I woke to the crunching sounds of feet on snow; my early-bird neighbors apparently made an unusual choice to leave their cars parked in favor of foot or bus. Welcome to Seattle where an inch of snow provokes panic. I must have been a bit nervous about the weather myself — crunching pedestrian parades wouldn’t normally drag a morning hater like myself out of a sound sleep a full 40 minutes early.
So, I haven’t had a real commute in a while. A five-minute bike ride or 15-minute walk to the UW campus doesn’t count. So, when I got a new job I vowed to keep up the carfree style we’ve been working since the summer. It’s still not a major commute — 30 minutes each way via Xtracycle — but most people, certainly, would drive (especially if they have a free, covered, parking garage).
Well, today was my first day. On the way in, I got the typical Seattle misting. Pretty much expected, even though it wasn’t supposed to rain until the afternoon. No biggie.
And the way home?
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, Burke-Gilman Trail, Commute, weather
Tagged bikes, carfreedays, commuting, rain, seattle, sleet, snow, weather, xtracycle
The best thing about running errands by bike is you can justify that cookie at the end of the day. We stopped in at the Dahlia Bakery after a day of running errands. I did manage to resist their famous coconut cream pie – which they sell in 4 different sizes including a coco bite for $2 – for those who can’t justify a whole pie. Mmmmmm. Maybe next time.
-Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, neighborhoods, seattle, shops, xtracycle
Tagged alternative transportation, Dahlia Bakery, seattle, xtracycle
Tim has spent the last couple of rainy days in the garage with the Xtracycles putting extra coats of polyurethayne on the snap decks and footies and installing my Christmas present – Brooks B17 Women’s saddle. It’s like having my car in the shop – I have to find alternative transportation.
Yesterday, the seven year old and I were all set to go to PCC – dressed for the weather with hats, gloves and coats etc. We were helmeted and ready to go. We went out to the garage to hop on the bike and found it apart. I didn’t know the bike was “in the shop” (I guess Tim and I should work on our communication). Bummer. Dinner guests were arriving soon so we had to _gasp_ drive to the store – no time to walk or take the bus.
I felt pretty dirty driving 1/2 a mile to the store – first time I’ve done that in months.
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, shopping, xtracycle
Tagged alternative transportation, biking, cycling, xtracycle
We had a great time riding to Golden Gardens today. The weather was great – (it didn’t rain), the pace was slow and the company enjoyable. We even witnessed some Christmas tree burning in the fire pits on the beach (yes, they really do burst into flames) as well as some hardy folks doing New Year’s Day polar bear swims in Puget Sound – Brrrrrrrrr.
Great way to start the New Year.
More photos here
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, bikes, extravehicular activities, longbikes, seattle, sustainability, xtracycle
Tagged bicycle, bikes, cargo bikes, seattle, xtracycle
We took the kids to see Santa at University Village yesterday afternoon/evening. It started in the afternoon but ended in the evening but that’s a whole nother story that I’m trying to put behind me. Let’s just say Santa doesn’t have a very good process. The kids enjoyed it all and the four year old got to put in his Santa request for Beef Jerky so all is well.
After the Santa experience, we took the long way home through Candy Cane Lane. Ester is right on – I wouldn’t want all of that traffic clogging up and polluting my street every day for 3 weeks. I’m sure when the tradition started 48 years ago, people walked through the loop to enjoy the lights and decorations. Now, the few hardy walkers are overshadowed by the drivers. We couldn’t help but be annoyed by the drive throughers. They wouldn’t want to get out of their car, would they?
Happy Holidays and keep riding!
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, extravehicular activities, kids, neighborhoods, seattle
Tagged , bicycle, bikes, christmas lights, santa, xtracycle
We had a great time on the Day-After-Thanksgiving ride from Pike Place Market to Gasworks Park.
Val shot us an email about the first ride of the year. Meet at noon at Greenlake near the basketball court and baseball diamond on the east side of the lake.
We’re planning to be there. This time I don’t think I’ll be able to keep Tim from loading up the bikes with everything we might need to keep us warm and fed. We have the space on the Xtras so why not? Live a little.
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, bikes, extravehicular activities, seattle
Tagged bicycle, bikes, cargobikes, Greenlake, seattle, xtracycle
You’ve probably seen about a zillion Christmas-Trees-on-Xtracycle photos already this year. I mean, everybody is doin’ it.
Said photos are usually cute and harmless and kind of fun to look at. For our sake, let’s hope that’s true because the CarFreeDay team is making it a zillion and two right here. Continue reading
Posted in alternative transportation, BIG Loads, extravehicular activities, kids, seattle, shopping, sustainability, weather
Tagged , bigload, bike, Christmas 2007, Christmas Tree, Christmas Tree Ride, kids, seattle, xtracycle
We are lucky enough to live within biking distance to Hardwick’s.
“Hardwick’s is a family-owned and operated hardware store located in the heart of the University District in Seattle, Washington. Passed down through three generations, Hardwick’s is rich in family tradition. Grandfather Charles Dean Hardwick established the business as a secondhand store in 1932 after he lost his real estate company in the market crash. Starting with his own office furniture as the original inventory, Grandfather Hardwick’s business continued to thrive in the Depression era by including factory seconds and damaged freight from the Milwaukee Road and Union Pacific Railroad and by purchasing goods from the public….”
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, kids, longbikes, neighborhoods, seattle, shopping, shops
Tagged , bikes, Hardware, Hardwick's, seattle, tools, xtracycle
We parked in the load zone at preschool the other day and our four year old was very concerned we’d been there for longer than 30 minutes. He really didn’t want to get a ticket.
– Anne
Posted in alternative transportation, bikes, extravehicular activities, kids, neighborhoods, School, seattle, traffic
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Anne & Tim
Tim King
Anne
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Tim K
Car Free Days 
