Kidical Mass Giving Thanks Pie n' Chai Ride

By the way...Hello again!  I have been enjoying an unplanned hiatus from blogging.  The time away has been lovely and relaxing (especially while my grad-student husband was on his summer break), but I've missed writing for this blog.  And I've missed hearing from you, all the friendly people I've met here.  If you've written me an email while I was on unofficial hiatus, please know that I was not checking that account while I was away.  I'll be composing my replies over the next few weeks -- thanks for your patience.

In the meantime, if you're in Eugene, we'd love to see you tomorrow at Kidical Mass!  I'm helping to organize and bake pie for the ride, and it would be gratifying to see some familiar and some new faces at Cesar Chavez Elementary tomorrow.  Here's the official blurb:

The weather is just right for cozy mittens, warm drinks, and delicious pie!  Join us for a short and sweet afternoon bike ride from Cesar Chavez Elementary to the Whiteaker Community Center, where we can play outdoors or nosh on homemade pies and hot chai tea inside (decaf rooibos version will be available for the kids, of course).  Along the way we'll stop to admire some fabulous new improvements to our bikeways, and create a simple thank you to our city for making it safer for families to walk and bike through our neighborhoods.

We always ride safe and legal, and all kinds of family bikes are welcome!  Remember your mittens and hats for the coziest possible ride.  Bring lights in case we'll be out after dark. 
 
Questions?  Find more info at www.kidicalmass.org.  Hope to see you tomorrow!

 

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!

In Good Company at the Celebrating Champions Parade

A short while ago, Little, Bigger, and I joined the big bike group riding in the Celebrating Champions Parade.  This parade was apparently inspired by the University of Oregon's recent football victories, but it also highlighted some of Eugene's other "champions".  Our particular group of was cobbled together from various local cycling organizations: Kidical Mass, GEARS, Eugene Safe Routes to School, some folks from Burley, and probably others that I was unaware of.

Image via Organic Haus
 on Flickr

At this point in my first winter cycling for transport with kids, I'm feeling a little tired of justifying my decision to get around this way.  My kids are happy to get on the bike, even in the cold or the rain.  But people occasionally take a moment to point out how unsafe they perceive bicycling to be.  Or how I could get to my destination fifteen minutes faster if I drove.  Or how it's wet outside, and aren't my kids going to catch a cold?  Me, I'm still enjoying toting my kids around on the bike.  It's always one of the most pleasant parts of my day, whether I encounter criticism or not.  Those negative voices, however, are fatiguing at best.  Some nights I come home from an otherwise great ride feeling drained from the experience of being criticized by strangers, or even worse, people I know and love.  Is it just me, or are there more critics of bicycling in the winter than in warmer months?

In any case, the good news is that there are plenty of other people out riding their bikes this winter, too.  I love bike events like this parade or Kidical Mass rides because it is so refreshing to be surrounded by pleasant people on bikes.  We rode along much of the route with my friend Heather and her son S.  Somehow, I didn't get any good shots of Heather on this ride.  She was there, lovely as ever, I promise!

Here are some of the other people we particularly enjoyed chatting with during and after the parade:

Image via shanerh on Flickr

This is easily my favorite photograph from that day.  Missy, supermom, feeding one of her three children under the age of two before the parade.  She and Shane (her partner and the coordinator of this event) have this incredible setup for getting their kids around town.  Their one-year-old daughter rides on a Bobike Mini front seat attached to their bakfiets.  One of their twin infant boys rides in a car seat in the bakfiets, and the other in the Burley trailer above.  On this ride, Missy was pulling the trailer behind her bike, but on our winter lights ride, Shane was pulling the trailer with the bakfiets.  That's three babies on one bike!

Image via shanerh on Flickr

The amazing Adkins family was there, too, doing their part to prove that you can enjoy getting around town on bicycles with lots of kids.  The Adkins are a car-free family of six, and they, too are very active in promoting and improving bicycling around here. Paul taught the bicycle commuting class I took this summer, so Bigger looks upon him with awe.  If your mom is a teacher, and then she takes a class from another teacher, then your teacher-mom's teacher must be a little better than human.

Plus, he can do this:

Here are three of the Adkins kids, plus their friend Addie (far left).  Next to Addie are (from left) Torrent, Dare, and Rainy. 

Image via Organic Haus on Flickr

And Monica, another supermom, with Sanguine seated behind her on the Xtracycle.  Mother of four kids, and a supremely charming and friendly person to boot.  She and Paul (her husband) have an impressive stable of kid-hauling bicycles, too.  (When I'm feeling a little worn down after a long day of running errands with the kids, I can always imagine what life would be like carrying four kids on my bike!)

To her left is Annette, whom I met for the first time at the parade.  It turns out that she is also a friend of my dear friend Dana, who brilliantly introduced me to the fella who is now my husband ten years ago.

Image via Organic Haus on Flickr

We enjoyed the entertainment provided by this guy, Mike Seager, who is an editor of WeBikeEugene.  And also, obviously, a clown.  The crowd loved his act.  And my kids have been approximating his performance with their own "juggling" all week long, which is the best kind of compliment.

I left the parade that day with fresh energy for my daily life on the bike.  It was wonderful to talk babies and schools and bikes with all the friendly folks we saw.  And of course, there is a certain electricity in the experience of riding down a street lined with a big, cheering crowd.  Perhaps what was most deeply comforting, though, was the knowledge that the people we rode with are doing something to make bicycling better in our town.  One of the things I love about Eugene is that lots of local activists are helping more folks like me start riding more often, or working to improve bike infrastructure, or coordinating our cycling advocacy groups' efforts with the work of other organizations.  And other people are doing their part by figuring out how to take more trips by bike.  For this I am grateful.

Many thanks to Paul and Shane for the use of their photos from the event!

A Little Wiser, Every Day

The last ten days have been a breathless whirlwind of activity.  The kids and I helped out with a few odds and ends for the Kidical Mass ride (it was really fun, by the way), I wrapped up a couple of loose ends at my new job, Austin finished his first term of grad school (while also working full time -- I am married to a superhero), and we headed up to the mountains for a long weekend in the snow.  There was a homemade Christmas gift all-nighter thrown in there for good measure, too.

Whew!

It felt like I didn't have a spare moment to think about riding my bike.  I used it to get from point A to point B, but my rides lacked the mellow, contemplative ease that I had been enjoying earlier in the month.  Now that I finally have a few minutes to catch my breath, though, I'm realizing how much I learned in this long, end-of-term, pre-holiday week:


1. My bike is capable of standing upright on its own!

Bigger points out our new kickstand

Though I missed the weekend sale at Arriving By Bike (and their Friday bike social -- I was cleaning out our chicken coop at Grandma M's), I made it there on Monday to purchase a new kickstand for our crazy bike.  (We have a large milk crate on the back rack and a Follow Me tandem coupler that connects Bigger's bike to mine, so a single kickstand is insufficient.)  Every time I stop in for something, the folks working there are so helpful and friendly.  Thanks, Courtney, Alexander, and Paul!

Anyhow, if you are thinking of getting a Follow Me tandem for your child's bicycle, I would strongly suggest you get a sturdy double kickstand.  Our Follow Me was slightly off center (and missing a couple of bolts) after several recent tip-overs while loading and unloading groceries.  (I look forward to posting a thorough review of the Follow Me soon -- overall, we love it.)  Alexander helped us replace the missing bolts and gave the Follow Me some long overdue TLC.  (I later learned that he has a bike blog that includes some really lovely photos.)

Though the bike is still a little prone to tipping when I've got lots of cargo in the crate (I think that panniers would help), having a functional kickstand has made a world of difference.  Hooray!


2. Riding a bike during a busy time forces me to relax.

This one is such a no-brainer.  Though I still have my share of holiday-related hustle and bustle, I don't have to fight traffic or feel stuck in my car.  Fresh air (even when it's cold fresh air) feels so right to me now.


3. Bigger's mood can be improved by asking him to carry appealing cargo.  Especially chocolate.

This is kind of a goofy facial expression, but I think Bigger is trying to convey...salivation?  He is always proud to carry something for me on his bike, and this chocolate may have been his favorite cargo so far.

I think that Bigger will be moving up to a 16" bike soon, and I'm going to make sure that it has a nice rear rack for whatever cargo he may want to haul.  Just think of all the chocolate we could bring home if he had a nice set of panniers!


4. Double leg kickstands can help you convert bare sidewalk into a bike rack.

Monica and Paul Adkins taught me this on Saturday's Kidical Mass ride.  While I wandered around for a minute or two searching for bike parking outside Mezza Luna, the Adkins family had their two Xtracycles parked on the sidewalk just outside the restaurant's window sans rack, with only the wheels locked to the frame.  I never think to do this because Eugene is notorious for bike theft, but if you are sitting within view of your bike, it makes sense.  Their kickstands are sturdy enough that they were also able to chain their kids' bikes to the longtails.

Even with the new kickstand, my bike is a little top heavy to serve as bike rack for someone else, but I wonder if the new Workcycles Fr8 I'm expecting in the spring will be.  In any case, it was suggested that I try simply propping my bike up on its kickstand and locking it to itself, and that worked quite well for our brief dessert stop.


5. Being a beginner is kind of nice.

Before this year, there were plenty of trips I just wouldn't have known how to make on a bike.  I made (and continue to make) all kinds of mistakes that a more experienced cyclist could gracefully circumvent.  I bruise my shins.  I take wrong turns.  My groceries tumble out when I am loading them into the milk crate.  But one of the advantages of being new at something is that it puts you in the position of experiencing little moments of discovery, too.  Every trick learned, every quiet realization, every first time feels so good.

Kidical Mass Pie to Pie Winter Lights Ride Tonight!

 

Hope to see you there!

Kidical Mass Eugene: The Pie to Pie Winter Lights Ride!

Dear Bike-Riding Families of Eugene,

Have you marked your calendar with the date of this month's Kidical Mass ride yet?

There will be pies savory (pizza) and sweet (pumpkin, apple, cream...who knows?), beautiful winter lights displays, and good company.  Kidical Mass is going to be picking up some of the tab.  How could anyone even think of missing it?

I think you should go do whatever you must in order to save the date.  Do it!  Now!  Before something you may not really want to do sneaks up on you.

Kidical Mass Eugene Pie to Pie Winter Lights Ride
Saturday, December 18th, 5:00 pm
Mezza Luna Pizzeria (933 Pearl Street)

See you there!

P.S.  Feel free to print out a poster to display at your grocery store, your child's school, your Birth to Three group, or share one with a friend!  And drop me a line if you have recommendations for great lights displays in the downtown or Monroe Park area.  Our family is helping with the coordination of this ride, and your input (and assistance) would be very welcome.  Many thanks!