Friday Family on Bikes...Mine

First, an introduction:

I'm Emily.  I work mostly as a stay-at-home parent to Bigger (age 4) and Little (age 2).  I also work one day a week at a rural elementary school as a writing teacher.  Both of these jobs are my dream jobs.  My husband, Austin, is a superhero: he works full-time as a carpenter, and spends his evenings in graduate school studying library and information science.  He is also an amazing husband and papa who makes seriously good waffles.

Austin and the boys

No, my kids are not actually named "Bigger" and "Little".  But this is Eugene, so I understand why you might be curious.

Our family bike setup:

Our family bike setup is currently in transition.  While we are awaiting the arrival of a Workcycles Fr8 Uni this spring, I am riding Austin's hybrid bike with a ragtag circus of kid and cargo attachments: a Bobike Mini front child seat with windscreen (you can get one in Eugene at Arriving by Bike), a Follow Me tandem coupler that allows me to tow Bigger's bike behind mine, and an extra-large milk crate for hauling a limited amount of cargo.

Our new bike will be able to carry two children on seats mounted to the rear rack, as well as one up front on a child saddle.  It will also have a very large, lidded wicker basket up front and panniers on the rear rack.  It will probably tow Bigger's Follow Me tandem, but I haven't entirely made up my mind about that yet.  Installing the Follow Me would allow me to carry four child passengers!

When we got rid of our second car over the summer, I considered a bakfiets or an Xtracycle, but the deal breaker for me was compatibility with the bike racks on buses and trains.  We share a garden on my mother-in-law's 7 acre property in Creswell.  I need to be able to take a bike on the bus to Creswell with me so that I can cycle (instead of walk) the three miles between the bus stop and my mother-in-law's place.  I've also heard stories of folks being denied the opportunity to load larger cargo bikes onto Amtrak trains.  So we're going to see how bus and train friendly the Fr8 can be.  It is a seriously heavy bike.

We love our Follow Me tandem coupler for a number of reasons.  Unlike most tagalong-style bike attachments, the Follow Me allows families to install rear child seats, crates, and virtually anything else on the adult bike.  Once he feels confident enough, I will be able to disconnect Bigger's bike from mine so that he can ride solo on the bike path or quiet streets, and then reattach him when we're heading into car traffic.

While I'm excited about my new bike, I also want to emphasize that it's not necessary to purchase a special bike in order to get around town with your kids and stuff!  If I had decided against the Fr8, I could have made my current bike setup work better for me.  But since we were getting rid of a car, it made sense for us to upgrade to a much nicer bike.

Little, loving his pink bike

 We also have a balance bike used by both Bigger and Little, a pink Strider.  We like that the Strider is lightweight and relatively sturdy, and that it's small enough to hold a very little passenger (both boys started on it at age two).  I would say that I feel that many of these balance bikes are a little overpriced given the quality of the product, and that it is simple to remove the pedals from a 12" kids' bike from the Goodwill for a total cost of $10 or less.  (Our neighbors transformed a 12" Salvation Army cast off into a truly awesome, custom painted balance bike that I hope to feature here sometime.)

Why we choose to ride bikes together:

As Heather pointed out last week, there are too many reasons to share all of them here!

Our decision to give up a car was tied into our beliefs about what is practical, sensible, and fair.  I think that people on bikes, foot, and public transit (and the infrastructure that supports these modes of transport) make our communities richer, more equitable, and pleasant places to live.  I believe that getting around by bike is helping my children to grow up more confident, resilient, and fit.  I think that it will help them to be more independent as they grow older and begin to be able to get around town on their own.  It almost always lifts our mood to get out by bike.  And getting rid of a car helps to free up money in our budget for other things that are more important to us.

What kinds of trips to we make by bike?  And what other modes of transport do we commonly use?

I make almost every trip by bike, by foot, or bus now.  We do our shopping, appointments, playdates, and most other trips by bike.  I ride the bus to my teaching job. We walk to various destinations close to home (the park, the bakery, etc.) regularly as well.  I've started to frequent shops within four miles of our house almost exclusively.  I've become more efficient in the way I run errands.  And because we really enjoy riding our bikes, taking the bus, and walking, I'm more likely to plan a couple of pleasant errand and park trips every other day or so.  When I was driving my kids around, I often crammed several hours of errands into one day in order to avoid the unpleasantness of errands by car as much as possible.

We also love taking long-distance trips by train.  Our most frequent trip by train is to visit my parents' house near McMinnville.  I have taken my two kids on several overnight train trips by myself, which is actually really fun provided that you have the good sense not to let your kids drink the complimentary sparking juice right before bedtime.

Austin carpools to his job as a carpenter each day.  He sometimes has to make trips of up to 50 miles with large loads of lumber and tools, so I think that this is a pretty sensible option for him.  The final few car trips I make a month (between 0 and 3, typically) typically involve and social obligations in distant areas at times when there is no bus service (or very limited bus service).  The moms at Carfree with Kids have a great post about this which is helping me think about how to collaborate with friends and family so that visiting is more convenient for all of us.  One of the goals I have for this year is to try to get to rural family members' homes at least a couple of times a month by bus.  I'm hoping that this will help us refine our rural bus trip routine so that it's more automatic for us to visit our rural family members this way.  Plus, if we're getting to folks' houses by bus regularly, they'll understand if we can't make it to some of those late weekend events.  Not to mention the fact that my kids are always asking for more bus trips!  At $3 for a day pass (the kids are too young to pay fare) it's a cheap thrill.

A bike tip for other beginning family bicyclists:

See if there are Kidical Mass rides where you live.  Meeting and talking with folks at Kidical Mass helped me build confidence about riding my bike with my children when I was just getting started.  I learned some family-friendly, low traffic routes to my favorite destinations.  I've gotten advice about family bike setups, and seen some really interesting family bikes in action.  And I've met a community of people who enjoy riding bikes with their kids.  There's a Kidical Mass in Eugene tomorrow -- meet us at 3 pm in Monroe Park!

We Love Trains

Here's the truth about traveling by train with small children: it is so incredibly convenient and pleasant, that if you try it, you may never, ever want to get on a plane or strap yourself into a car again.  Honestly.
 

How can it be so convenient to travel by train with children, even here in the car-centric western US?  Let me count the ways:

1) Amtrak has less invasive security procedures, at least in our experience.  There is no need to wait in long lines at security checkpoints.  You may have your luggage or personal effects examined, but you're not likely to be asked to remove your shoes or go through a naked body scanner.  If you have your ticket in your hand and only carry-on baggage, you can simply wait for the train to arrive, and then hop on.  It's basically as simple as getting on a city bus or light rail car.

One particularly pleasant aspect of these security policies is that you may wait to board the train with friends and family who are seeing you off at the station.  I've traveled to California on Amtrak with Little and Bigger twice in the last year, both times without my husband. (He had to work while we traveled, and wasn't home in time to wait with us at the depot.)  Both times, Grandma M was able to wait with us by the track, and then help us get our luggage to our train car when it was time to board.  If you have squirrely little children or awkward luggage (and I usually have both), an extra pair of eyes and hands is lovely.  Plus, if your train is late (as mine was on my most recent trip), there is another adult to split a burger and a beer with while you wait for the train.  (If you're in Eugene, I recommend the bar menu at Marche as a late-train cure-all.  They are also always gracious about seating children for an early dinner.)

2) Train stations are centrally located in many west-coast cities, while airports are often on the outskirts of a city.  I assume that this is because train stations often predate airports, and require comparatively little space.  You don't need to schlep to the edge of town to make your departure when you go by train.  When you arrive at your destination, you are often in the middle of the city, at the hub of its public transportation services.   We are close enough to the center of the city that we have walked to or from the train station many times.

3) You can bring your bike on the train.  This is particularly convenient between Eugene and Seattle, where the Amtrak Cascades has simple bike racks right on board.  On some trains, you are required to pack your bike in a box provided by Amtrak before travel.  

4) You can move about a train freely, anytime.  I have traveled with my sons on Amtrak from the time they were infants on.  If you travel by car or plane with your children, everyone has to be seated (in rather cramped conditions) for most of the trip.  There are car seats and seat belts involved, and when someone needs to use the bathroom, you must either find a rest stop (if going by car) or check to ensure that the path is not blocked by a food cart (on planes).  If you want to stretch your legs or get something to eat, you may have to wait.  Not so on the train.  When Bigger was a year old, he spent most train trips walking up and down the aisles with me, smiling at all the people, getting something to eat in the snack car, and befriending all the kids and grandparents on board.  He had a blast, and when he was tired, we could sit down in our seats and nurse (also not possible in a moving car). 

5) Finally, we love to take the train because it is fun.  There are huge windows by each seat, plenty of room to relax, and no one has to drive.  We can read, knit, talk, or doze with plenty of elbow room. We can visit the snack car for cookies and milk.  There are viewing cars (and sometimes nature guides) and dining cars on longer trips.  You or your children can even watch on-board movies or hang out in the video game parlor if that's your bag.

Have any of you out there had positive (or not so positive) experiences on the train?