Today was seized! I wasn’t quite as adventurous as I had planned to be: originally I was going to bike camp on Bainbridge Island, but my friend who was to come along had to work. Then I was going to camp solo, but the weather forecast scared me off from that. Naturally, it turned out gorgeous today so you all have me to thank for that!

Here’s my modest day-trip bag of stuff:

This post is titled “New Cap Day” on account of my new MEOW cap from Back Alley Bike Repair, picked up 30 minutes before the ferry came. I have one that says BABR on the brim, but I’ve wanted a MEOW one for a long time, and Ben just got a new shipment.

Going back to MEOW caps, Back Alley Bike Repair, living for the now, and my mention of a friend in the hospital in my 30 Days of Biking 2015 begins post, Ben’s girlfriend, Shannon, is the friend in the hospital and one of the coolest people I know and I’d love if you visited the Sonsie Pals website they just set up for her. Send her your thoughts/prayers/good vibes and if possible, a donation for rehabilitation. Thank you!

I rode the ferry with two visitors from Germany. They flew in yesterday–and coincidentally had visited Back Alley Bike Repair. We looked at maps together and they told about their planned trip biking down to Los Angeles. Today they were just going to Port Angeles. It put my little trip to Fay Bainbridge in perspective. They also said it wouldn’t rain today.

It rained today.

That’s my friend Maritess behind me, on her new single-occupant bike! She also rides a mamachari with her son.

Fortunately, the rain stopped by the time we reached Fay Bainbridge Park so I showed her around the various camping spots and we played at the beach a bit, but mostly hid in the picnic shelter and ate my snacks.

My purpose of the trip was to find a better route back from Fay to the ferry for summer bike camping with kids and I think I’ve done it! Still flatter than the scenic route, but not as congested at the end. And it still includes Frog Rock.

I was so sure we had dodged the rain and Seattle was grey and miserable, but a peek through the ferry window proved me wrong:

Obligatory “Watching Seattle loom closer silhouette shot” of Maritess. I insisted a friendly passenger allow me to take a photo of him in the same pose with his phone. It’s the best!

While the weather was camping friendly, I’m glad we were back in civilization because we were able to hook up with a friend, just in town for a day, from Los Angeles. I got to see baby pictures on his phone that aren’t on Facebook and hear about his new bike trailer:
Boyd: “We haven’t used it much yet, but it’s the most popular one.”
Me: “Oh, the Chariot! Yeah, people here get that one because you can add a cross-country skiing attachment.”
Boyd: “…”
They’ll just be riding a couple miles to the beach.

Just to include some talk about camping in the day, I met up with my friend Alyssa at Chuck’s Hop Shop (yes, I made kissing noises when I touched our bike tires for the picture below). We looked at maps and planned out our two-family bike camping Spring Break trip. Can’t wait!

And finally home, alone with my new cap! For a day I had expected to spend completely alone with my thoughts after dropping the kids at school at 9:30, I had very few moments to myself. All in all, a perfect New Cap Day.

Miles biked: 32.6
Bikes biked: 1

Miles biked cumulative: 67.6
Bikes biked cumulative: 3

The Little Struggler has her rear rack back! I’ve been referring to the Straggler as a “single-occupant bike,” but I don’t really believe in single occupant bikes. She hasn’t toted a kid yet, but now that my Burley Moose Rack can handle the weight of the Burley Piccolo trailer bike, once I get it back from the friend who’s been borrowing it (and is no longer using it, having Xtracycled her bike!), I can tow one of the two kids.

I’m probably misstating this a bit…my rack mounts were up too high to correctly attach the rack (I bet this Surly blog post, Why the Straggler is the Way it Is explains it better) so Haulin’ Colin kindly chopped it down and made new little attach-y parts. And the rack made its way to G&O Family Cyclery where I met up with it today.

So that was the while-the-kids-are-at-school errand for the day, and then we three headed down to Nord Alley for the #BikeLove Party. Bill Thorness, upper right, is an excellent disc player, with a killer behind-the-back fling, by the way.

We headed out with the beginning of the group ride, but the kids were losing interest so we ditched to take a look at Bertha, recently extracted. We’ll have to come back down soon to check out the exhibit at Milepost 31.

And then we saw the return of the group ride on our way back home :)

#BikeLove!

Miles biked: 19.9
Bikes biked: 2

Miles biked cumulative: 35
Bikes biked cumulative: 2

Best month of the year! 30 Days of Biking 2015 started today. Our family routine is quite different this year than last, with both kids at the same school (yay!) a mere two blocks from home (double yay!) which means we walk there (*gasp!*) unless we’re running a Bike to School promotion. So I walked the kids to school, walked back home, and then hopped on my cargo bike–a pink Surly Big Dummy for those who aren’t familiar with the Mamabike.

I started my errand running by dropping off some sidewalk chalk at Recycled Cycles. Some bike shops get beer, some get doughnuts, but Recycled Cycles gets sidewalk chalk from me.

Since I was now below the Burke-Gilman Trail, on North Northlake Way, I figured I’d stay low and finally take that picture with the three orange Opel GTs I’ve been meaning to take. But holy seat stay, they were being towed! What are the odds? I’m lucky I caught the sad picture I did:

But in pedaling away from the orange Opels, I realized my theme for the month: More doing now, less putting off for later.

I usually hope a theme will emerge by the end of my 30 Days of Biking each round, but I like that I’ve got it sorted out off the bat this year. Of course I’m still playing catchup a bit: my next stop was to put a letter + drawings by the kids in the mailbox to a friend in the hospital I wish I’d mailed a week ago. And I had hoped to finish some boring work paperwork before writing this post to declare it DONE DONE DONE, but it’ll happen soon (but maybe tomorrow because going to sleep at a reasonable hour for a change seems important, too). I shall do less putting-off-then-wasting-time-stressing-about-it and more just-doing-it so I can better appreciate the now.

Hey, speaking of which: I was supposed to write a post for the official 30 Days of Biking blog *last year* and I turned it in a few hours late so it never got posted. Procrastinating bites! Just so it doesn’t go to waste, here it is:

Greetings from your [self-proclaimed] Official 30 Days of Biking Family Biking Ambassador from Seattle. I like to think of myself as an old pro at 30DoB; I joined the community in September 2010, back when the kids and I weren’t yet biking everywhere, every day. There were some difficult days, and one night I resorted to a pajama-clad driveway spin, but I made it through and couldn’t wait to do it again. It was easier the second time around, but the it took failing 30 Days of Biking in September 2011 to realize what I thought was simply a fun online challenge was actually a tool that turns people like me into everyday bicyclists. So sneaky!

Now that I’ve got this thing down, I get a little jealous watching the huge events in Minneapolis, but I’m inspired to spread the word out here. I led a Seattle 30 Days of Biking Kickoff Ride on the first with four old friends and two new. Don’t laugh, it was late morning on a Tuesday–I’m ecstatic we had so many! I love showing people new routes around the city and this day we also discussed other new-rider-friendly routes, bike shops, and local biking groups.

I like to incorporate a theme into my 30 days, but it’s often a retroactive theme I figure out while composing my day-30 blog post. I can’t wait to find out what I’m theming this time. I’m keeping track of how many different bikes I ride, but I’m not going out of my way to ride everything I have access to. Even so, I’m up to seven different rigs…but I’m not convinced that will be my eventual motif. I feel I’d be met with many challengers if I tried to declare myself 30 Days of Biking’s Biggest Fan (but I am! I am!), but I do hold the title of 30 Days of Biking 2014’s First Pledge so I might have to do something bigger and better than ever before to properly commemorate this round.

I hope you’re having as much with the challenge as I. And remember, those 11:59 p.m. pajama rides do count and do matter and are part of what makes 30 Days of Biking so special.

Madi Carlson is a family biking advocate in Seattle, WA. She leads monthly Kidical Mass family rides and Critical Lass ladies social rides. Some people call her @familyride, but mostly she’s known as “that lady on the big pink bike”.

But back to today!

My main errand for the day was to route test for Saturday’s 30 Days of Biking – First Weekend Seattle Ride. Our start point at the base of the Wallingford Steps (right across the street from Gas Works Park) was a mess! And so so loud…there must have been a guy with a jackhammer down the hole. But the metal plate holder I pantomimed “Will this still be here on Saturday?” shook his head no, so I think we’re cool.

The test ride was great and I worked out a few kinks. And in the interest of fully testing for the real deal, I stopped at the Caffe Appassionato drive-through (they allow bikes!) to drink a coffee on the most scenic bench in Fishermen’s Terminal.

The route took me by the grocery store so I made a pit stop to get some essentials: beer and toilet paper (tastefully hidden under my jacket to be classy) on the near side, groceries on the far side, and egg hunt supplies in that bag on the deck for Sunday’s Easter Cargo Bike Ride.

I unloaded the bike at home, did a teensy bit of that looming work, and then took off on my newish single-occupant bike (a black Surly Straggler named the Little Struggler) for a different grocery store…because picky kids cannot be fed from one grocery store alone! And really, this wasn’t about “How many bikes can I ride today?”, it’s just nice to ride a lighter bike (33 pounds versus 75) in this hilly city when possible.

And while there I decided to Sheldon Lock:

People tend to buy the big clunky U-locks because they don’t know how to use them properly. A U-lock should go around the rear rim and tire, somewhere inside the rear triangle of the frame. There is no need to loop it around the seat tube as well, because the wheel cannot be pulled through the rear triangle.

Some will object that felons might cut the rear rim and tire to remove the lock. Believe me, this just doesn’t happen in the real world. It is indeed possible to cut the rim with a hacksaw, working from the outside to the inside, but first, the tire must be removed or cut through. It would be a lot of work to steal a frame without a usable rear wheel, the most expensive part of a bike, after the frame.

I Instagrammed a photo of my road bike Sheldon Locked yesterday, but admitted it was just for the sake of the photo and asked if anyone really Sheldon Locked. Turns out they do! And I got some good feedback:
“I do when I can. Saves on the paint job.”
“I do, mostly because it prevents my bike from flopping around on the rack/being moved.”

Miles biked: 15.1
Bikes biked: 2

Unless you really haven’t been paying attention, you know I simply adore 30 Days of Biking! The 30 days happen next month, but pledge to participate now. It’s fun to receive your pledgee number–I was first last year!–and think of your reason for riding to share with your pledge.

Astrid will kick off the month with a weekday ride on April 1st: 30 Days of Biking Kick-Off Ride – Mill Creek and then we’ll lead a Saturday ride together.
Note: you don’t have to be participating in 30 Days of Biking to join us on this ride.

Saturday, April 4, 2015, 12:00pm
Start Location:
Wallingford Steps
1730 Burke Gilman Trail
Seattle, WA 98103

Links links links:
Facebook event page
Cascade Free Daily Rides listing
Meetup.com listing

Full description:
Whether or not you are a 30 Days of Biking pledge, come out for this easy, scenic, and fun ride featuring waterfront vistas, riding on both streets and trails, plus coffee and food stops! We’ll start on the Burke Gilman Trail on the sidewalk by the foot of the Wallingford Steps. This is located on the north side of North Northlake Way, between Densmore Ave. N. and Burke Ave. N. If you are arriving by car, parking is easy at Gasworks Park, but crossing the street in a group is tricky, so we are meeting on the sidewalk just west of the park and across the street.

The ride will follow the Burke-Gilman Trail, cross the water at the Fremont Bridge, then take the Ship Canal Trail to the Salmon Bay area. We’ll stop at Caffe Appassionato for coffee to go (BIKES ARE ALLOWED IN THE DRIVE-THROUGH! SO FUN!) and take it over to Fisherman’s Terminal to enjoy the view. Fortified, we’ll head to the Locks and walk our bikes through to Ballard, then ride to Maritime Pacific Brewing Company for a lunch stop. Back to the start via streets and Burke-Gilman Trail.

Bring money for the refreshment stops, and come early to get the safety briefing.

In the spirit of 30 Days of Biking, the ride will happen rain or shine, but will be much shorter if the weather is bad.

Here’s our route.

Distance: 10.00 miles
Elevation Gain: 350 feet
Pace: Leisurely (10-12mph)
Terrain: Mostly flat
Regroup: Stay together
Weather Cancels?: No rain cancellation

Note: This is a Cascade Bicycle Club Free Daily Ride. All participants must wear a helmet and sign a waiver. Read more about Cascade Free Daily Rides.

Welcome to the last day of 30 Days of Biking! Here we are all loaded up for the morning school run…well, after the seven-year old sat down, the four-year old unhid himself, and I retrieved my helmet from the neighbor’s porch (I use it as a tripod for these TimerCam photos, iPhone wedged in a vent).

It was a weird morning. I thought the warm sun would make everyone happy and calm, but I saw a lot of odd behavior. This woman in the minivan drove two blocks partially in the bike lane. I thought she was preparing to turn right onto Troll Avenue (not that that makes this OK), but she kept going straight. I was more peeved than normal because I almost got doored right there yesterday. My first near-dooring, by the way–silly me for not realizing the driver of the wide truck, just pulled in and still a foot from the curb with motor running was done parking and about to open his door. I usually ride clear of the door zone, on the left edge of the bike lane when our bike lanes are painted partially in the door zone (*I say usually because when I’m going slow enough uphill that I can see into each and every car it’s not such a big deal–I can slow my crawling speed to a stop if I see a door opening). I’m hoping I scared him enough that he’ll look from now on. A gal can dream. I didn’t have either kid on board so I’m not nearly as shaken up by it as I’d otherwise be. Anyhow, I was peeved and slowed next to her minivan to look in the window and see if I could figure out what was going on. She didn’t even notice me or feel my *mom stare*. Sigh.

Then this in the bike box. But it gets worse! At the red light a woman on a bike charged in front of me and started making a left turn into that cross walk (that light was no longer green, by the way) when our light turned green and the car started moving forcing her to stop her weird maneuver and nearly tip over onto me. She collected herself and darted in front of the straight/right turn lane to get to the sidewalk. At least she made me forget about the minivan.

No more weird incidents on the way to preschool. And one of our little classmates had arrived by trail-a-bike! Two families occasionally bike commute and it just makes my day.

Then on the way to our elementary school dropoff, the guy in the red shirt said, “I commend your choice of mode of transportation” as he passed us. Aw.

With the kids away at school and time to myself, I headed over to Hub and Bespoke to be part of a TV shoot for Seattle Channel about being fashionable while biking. Ha ha, I know, me?! I didn’t realize that was the subject, obviously. Thank goodness I had changed out of those flip flops from the top picture. They said I did fine. (I’ll believe that when I see it!)

It’s always tempting to do something epic for #30daysofbiking and I hadn’t done anything above and beyond yet so I tried to ghostride my seven-year old’s bike from my old mamabike as I readied us for a dentist appointment. It didn’t work. But laying it on top of the Bobike Maxi rear kid seat worked fine for the three-block ride to school.

So I locked up the kid bike at elementary school, grabbed the preschooler, came back for big kid and his bike, and we all rode to the bus stop. Our dentist is 20 miles away in Issaquah and sometimes I drive, but usually we bike and bus because although it’s time consuming, it’s much more fun. I didn’t have the option to drive today since our car is at airport long-term parking while Mr. Family Ride is away for the week, but I looked into Lyft to see if getting a ride was reasonable. I figured that would be just the epic sort of thing to close the month with–actual practice at being car-free. But it looked pretty pricey for a 20-mile trip and I’d still need to find car seats to borrow (and install, and uninstall, and install, and uninstall again). But hey, look: Uber is start a family-friendly service in New York.

So we took a bus downtown and walked our bikes one steep downhill block to the 554’s stop. It was all going great until the bus wouldn’t let us board because the bike rack was broken. Doh! But no worries as we had a 20-minute cushion.

So we hung out and snacked and watched most of the bicyclists on 2nd Avenue take the right lane, though a couple braved the 2nd Avenue Bike Lane of Death. And then one minute before our bus was due, both kids declared they needed the restroom *now*. So we saw the bus come and go as we went in search of a potty. The first Starbucks was bathroom-less, but the second Starbucks delivered…but now it was only six minutes until the next-next bus. Which we made, amazingly.

Then we biked 1.5 miles from the Transit Center to the dentist. Up until this point, it would have been easier to travel without the bikes with the first bus stop a block from home and the transfer just a block away (not to mention the broken bike rack). But not having to transfer to a third bus (I can’t even imagine!) and riding the Issaquah trail system (and a bit of the Issaquah sidewalk because I didn’t want to put a kid on the bike lane of busy Gilman Avenue was awesome.

The bikes came in handy after our dentist appointments (which we were 30 minutes late for which meant my cleaning got put on hold…I guess that’s nothing to complain about!) for riding a mile to dinner, with a pit stop at Bicycle Center of Issaquah to see Dillon the dog.

And then it was a two-block ride to the bus stop…where the same broke-bike-rack bus arrived! It didn’t even occur to me that the lame bus would still be out driving around. Big bummer because I had scheduled us to connect to the last express bus that took us close to home and I’ve never done any bus planning on the fly–it’s so much easier on the computer than my iPhone. When both kids fit on the old mamabike we biked to and from downtown so there was no transferring, but I didn’t want my seven-year old biking downtown, especially now that we were in rush hour. This probably wasn’t the quickest way, but we got off at the north-most stop of the next 554 and grabbed our slow local bus a block away.

And those extra 20 minutes at the Issaquah bus stop and the eagle statue with the sharp talons and beak did not result in any bloody fingers this time. Lose-win, I guess.

So I guess the last day turned out to be pretty epic after all. And looking back at the whole month: while I rode in our car back from dinner on the 15th, I didn’t drive all month. So that’s something new for 30 Days of Biking!

Love ya, 30DoB! Let’s do this again next year.

Today’s miles: 16.4 miles
April cumulative: 425.7 miles

Bikes ridden: 2
April cumulative: 7

Dogs: 1
April cumulative: 18

Scenes from a trip to Trader Joe’s this afternoon:

Motor scooter and friendly dog on the new bike staples…but no bikes. However, there are usually a lot of bikes there.

Saw a couple bike calf tattoos. The one on the left is brand new, ready for Bike Month! I don’t know about the one on the right–I took that shot on the sly.

Only three grocery bags so not too impressive a loaded-bike picture. It reached 73 degrees by this point and was simply too hot for shoes, I was told.

Today’s miles: 10.4 miles
April cumulative: 409.3 miles

Bikes ridden: 1
April cumulative: 7

Dogs: 0
April cumulative: 17

This morning at 8:50 I was part of a happenstance cluster of three cargo bikes! Me with both kids on the Big Dummy, a dad with one of his two kids (and a street-side dog) on a Yuba Mundo, and a dad with two kids on an Xtracycle EdgeRunner. And two dads with trailers went through the intersection while we were there. I’d say it felt like we were in Portland, but we were clustered on the sidewalk, waiting to cross the street via the crosswalk–one connecting to the Burke-Gilman Trail, one to a bike lane, and one to a used-to-be-a-bike-lane-there (but the construction of the Brooks Headquarters has wiped out bike lanes on both 34th and Stone). Personally, I’d love a bike box facing north up Stone, though I guess it wouldn’t be quite as chummy as squishing onto a tiny patch of concrete.

A girl on foot was also waiting to cross the street and asked if it was Bike Your Kids to School Day. She was walking a couple blocks from her dad’s work to school–I’m guessing she was ten and walking to the nearby elementary school. This was her tenth time walking solo and I have to admit I was more excited about seeing her than all the family bikes!

Later we headed north on Stone (after waiting squished on the other corner, waiting to cross in the crosswalk) and saw new signs at a dangerous crossing. It says STATE LAW above the STOP and I realize they’re extremely new since they’re still upright. But I like them!

And in exciting bike news, I swung by the copy shop to make a bunch of copies of the Bike to School Month calendar and registration form. And once we arrived to our elementary school, we hung posters on the bike racks. I felt a bit silly walking two blocks to school with a pile of Bike to School Month stuff…and then Mel the Crossing Guard biked by on his way to his post and my four-year old shouted “Hi!” but he didn’t recognize us off the bike!

If you’re in Seattle–or if you’re not, but want BTS ideas–check out Cascade Bicycle Club Bike to School Month.

Today’s miles: 9.9 miles
April cumulative: 398.9 miles

Bikes ridden: 1
April cumulative: 7

Dogs: 0
April cumulative: 17

While the big kid drove to a soccer game with Mr. Family Ride (I had given them a kid-safe route over, but they were worried about rain and timing), the little kid and I hit a preschool potluck in Ballard. We made a scheduled stop at the grocery store and an unscheduled stop to watch this boat juuuuust fit under the Fremont Bridge. It was going very slowly so I think its driver wasn’t sure it would fit, either.

Heading home I meant to take NW 77th St, but ended up on 78th after jogging the wrong way at 8th Ave NW. But what a lucky mistake–we discovered a great Kids Book Exchange/Little Free Library.

Topped with dragons!

Today’s miles: 10 miles
April cumulative: 389 miles

Bikes ridden: 1
April cumulative: 7

Dogs: 0
April cumulative: 17

10.8 miles today and the kids biked all but 1.2 of those! (That was a quick solo trip to the vet for a doggie prescription. Oh, and I carried the seven-year old the steepest half mile in the middle while his little brother rode off ahead with the rest of the group!)

We started our big day off by negotiating our way along the now-bigger-and-more-confusing Burke-Gilman Trail detour.

I think we missed the first turn-off for the Montlake Bridge, but coming from this direction was probably better for biking kids. When that pedestrian/bike bridge we’re heading towards is finished, things will be great.

Our first stop was the newly redesigned Montlake Playground. It’s huge! And the kids did fine on the route over…though it may have been a bit too uphill for them had we retraced our route on the way home. But we’ll do a test reverse run and think about bringing a Kidical Mass here once the trail detours are done.

I was particularly impressed with this big climbing structure, though I worry it’d be too enticing for kids too small to use it (actually, more worried for their parents who’d try in vain to convince them to play on one of the many smaller play structures).

We hung out at the park for an hour or so and then headed to Montlake Elementary for Silly Hilly (yes, that’s me on the poster), a route finding scavenger hunt extravaganza for Central Seattle Neighborhood Greenways. Here we are lined up with the Blue Team, one of four teams.

This was our route. I kind of cheated choosing Blue Team…I’m leading a Critical Lass ride to Pedaler’s Fair in a week and used this as route testing for that, too.

We documented many potholes and problem intersections (and some good stuff, too), but the best was the required three silly team pictures. First up: “I see Sasquatch!” at the end of the car-free portion of Interlaken Park:

Blue Team silly picture number two: passed out and waiting for the bus at the top of Interlaken Park:

And Blue Team silly picture number three: throwing shakas because we just successfully crossed busy Aloha:

We followed the signs for University Bridge through Interlaken Park on our way home and since I couldn’t remember how busy the route was, I let the kids ride on their own. And it was pretty busy! But they were having a blast riding in the road so we didn’t resort to the sidewalk until Harvard Ave E.

Which turned out to be a good call because as soon as it joined Eastlake, we were met with a taxi in the bike lane.

But just after the taxi we got back in the street so they could cross the University Bridge in the bike lane. It was a little nerve-wracking for me, but they did great. It is very hard to adjust to both kids riding separately when I’m so used to getting to carry them everywhere. It’s a lot easier when one is tired and on the bike and I only have one to focus on.

Of course a big, wide bus drove by us as we were passing this sign in the bike lane. Wouldn’t it be nice if the city had construction signs that attached high up on light poles?

The construction indicated by those bike lane signs was a little confusing, too. I had just convinced the kids I should load them and their bikes onto the cargo bike when we saw a biker take the closed road with the blessing of the construction works who had been gesturing something at us that I couldn’t decipher (I guess it was, “Come on down, the road’s fine!”). So I unloaded the bikes and we took the empty blockaded road that brought us back to familiar territory.

Today worked out OK, but we need more Silly Hillys–and the resulting Neighborhood Greenways from them–so these little guys can really ride all over town.

Today’s miles: 10.8 miles
April cumulative: 379 miles

Bikes ridden: 1
April cumulative: 7

Dogs: 0
April cumulative: 17

While my seven-year old was at school for the day, the four-year old and I headed down to Union Station–formerly Seattle’s train station and now home to Sound Transit headquarters. The Great Hall at Union Station is open to the public, but I’ve never been before. It’s gorgeous! Go check it out.

We took part in a lunch-hour all-about-bike presentation for Sound Transit employees in preparation for Bike Month (May).

These were the seven stations:

• Ben: Bike maintenance
• Henry: Fix your flat
• Justin: Tools and gear for the road
• Steve: Clean your chain
• Sophie: Putting your bike on a bus bike rack
• Josh: Cascade Bicycle Club classes
• Madi: Family bike riding

All organized by Rebecca Roush, who also added my little guy to Seattle Bicyclist Portraits (he wasn’t really that eloquent, but Rebecca was able to extrapolate some good stuff from his grunts and nods).

I talked to several prospective family bikers and also took advantage of the other stations…our 16-inch kid bike fit well on the Sound Transit bike rack. I didn’t realize such a little bike would fit.

And after this bike, Steve insisted on cleaning my bike chain when he saw how badly it needed cleaning. Oops.

I carried the kid and bike on the way down, but I told him he could ride part of the way home, once we reach the Parking Squid. There’s a lot of construction along the Waterfront, but the Parking Squid across from the Aquarium marks the OK-for-kids-to-ride spot. Of course we had to take a squid-climbing break first, which was auspicious because The VeloBusDriver biked by and stopped to say hi. I picked up some pointers for biking to Mercer Island. I’ve never been by bike and apparently it’s a nice ride.

On the Elliott Bay Trail we happened upon a guy with an Evolve Electric Longboard. It goes forward, backwards, and has a brake–all controlled by hand-held remote.

Along the Ship Canal Trail we saw fire (fire!) at Fremont Maritime Services. Just a training session, don’t worry, and we stopped to watch because we’ve only happened upon active training once before, years ago.

By this time we were running a bit late for 3:30 school pickup so we rode separately over the Fremont Bridge and then I scooped up kid and bike on the Big Dummy for the big race to school. Running dangerously late twice in one week! We made it just in time again, but Wednesday’s downhill race to school was more exhilarating than this flat-then-two-blocks-steeply-uphill slog.

Today’s miles: 15.5 miles
April cumulative: 368.2 miles

Bikes ridden: 1
April cumulative: 7

Dogs: 1
April cumulative: 17