Archive | 2009

Kidical Mass

Today was Bike-to-Work Day and there were a ton of activities. We kicked off the day by hitting the Cascade tent outside Gregg’s Cycles for free stuff. Technically, it was a pit stop for people biking on their way to work, but I figure Brandt is my boss and I biked him there so I deserved the free bike light and Clif bars.

Next up was Summer Streets in Ballard at 4pm. I thought it would be bigger than it was, but it was still fun and Brandt got an Undriver License he’s really excited about and everyone got free bananas. And we saw the Dutch Bike Company’s seven-seat Conference Bike. It was OK, but I felt obligated to tell them it wasn’t quite as cool as the similar bike I saw in Amsterdam a few years back that had more seats and several kegs in the middle.

Then the best part: Seattle’s first Kidical Mass! We met a bunch of other families at a park a block from Summer Streets and we all rode along the Burke-Gilman Trail to Gasworks Park for the purpose of increasing the visibility of family biking on Seattle streets. It was really fun and will hopefully be a monthly event. This was also our first visit to Gasworks Park and wow, it’s cool! It was great for boat viewing so I’ll definitely have to bring Brandt back down there. I’m a little worried next time I ride back home up Stone I won’t be able to make it without resting halfway, though.

Mother’s Day ride

May10

This morning we rode the Burke-Gilman Trail the other direction to have brunch at The Dish in Ballard. It was delish, but the wait was awfully long. I’d love to go back, but only if we can get there earlier in the morning. The trail is flatter thisaway, too.

Burke-Gilman Trail

May3

I thought this morning’s 3.5-mile March for Babies was exercise enough for today, but Dan really wanted to bike the Burke-Gilman Trail. I was worried about the climb back up Stone, but Dan wouldn’t let me whine my way out of it and said he could always leave me and Brandt at Gasworks Park and go home to fetch the car and retrieve us. Turns out I worried for nothing because Stone is not nearly as steep as 50th.

We just got a Burley bike trailer from Craigslist. It’s old (or vintage, if you prefer), but it works great. Dan pulled Brandt in the Burley and I was prepared to switch him to the Bobike if he didn’t dig it.

We saw a lot of cool stuff on our ride, including the very cool-looking Wallingford playfield park super close to home and the curious Wall of Death. Brandt missed it all in favor of napping in the Burley. We travelled east through Magnuson Park and back before Brandt woke up. On the way home we stopped at Tutta Bella for pizza and I am definitely going back when I can drink coffee because check this out: Caffe Cioccolato: Chocolate latte with Nutella, steamed milk and espresso. Yum!

Big wheel

May2

Today coulda been so cool! Brandt and I were going to take the bus for the first time to go downtown to the Denny Park play area opening celebration, complete with face painting, balloon animals, and live band. It was also Seattle Yacht Club Opening Day with big boat parade, but due to the weather we skipped that, too.

I took advantage of the situation and napped much of the day while Dan and Brandt did who knows what. And I got a little outdoor time, too, taking Brandt for rides on his new (free!) bike at 7am and 4pm, in between rain showers. He doesn’t pedal yet, but he tries to now and again. And he loves pushing his way over obstacles, like the two cement curbs in the neighbor’s driveway. He loves this bike so (too) much that I’ve taken to leaving and entering the house through the back door so he doesn’t see the thing and insist on riding it.

Mayday

May1

Thanks to an early nap we were able to race to the zoo for opening day of the Humboldt penguins. Being too cheap to pay $5 for parking, I decided to see if I could make it up the 50th Street hill on my bike. Holy penguin that was hard! Never again, pregnant and toting a toddler or no. But we made it to the exhibit by 3pm and after an hour I finally caught my breath.

Nuovo bicicletta

Apr21

This afternoon, we took advantage of the nice day and rode our bike to the playground. It was naturally packed so we headed along to our first and last visit to Souped Up Cafe. I say our last visit because they’re closing down soon rather than pay more rent. It was too hot for soup, but their sandwiches sounded amazing, too (Ham and Swiss: Cob-smoked ham, caramelized onions, Swiss, garlic butter, and stone-ground mustard). But for a panini which was supposedly already made and just had to be smushed/cooked upon order, we still had to wait 20 minutes. We finally made it back to the lake and one of us lounged in the grass while the other ran around finding rocks.

This is the first picture of my pretty new bike. Sweet, eh? It’s a Bianchi Milano Citta and it’s an early push present for baby passenger number two, due mid-July. It is soooo nice having eight gears after riding around with just one. It was hard to choose which city bike since there are so many out there these days. I was tempted by the Gary Fisher city bike, too, because there’s a little hole in my heart from having sold my Hoo Koo E Koo before the move.

Bike Expo

Mar15

This afternoon we braved the off-and-on rain (better than the enormous snowflakes this morning) to attend the Seattle International Bicycle Expo. We were hoping to find a cheap Burley bike trailer, but they weren’t an exibitor. However, we saw some very neat stuff, like bike frames made of wood (!) and we got a lot of maps and in the kid zone Brandt got to play Pin the Wheel on the Bike and make a bracelet out of inner tube. We didn’t test drive the Madsen cargo bike, but Brandt found it fun to sit in.

Wobbler on wheels

Mar6

Brandt and I went to W.O.W. (Women on Wheels) at Gregg’s Cycles last night so we could get free stuff and free food and meet Jennie Reed, Olympian and World Champion track cyclist. It was really fun, but we had to leave before the show was over when Mr. Molar teething toddler started chewing on bike tires.

W.O.W. inspired me to finally get the bike out of the garage and ride around Green Lake today. I only managed one lap because it was so cold my ears and hands got frostbite. Brandt’s ears were OK from the helmet, but his hands got pretty cold, too. Mittens for both and a hat for me next time.

I’m not sure where Brandt got the idea to ride his bike with xylophone/piano thingy. We saw lots of bikes at the show last night, but nothing like this.