Tonight’s Critical Mass ride saw about 75 riders, over twice as many as last time we came. I think this was partially due to the 20th anniversary of the ride and partially due to the Bike Swarm that joined up with the ride (more details about both on Seattle Bike Blog).

We took one block of one-way 8th Avenue the wrong direction, but for the most part we worked very well with traffic. There was corking at turns and through lights that turned red while the mass moved through, and most motorists and pedestrians seemed fine to let us pass.

Davey Oil was there with the whole family (which is why we went–family biking is contagious), but that was it for other kids. Davey was on his Xtracycle and other bikes of note were two tandems, a tall bike, and a couple cycle trucks…and all the other bikes, too–they’re all awesome and of note!

Much to my dismay, the ride charged up Capitol Hill, quickly, and several of us got left in the dust. The tall bike, the guy doing wheelies, and the cycle trucks packed heavy with beer all raced on ahead. But after some yelling and bell ringing we massed back up at a gas station, of all places.

We cut through Seattle University (all flat, thank goodness!), back downtown, and into the Seattle Center where we very politely wove through tourists and just as I’d hoped we would, we hit the International Fountain…though ever since Bike Snob visited a couple Bike Expos ago, I think of it as our velodrome:

“Seattle is so wet they’ve just said ‘Fuck it’ and put a fountain in their velodrome” http://j.mp/hYbTg7 via @bikesnobnyc

— VeloBusDriver (@VeloBusDriver) March 16, 2011

There was a lot of fountain circling (doh, I wish I’d thought to record the ride on Strava!) and then a lot of loitering during which several people started shouting “Gas Works!” which sounded wonderful to me as I love any ride that ends near home. I probably would have left the mass if we headed in the opposite direction and that seems to be what several riders did, but eventually everyone got back on their bikes and headed out.

We rode along the Kreilsheimer Promenade next to McCaw Hall and I thought, “This is so beautiful, why have I never been here?” and then we encountered a flight of stairs to Mercer Street and I realized why I’d never been there. The people will little bikes carried or rode down the stairs, but I joined the wimpy and wise narrow ramp takers.

I was particularly excited that we were on Mercer Street because I’ve never taken the Mercer Street underpass–Broad Street is bad enough, I figure, why subject myself to Mercer, too? But I think there will soon be a cycle track there (here’s the Mercer Corridor Project page, specifically the bottom picture). I say “think” because I’m not sure this project page means it’s a done deal or if this is just the ideal outcome and things will still change for the worse. Broad Street is miserable on the sidewalk, but taking a lane on Mercer was awesome–fast down and fast up. I thought we might take an extra exciting route to Gas Works, like over the Aurora Bridge or at least taking a lane of Westlake, but we sedately cruised through the Westlake parking lots–my usual route. Oh well. Then everyone got held up taking pictures of the full moon from the Fremont Bridge so the kids and I said our goodbyes and continued on home. I hope they’re still whooping it up at Gas Works.

I love bike corrals–though there aren’t many to get excited about here in Seattle. Strikingly different from Portland two weeks ago, where I saw several areas of town with corrals every block and the city cannot put them in fast enough.

Despite living adjacent to the U-District, I don’t spend a lot of time there, so I had no idea there was a bike corral just a mile and a half from home. I saw it Sunday on my way to a Seattle Neighborhood Greenways meeting…and then again on my way home while dodging jaywalking drunken college students because that’s part of the adventure of biking on The Ave.

Because I needed to do some grocery shopping, wanted to check out R+E Cycles inside, and see the bike corral in daylight outside, Forrest and I conducted a tiny Tour de North Seattle Bike Corrals.

We met at PCC where I got my shopping done while utilizing the plain, but very useful bike corral. My front rack is too wide to fit in a slot, but there’s a lot of blocked off space on the side so I generally take an end spot.

We biked to The Essential Baking Company to park at the fish bike corral. I’ve parked here momentarily to take pictures before, but this was my first time inside. Yum! Though I realized my longtail is a bit long for the corral and the way the road slants down by the curb rendered my centerstand useless so I leaned it on a fish rib and hoped for the best. I was sure I’d find it on its side after our snack break, but it was still standing half an hour later.

We headed up The Ave and spied a banner for the Up Your Ave Ave-venture this Friday, in which 40,000 UW students will explore their community. Probably not a good day to bike the length of The Ave like we did today.

We got sidetracked on our way to the bike corral at Bob’s Bike & Board–Forrest by the tandem and electric bikes out front, me by the adorable little dog named Ollie. Forrest currently uses a trail-a-bike with his son and I’m not sure he’s into tandems for himself or to pass info along to the Seattle Family Biking Facebook group because there are a lot of families interested in obtaining affordable ones (including me! But in a few years). The shop recently moved here from Laurelhurst and in this smaller spot isn’t carrying a lot of bikes, but does a lot of repair work. And, of course, cute dogs.

And finally: the car-shaped bike corral in front of R+E:

Interesting assortment of bikes in the corral–polo bike with two mallets, scary bike with red skull on the headset, zebra handlebar tape. Again, I fronted in and had trouble parking. Now I notice all the other bikes were backed in so I’ll do that next time and probably not grumble and not have to lift my heavy bike to maneuver it out.

There are many gorgeous bikes in R+E, lots of them tandems. I like the idea of a tandem plus trailer bike so I can carry both kids when they’re bigger and get some pedaling help. R+E does a lot with S&S couplings, primarily for travel, but this page has a photo of a triple-to-double bicycle they made utilizing S&S couplings. Brilliant!

The Pedal-a-Latte cafe within the bike shop wasn’t open. The guy up front said a barista would show up later, but that it was mainly for the employees to make themselves coffee drinks. So that’s a bit of a bummer. But it’s got a sweet sign:

And the coolest swinging bar door ever:

Accessory-wise, they’ve got the usual stuff as well as an Abus wheel lock and a bike-rack-sized cargo net. I love wheel locks. They’re so convenient on Dutch bikes, but I like them even more since I heard someone call one a “cafe lock.” I wouldn’t use it in place of my U-lock, but there are times the bike is unlocked right next to us at a playground and I have to rush a kid to the potty, leaving my unlocked bike out of sight for a short time.

While we were browsing, Tarik of T’s Leatherworkz came in to check on a bike he’s getting worked on. He also popped into Bob’s Bike & Board while we were there–it pays to have a showy bike, friends notice is on their way by and stop to find you. His bike is plenty showy, too. I tried to get him to move it out to the bike corral so it could be part of my picture, but apparently this snazzy number doesn’t do bike corrals. Whatever.

I had to head back down for preschool pickup, but Forrest continued along to Kaffeeklatsch. Last time I was there the bike rack was still on the sidewalk, but it’s since been moved to an on-street spot.

I’m not sure if there’s any money for bike corrals, but from the SDOT Bike Parking page: “SDOT will consider installing on-street bike parking upon the request of the adjacent business owner.” Even in Portland, the businesses initially balked at giving up a car parking spot, so maybe we’ll see bike corrals everywhere soon someday, too.

I hesitate to call Engine-Engine-Engine a good solution for carrying two kids with a regular bike, but it’s certainly a versatile solution and I made great use of its versatility today. I’m not the inventor of bike + trailer bike + trailer–I first saw one at Moving Planet a year ago and most recently saw a mom taking her kids to preschool with one last week. I initially got the Trail-a-Bike for my five-year old to practice his pedaling and hoped the trailer would help keep it stable (trailer bikes that connect to the seat post are notoriously wobbly). I find it very heavy and personally wouldn’t choose it as an everyday rig, but my kindergartener loves it and it’s come in handy when friends are visiting since I can carry a third kid with it.

I’m surprised by the attention Engine-Engine-Engine gets. Sure, it’s longer than my Big Dummy, but it’s just a regular ol’ bike! When Hum of the City was visiting last month I put her on my Big Dummy one day and used EEE. We were spotted by Barb Chamberlain, Executive Director of the Bicycle Alliance of Washington, who described seeing me on EEE “…and there was another bike involved, too.” Another bike?! That other bike was a gorgeous pink cargo bike! But it only had one kid on the back at that point (I was using Hum’s big kid to help me pedal) and was dwarfed by EEE.

I took eight trips today, using four different versions of Engine-Engine-Engine–or five versions if I count the extra kid in the trailer as a unique use, and six if I count putting the big Engine on the Big Dummy.

Leg one. Engine-Engine-Engine: road bike + five-year old on Trail-a-Bike + three-year old in trailer. I consider Engine-Engine-Engine a recreational rig, best suited to wide bike paths and gentle turns. The bike/ped sidewalk of the Fremont Bridge was thankfully empty when I boarded, but a bike approached before I go over it. We both fit! But I wouldn’t want to dance this dance every day. My success was short-lived because I was taken out by this pedestrian island two blocks later:

when I caught a trailer wheel while turning right. Easy enough to correct, but it kept our ride to school from being error free. But here’s where the beauty of the modular system starts: I disconnected the trailer and locked it up outside preschool.

Leg two. Engine-Engine: road bike + five-year old on Trail-a-Bike. What a light ride! My son is a little short for this Trail-a-Bike so I prefer it when he’s not pedaling–the ride is much smoother with him sitting still than when he jerks around trying to help, but like any bike, the more I ride Engine-Engine or Engine-Engine-Engine, the easier it gets. So we zoomed back up the hill to kindergarten where I unhitched the Trail-a-Bike and left it at the school bike rack. I’d like to get a lock for it eventually (cheapie combination lock so I don’t have to worry about another key or nicer, colorful Knog Party Frank that comes with three keys to gradually lose?), but I only own two locks at the moment and half the bikes on the rack aren’t locked so I figure it’s safe enough.

Here’s the point I discovered my first big problem: I left the kindergartener’s backpack in the trailer. Last time we Trail-a-Biked he said the backpack was too heavy so I’d planned to wear it myself after preschool dropoff.

I had just resigned myself to race down to the trailer and back when our school’s other cargo biking mom found me to ask for a loaner bike since she’d locked herself out of her house and garage. She was willing to take the old mamabike, but since the Big Dummy was conveniently taking the day off, I gave her my winter helmet, my lock, and the longtail. And while heading to my house I realized I could just make a second kindergartener lunch rather than ride the extra five miles. I have to say the best part was opening my garage and hearing Julie say, “It looks just like our garage.” I usually hear, “Wow, you have a lot of bikes in there.”

Speaking of helping out a friend, yesterday Julie was on her mountain bike while her Madsen is getting BionX-ized and was contemplating skipping farmers market since her first grader didn’t have his bike at school. No problem! I just stuck him between my two kids to haul the three kids and our two kid bikes to the park. The hills were very slow, but what a fun favor!

Photo courtesy The Main Tank

I rode the five blocks back to school with my messenger bag on my back and my old backpack on my front. It wasn’t very comfortable, and wouldn’t enjoy riding two miles this way between the two schools. Kinks to work out. I think his more adjustable backpack will fit on my back, either over or under my messenger bag until he’s ready to wear and ride.

Leg three. Road bike. With both supporting Engines left at their respective schools, I was solo on a one-person bike! And even with the extra stop at home and back at kindergarten to deliver the replacement lunch, I was only 3 minutes late for my 10am hair cut (where I brought my bike inside due to no lock now). I’m particularly excited about this new set up for being able to accurately time returning for preschool pickup with the road bike–I’m never sure how much time to add to Google maps’ bike directions estimate on the Big Dummy. I ended up having extra time today and was able to stop by Floating Farmers Market for Six Strawberries bike-based ice pops and Hart Coffee.

Leg four. Engine-Kitty Caboose: road bike + three-year old in trailer. Behold the versatility–reattaching the pieces in reverse order! After preschool we hit the playground with friends where I had to find a tree to lean my kickstand-less road bike on while The Main Tank just parked on the grass like I’m used to doing. Thank goodness for this morning’s forgotten kindergartener lunch because all this racing around on various bike setups is hungry work. Heading back downhill for kindergarten pickup, I felt myself bonking–that’s a technical term for feeling dizzy from not eating and drinking enough. Or in toddler terms, Me have no more ener-ghee!.

Leg five. Engine-Engine-Engine: road bike + five-year old on Trail-a-Bike + three-year old in trailer. I returned to school a little early to hook back up in our original configuration. I’ve got a line on a used Burley Piccolo which will be much stabler and come off and on more easily, but for the cheapie Trail-a-Bike I need to give myself extra time and get things lined up just so to make the pin go in. I gave up last week when I was first going to try this system and ended up having to drag the [empty] Big Dummy up Capitol Hill.

Leg six. Engine-Kitty Caboose: road bike + both kids in trailer. I dropped the Trail-a-Bike at home and conveyed both kids in the double trailer. This is the first time I’ve done so since Hum of the City’s visit last month. The bite marks the three-year old made on his brother have finally faded away from that day. Today went better, thank goodness. I dropped the kids and the trailer off at The Main Tank’s house for a playdate (her garage looks just like mine, by the way) and took off on…

Leg seven. Road bike. Solo again! I biked downtown for I Bike SEA Happy Hour:

Drinks are on us at the I Bike SEA Happy Hour from 5:30 – 7:30 at the offices of Cascadia Consulting Group located at 1109 1st Ave, Suite 400. Participate in a group discussion with with City of Seattle Councilmember Sally Bagshaw and other I Bike SEA participants from 5:30 – 6:30 about ways the City of Seattle can help make biking a more accessible form of transportation for all. Learn from Aldan Shank, co-founder of cycle boutique Hub and Bespoke, about how to “bike in comfort and arrive in style” from 6:30 to 7:30.

Sally Bagshaw gave a great talk with lots of promising news for the future of Seattle bicycle infrastruture. And Aldan answered all our questions about riding in bad weather.

Meanwhile, Mr. Family Ride picked up the kids with the car. My dream is to get him on a Big Dummy, too, at some point, but today this was the easiest way, unfortunately.

Leg eight. Big Dummy hauling road bike. I swung by Julie’s house on my way home to retrieve the Big Dummy. She offered to bring it to me, but her house was on my way home and this was much more exciting since it meant putting the road bike’s front tire in the Big Dummy’s FreeLoader bag to drag it.

The net effect is down one trailer in The Main Tank’s garage so the day wasn’t seamless, but talk about action packed! I hope to utilize the system again and make better use of my kid-free time with a long and/or hilly errand on the road bike.

The September round of 30 Days of Biking isn’t as big as the April one–there are fewer organized activities (both offline and on-), but the rules are the same: just ride a bike every day of the month. I love 30 Days of Biking and truly attribute it with growing me from a fair-weather bicyclist into an everyday woman-on-a-bike.

It’s fun to kick off a 30 Days of Biking month with something epic, but today was just two little trips, starting with a three-mile roundtrip with kids to the store. Obligatory 30DoB panda shot:

In the afternoon I ditched the kids to do the first part of the monthly Spokespeople ride. Kids are welcome on the rides and I’ve always brought them in the past, but it was certainly nice today to pay attention to every aspect of the urban farm and garden ride.

I was only able to stay for the first three farms (conveniently all on the same Wallingford block) and saw tons of produce, chickens, and bees! Not a bad biking day for just five miles pedaled.