Tag Archives: kids

Bike Touring with Kids (building character one pedal stroke at a time)

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Anne | 2 comments

Too many months have passed since we returned from our family bike tour last summer to justify a trip report. But I think just enough time has passed to allow me to reflect on the experience and look forward to the next one.

Last summer we loaded up Tim’s Big Dummy (with most of our gear), the tandem (equipped with 3 Ortliebs and a bucket pannier) piloted by Anne and the 8-year-old and the 10-year-old’s bike (toting her clothes, sleeping bag and thermarest) and pedaled away from our house on a sunny Saturday afternoon in August.

We ended up in the San Juan Islands 5 days later.

The family spent 5 more days camping, relaxing, reading, playing on the beach and enjoying the tranquility of Lopez and San Juan Islands. We then hopped on the Victoria Clipper and motored back to downtown Seattle (covering the same distance on the passenger ferry in a few hours that took 5 days on the bike).

The trip came to an end after a 5 mile ride back to our house in North Seattle on a quintessential Seattle summer evening.

Sounds nice, huh?

Recounting the trip in that manner makes it seem like a piece of cake. We pedaled, arrived 5 days later, hung out on the Islands for 5 days and took a ferry back to Seattle.

Truth be told, there was plenty of suffering mixed in as well. And some grit and definitely some character building.

This NYT education piece about education, failure, building character and ultimately success reminded me of bike touring.

(stay with me for a bit). Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bike touring, bikes, kids, San Juan 2011, sustainability

Tagged bike touring, character building, family bike touring, grit, kids

Soccer Mom, Hold the Mini-Van

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Anne | 24 comments

Can a kid participate in soccer if their family doesn’t own a car?

Tim and Maddie had a conversation about that very subject on Twitter today…she was surprised to learn that our kids play soccer and we don’t have a car. (She knew about the car part, she just didn’t know about soccer). Continue reading →

24 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, kids

Tagged bikes, kids, seattle, soccer, soccer mom

Nostalgia

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Anne | 13 comments

I’m feeling nostalgic today. My kids are growing up. Gone are the two-kid-hauling days when they read books and ate snacks and wondered and giggled with pure innocent joy while riding on my Xtracycle.

And took rides then ran a little bit and hopped back on:

Continue reading →

13 Comments

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

Tagged growing up, kids, nikes, nostalgia

I Spy a Family Biker

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Anne | 6 comments

Yesterday, while heading to REI, I heard my name and friendly shouts coming from a biker in the distance. It was something like”Hey Anne, you’re not normal” (referring to the post I wrote the other day) Continue reading →

6 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, family cycling, kids, longbikes

Tagged bikes, Family Cycling, I spy, kids, seattle

What’s Normal?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Anne | 10 comments

Yesterday, I got a Zipcar to pick up the 10-year-old at my parents house in the suburbs. On the walk to the Zipcar parking spot, the 8-year old negotiated a chance to play with my phone in the car. His excuse: “we never ride in cars, won’t you let me play games on your phone while we’re in traffic?”

It’s hard for me to resist that sweet boy at times, and he had a point, we would be stuck in traffic for awhile.

Later I found it kind of interesting that while playing with the phone, he chose to snap this photo to document something that seemed odd from his perspective: his mom at the wheel of an automobile. Continue reading →

10 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, kids

Tagged carfree, driving, family, kids

Biking to School in the Rain (don’t be a wimp, mom)

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Anne | 5 comments

We woke this morning to the sound of raindrops pounding the roof and splashing the windows. So hard to accept after the lovely sunny and warm weekend. Yesterday we were at the beach and there were kids in their skivvys playing in the sand and dipping their tiny toes in the Sound. We slathered on sunscreen and sat in the sand eating pizza and drinking beer out of plastic cups (and talked about how summer had arrived).

And today we woke to rain. Really? On day one of Bike to School Month? Can’t we catch a break?

I was ready to ditch the bike-to-school-plan and walk instead. (We only live 5 blocks from school, it’s easier to walk). But we _are_ the organizers and during Bike to School month, we ride. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, kids, School, weather

Tagged 2011, bike-to-school, kids, May, rain, School, seattle, weather

Me and My Bike: Teen video from Africa

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Tim K | 7 comments

The problem with having a single-topic blog (family biking in case you’ve forgotten … it has been a while), is that sometimes we run out of things worth saying out loud. Do any of you really need to hear about our heaviest Trader Joe’s run ever? Or that we finally sold our car? Or that we still love our Xtracycles (a lot)?

I don’t know about you, but for me it gets kinda old and preachy.

So we give it a rest.

But as the gap between posts grows, we start second guessing every potential idea (“it’s been a two weeks since we blogged. It’s gotta be something good” and “it’s been a month and a half since we blogged, better be AWESOME”). The larger the gap, the tougher to break the cycle.

Luckily, busting out of our slump this time is a no-brainer. Check out some amazing kids from Kenya and the fun & inspiring hip-hop bicycle music video they created video for the 1 Minute to Save the World video contest (yes, they won)!

via HuffPost

The video has it all – kids, bikes, mobility, and saving the world. What’s not to love? And it fits with our recent media and bike-music themes, too.

–Tim

Note to self: … remember to help Tom the next time he’s soliciting donations/volunteers for the Village Bicycle Project!

7 Comments

Posted in bigger than here, bikes, kids

Tagged bikes. videos, kids, music

“Borrowing” Mom’s New Bike

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Anne | 19 comments

I wasn’t prepared. In fact I was completely caught off guard.

Aren’t they supposed to borrow your shoes before they borrow your bike? Continue reading →

19 Comments

Posted in bikes, kids, shopping

Tagged Brompton, kids, riding with kids

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 →

4 Comments

Posted in alternative transportation, Events, kids, neighborhoods, School

Tagged events, International Walk to School Day, kids, October 6th, School, seattle, walk to school

Bike Pool to Soccer Practice

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Anne | 8 comments

This is most likely the last year I’ll be able to shuttle two kids on the Xtracycle. (sniff sniff) I don’t know what Tim has been feeding them, but the wee ones have grown. They are simply getting too dang big to shuttle around.

And now they have friends.

And it’s not just their size, it’s their energy. They’re all squirmy and excited and silly. And they laugh and joke and eat lollipops. And sometimes they bonk each other with their helmets.

I have to say, I’ll miss this era. There’s nothing quite like hauling squealing kids on a bike.