I spent two fantastic days in Marin, CA this week visiting with old friends and hanging out with their families. Just north of San Francisco, Marin is the epitome of car culture with traffic jams, packed parking lots and streets clogged with luxury cars.
At least they are doing something right with the kids: they get to school on bikes. Continue reading
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, In other Cities, kids, neighborhoods, School
Tagged bike-to-school, kids, Marin, Safe Routes to School
When the already short Seattle days end at 4:18 pm (the earliest of the year!), the window for an after-school tree-gathering-family-bike adventure is small.
We tried to grab the kids right after school, bundle them up in extra (or is it Xtra) layers and hustle our way over to the local summer berry stand/temporary pumpkin patch/Christmas tree oasis while the feeble sun still shone.
Though we did our best to make our selection in the waning light and hightail it home before everyone turned into a Popsicle, it wasn’t meant to be. Not to point fingers, but damn, those kids are picky. I think we liked it better when they didn’t get to vote. Instead, we shivered up a storm while we picked up, fondled, and rated what seemed like every Noble Fir on the block. I finally stepped in with fatherly veto power to break a three-way tie (no surprise to anyone who knows me: The winner was $11 cheaper) and get us on our way with a minimum of bloodshed.
Then it was on the bike for a should-be-quick trip home in the dark. And Did I mention it was cold?
Hell yes. We even resorted to ducking into a Starbucks for cocoa and cider so the kids’ little piggies could thaw out before the final leg home.
Said Fir now sits in a bucket, hydrating in preparation for its month on stage in the lights. And me? I’m already over the voting scandal and looking forward to the fourth anniversary adventure.
More photos here
-Tim
I’m a little behind on my blog / RSS reading (like 6-9 months, oops) so maybe this one has been all over the Inter-Webs. But even if it has, I don’t care. I love it and I’m posting it here anyway.
Nate Byerley, CEO of Xtracycle, spent some time filming his daughter Davis and their commute to school on a PeaPod (child seat) -equipped Xtracycle. The result is the perfect video to share with anyone who wonders why children should be transported by bike.
Watch and then answer me this: Have you ever seen such joy (“I see a kitty! … Scream with me!”) from ANY child strapped into a video screen-equipped mini van or SUV?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Bikes are better!
Thanks Nate!
-Tim
An Every Day Adventure at the Bicycle Music Festival
We just returned from a day of family Xtracycling. If you’d asked where we were going when we left the house, we probably would have mentioned something about the Bicycle Music Festival. Sure that’s where we were headed, but in reality we were out for a dose of every day cycling adventure.
In the course of an hour or so on the bikes we picked up the youngest from a play date, helped a friend install a basketball hoop, took some photos, stopped at the library, saw a ton of boats and houseboats, took some more photos, and picked up some excellent free stuff on the road near said houseboats (some BRAND NEW Ikea LED lights plus some high-quality nickel-plated light fixtures with sconces that will go nicely in our bathroom. SCORE!)!
And that was just on the way to the music festival. Continue reading
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
Posted in bike touring, bikes, kids, summer, xtracycle
Tagged bike camping, bike touring, family bike touring, Family Cycling, kids, San Juan Islands, summer, xtracycle
This post was written by our 8 year old (and typed by her mom. Hunting and pecking 400 words would have taken a really long time!) It was her idea, and these are all of her own words. Happy Father’s Day, Tim! We love you.
My Dad is the one who taught me to ride my bike without training wheels.
In the summer, we used to go down to our spot at Magnuson, it was a steep grassy hill by the tennis courts. Dadddy drove me down there with my bike, it was usually only me and daddy. I would coast down the hill, try and steer and while I was steering, I tried to see if I could use my brakes while doing it. We would stay there all day. The only time I got hurt was when I was going down the part of the hill that I usually didn’t go down, I tried to steer, except my bike fell over. The back of my knee was out so I scraped the back of my knee.
I didn’t want to ride my bike again. But my dad convinced me to keep riding, and now I’m a good rider. I think it is because I did not give up. And If I gave up, I may never feel the joys of riding. Continue reading
Posted in bigger than here, bikes, kids
Tagged bikes, Dad, Daddy, Father's Day, kids, Learning to Ride a Bike
Tim has been combing craigslist for the past six months looking for some inflatable kayaks that we can haul to the lake on the Xtracycles. We used to own sea kayaks before we had kids but sold them a few years ago. Loading and unloading the kayaks on the car and driving a mile to the lake was never worth the effort for us and we didn’t use them that often. It wasn’t that hard for us to let them go.
Still looking for a way to escape the beach crowds during the warm summer months, inflatables that can be hauled on the bikes seemed like a good solution for our summer boating needs. These inflatables aren’t going to get us to the San Juans, but are perfect for floating around the lake with the kids on a hot day.
Continue reading
It’s so great to watch the number of cycling families grow during Bike to School Month.
I have noticed a pattern since we started organizing Bike to School Month last year. At the beginning of the month, the number of cycling parents and kids isn’t that impressive. This year a dozen or so families biked to school on a daily basis the first week. But as the month progresses, (and the weather improves) more and more families join the fun and start riding bikes to school.
Is it momentum? Is it peer pressure? Does it just look like fun?
Kids see their friends riding to school and it looks like so much fun, they want to do it too. Those kids convince their parents to give it a try. As more and more families join in, the bike racks fill up. And pretty soon bikes are spilling into the garden and being locked to any available stationary object. Sometimes they aren’t locked at all (who is going to steal a kid’s bike from a school playground anyway).
I’m not sure how the momentum builds. What I do know is: I’m still seeing new faces at the bike racks every day(and they’re all smiling faces).
Thanks to all of the parents who have given biking a try. You’re doing your kids a huge favor, and hopefully you’re having some fun too!
Does anyone have Bike to School stories to share?
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bigger than here, bikes, neighborhoods, School
Tagged Bike to School Month, kids, School, seattle
Spring has sprung in a typical Seattle way these past weeks, one day it’s 70 degrees and sunny and the next it’s 50 and raining. We’re not putting our winter clothes away any time soon.
However, my daughter decided last week that our girls were getting a little hot in their winter wear and they were ready for spring. The dolls’ outfits were not at all appropriate on sunny days. They got outfit changes last week. They are definitely ready for spring now!
Even if we changed them too soon, they are just dolls, they’ll be just fine.
– Anne
Continued from the series of posts: Kids’ Bikes: They suck and what you can do about it. I started this “series” back in Dec. and then sort of fell off track as things melted down at work. As we’re heading into prime kid-biking season I figured I should dust off the drafts and get the info out there where it might do some good.
It’s possible experienced wrenchers may find this a bit too detailed. If that’s the case, visit the flickr stream for quick some ideas and examples.
By far, tires caused me the most trouble during this project.
I like to think I’m a pretty savvy cookie when it comes to bike parts. I’ve been around them a long time — as a DIYer and a shop rat. And on top of that, I’m a librarian so I know how to handle a search engine. But dang, these 24″ tires are difficult.
Limited choices + confusing sizes
The legendary Sheldon Brown illustrated the problem quite clearly in the following chart: Continue reading
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Anne & Tim
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