just been lazy bloggers of late!

We recently returned from a fantastic short bike camping trip with our kids. Tim and I haven’t been bike touring in 15 years. Not sure why, I guess we just haven’t made it a priority. Our kids are now old enough to carry some of their own weight (both on and off the bike) so we decided to give it a whirl.

Huge success.

Our destination: Lopez island in the San Juan Islands, a classic Northwest bike tour. The San Juan Islands are touring gems, and for good reason. Scenery is beautiful, the ferries make it fun and convenient to shuttle between the islands, people are friendly, and if you choose the right islands and the right route, the hills aren’t too bad. Best of all, once you’ve unloaded from the ferry and lets the high-speed hordes roar past, you’re free to roam on relatively traffic-free roads. Continue reading →

7 Comments

Posted in bike touring, bikes, kids, summer, xtracycle

Tagged bike camping, bike touring, family bike touring, Family Cycling, kids, San Juan Islands, summer, xtracycle

Sometimes They Need A Little Push

Posted on March 9, 2009 by Anne | 15 comments

Tim makes pushing a kid up a hill while riding his own bike look easy.

It’s not that easy. Continue reading →

15 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, kids

Tagged Family Cycling, riding with kids

Sailboats, Sea Planes and Cool Breezes: You get it all at the South Lake Union Park

Posted on August 4, 2008 by Anne | 5 comments

Tim and I highly recommend a visit to the new South Lake Union Park. Situated on the south tip of Lake Union, next to the Center for Wooden Boats, it’s a surprisingly serene locale to have a picnic and enjoy the hubub that Lake Union has to offer. While we lament the short-sighted Seattle voters each time we go there, it’s still a great spot even if it’s NOT as good as it could have been. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, extravehicular activities, seattle

Tagged bikes, carfreedates, dates, Family Cycling, kids, seattle, South Lake Union Park

Bike to School Month Wrap Up

Posted on May 30, 2008 by Anne | 5 comments

Bike to School month was a huge success at our local elementary. We averaged about 60 riders every day–the bike racks were full and fence and gate locking was overflowing every day this month. It was certainly a beautiful sight.

A big thanks to Leslie and Clint for leading the effort – you did a great job!

Many parents joined their kids and pedaled to and from school all month. I talked to a few who said they were hooked and plan to get to school on two wheels from now on. Right on. Others say “they’ll see” if they can keep it up. I tried to encourage any parent who would listen to keep on riding. It’s so great to see the kids excited about riding and the traffic reduction around school was definitely noticeable. Continue reading →