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Whittier Heights

May3

I went against my rule and attempted to reach a neighborhood with Heights in its name. This was a test run for tomorrow’s class at Whittier Elementary, which is our only weekly commitment these days and the last thing we’ve been regularly using the car for. It was a 37-minute ride (for a 30-minute class) and it wasn’t too bad. The first third of the ride was the hard part, but it was our normal zoo route so that’s nothing new.

Today’s test ride was followed by breakfast at the Original Pancake House–which has no bike rack and is also best visited by car because then one can bring along decent coffee most easily–and a romp at Salmon Bay Park. But the best part of today’s ride means that I now know I can reach my favorite thrift store by bike!

On the way home I took the heavy kid out of his seat so he could run up the steep block while I pedalled up alongside him. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out and he couldn’t keep up with my super slow pace. He insisted on walking the rest of the way up (he wanted to walk all the way home, but I was able to convince him to just walk the one block) so we walked together. He got distracted by dandelions a couple times, but we only took a little bit more time than usual. And fortunately the front kid was content to stay in his seat. If he had insisted on getting out, too, we never would have made it home.

Tomorrow we’ll have the car if we need it, but I’m hoping to have us up and ready for a real commute to class.

Daily distance: 10.4 miles
Bike Month cumulative: 17.9 miles

Impromptu Lake Union Loop

May2

Happy Bike Month!

I couldn’t bring myself to go out in the drizzle this morning, but we finally made it out in the afternoon and it wasn’t that bad. Grey days are just harder when they succeed rare glorious days. My original plan was to ride a couple miles across the University Bridge and back, just to see what it’s like. Turns out it’s a great way south and I don’t know why I haven’t tried it before now. Full disclosure: I crossed on the sidewalk because I didn’t notice the bike lane before I was on the wrong side of the cement divider, but it looks perfectly spacious.

Baby Rijder wanted to bring a puppy along so we had him ride inside his jacket–just how I started my family riding, with our chihuahua tucked in my sweater on the way to UCSB classes. It was a nice little stroll down memory lane. The chihuahua is close to a million years old and incontinent now so he doesn’t do much biking these days. Plastic puppy behaved himself well.

Back to the present day: I made the mistake of turning down Allison to leave Eastlake and ride along the water on Fairview. It was very scenic, but we hit a dead end and Hamlin was too steep for me to bike up. Next time we’ll stay up on Eastlake a few extra blocks. Once we were on continuous Fairview things got much better. We saw a bunch of very small parks and lots of interesting boats and sea planes…and experienced a weird wet cat odor near the NOAA building. I was sad to see the Lake Union BluWater Bistro is closed (fire last year). We’ve never been, but it’s right next to a play structure/sand pit and seemed like a perfect sunny lunch spot. Hopefully they’ll reopen.

Rounding the bottom of Lake Union we were very excited to see the Virginia V is back in her usual moorage. She’d been undergoing some maintenance work for a while and we’ve missed her. I think we’ll take our normal route over the Fremont Bridge when we come to see her again, though.

Heading up Westlake Avenue we stuck to the sidewalk for a change of pace and we found more secret train tracks. I can’t believe I’ve been riding along Westlake for so long and never noticed them. I learned something else, too: no matter how much a passenger insists, one should never bike along train tracks. They’re much bumpier than they look. We left things with a promise to come back with the balance bike.

I chose to head home via Stone and stopped at RoRo along the way. YUM! The only thing that could make RoRo better is if it was halfway up the hill and not only a quarter of the way. But it was nice to break up the climb. We stopped a second time to watch the Stoneway Village construction site. The boys were mesmerized by the huge crane carrying a portapotty high in the air over the site. Good stuff.

Almost home, on 45th Street a frazzled mom pushing two kids in a double stroller took one look at me and said, “Holy shit, mom!” I wish I had slowed down to hear what she called after me because I’m sure it was something awesome.

Daily distance: 7.5 miles
May cumulative: 7.5 miles

30 Days of Biking day 30: Grand finale with Kidical Mass

Apr30

Holy cow, I cycled 261.3 miles this month…assuming my math was right, which it probably wasn’t. But that figure has got to be close to the real total.

This morning started with a great discovery–I now have two speeds when I bike: normal/slow and eek-I’m-late. I left the house ten minutes later than intended this morning, but picked up my pace and actually passed people on the Burke-Gilman Trail. Real people. On bikes. It was pretty cool. I got to Ballard with time to stop by Dutch Bike Co for a coffee on the way to the Kidical Mass meeting point. I love that I can just wheel the bike in, kids and all, and stand in line for coffee. I used the BioLogic Vacuum Flask I gifted to my husband–I shoved it in the back of my basket and it didn’t drip. I’d still like to affix some some cup holders to the bike for all three of us if I can find room.

Lots of families came out for the Kidical Mass ride: two Madsens, an Xtracycle, a trail-a-bike, a FollowMe Tandem (WANT!), front kid seats, rear kid seats, trailers, and solo-rider kids. There was even another Bianchi Milano, but the fancier variety with internal hub. The owner had a drink cage attached. I should do the same. She also had a Dutch bike lock. I think seeing it on a Milano was just the kick in the butt I need to go get one. Her other mods were: wrap-around handlebars, Bobike Mini on the front, basket in front of the Bobike, and pannier on the back.

We rode to Lake Union Park and I even got to lead the ride for a couple blocks, to show everyone our secret train tracks below Westlake Ave. We snacked and played on the model boat pond and another Bianchi Milano showed up. This one sported an iBert and a trail-a-bike. Talk about a bunch of work horses. I still want an Xtracycle soon, though. The Xtracycle on the ride today had the FollowMe Tandem on the back, an extra kids bike in the FreeLoader bag as well as tons of other stuff.

The other Milano

The other other Milano

Next up we rode to the Fremont Brewing Urban Beer Garden which is awesome! There were toys and tons of space and we were the last to leave the party. I rode up Woodland Park to Bridge and then up Stone so I didn’t have to walk the bike at all. Super end to a perfect day to close out a great month!

Daily distance: 12.9 miles
Cumulative: 261.3 miles

30 Days of Biking day 29: Koninginnedag shopping

Apr29

Tomorrow is Queen’s Day so we did a quick shopping trip for orange stuff this afternoon. I thought about trying to make it to the Crown Hill Value Village thrift store, but decided I was too lazy so we just went to Sock Monster for new orange socks for me and Kids on 45th for used orange clothing for the littles. One of these days I’ll give Crown Hill a go.

Daily distance: 1.2 miles
Cumulative: 248.4 miles

30 Days of Biking day 28: Family Biking Slideshow

Apr28

We attended Totcycle’s wonderful Family Biking Slideshow at Miro Tea this evening. I hadn’t planned to go out tonight, plus I wasn’t sure how we were going to squeeze in any biking with my non-biking dad visiting, but as luck would have it, the four-year old took an unexpected nap so a 7pm engagement wasn’t out of the question. The event was a big success, with five families in attendance. I’d also like to point out per Totcycle’s announcement: “Bonus points for bringing your family biking rig to show off afterwards” so bonus points to me! We parked next to Totcycle’s Madsen, but I think that was it for kid-toting bikes.

My dad met us there with his car so I had him drive the heavier kid home and had a nice ride home with just the little one. I wasn’t sure which route to take: longer more gradual Densmore hill or short and steep 4th Ave/2nd Ave. I ended up opting for short and steep since long and gradual isn’t a picnic either.

Daily distance: 8.7 miles
Cumulative: 247.2 miles

30 Days of Biking day 27: Miserable rainy coffee run

Apr27

Nothing too exciting today. We didn’t make it out on the bike until the late afternoon and the drizzle was going strong. My husband seems to have hidden his rain jacket so I had to wear my own non-waterproof jacket. It held up to the drizzle, but it wasn’t as nice. I contemplated shortening our ride and just hitting the coffee shop/play area a block from home, but the boys made me stick to the plan of hitting the grocery store to replenish our Senseo coffee pods.

On the way home we stopped at the coffee shop because the weather was that miserable; I couldn’t handle the last block home. We dried out and snacked and played on the train table until we were ready to face that last block of drizzle.

Daily distance: 1.2 miles
Cumulative: 238.5 miles

30 Days of Biking day 26: Geeking out on bike racks

Apr26

I’m having so much fun keeping track of miles biked this month that I decided to sign up for next month’s Group Health Commute Challenge. Yeah, yeah, I don’t have a real job, but the FAQ says unemployed and work-from-home people are eligible. If I happen to take any non-kid-schlepping rides, I won’t count those as part of my commute. I’ve created a team called One Less Minivan (I can’t take credit for the name, it’s from Cafe Mama in Portland). I plan to order some bumper stickers from her for my team…but I have to decide where to stick mine. Probably on the back of my rear seat so I don’t mar my pretty celeste green paint. Lemme know down in the comments if you’d like to join the team.

We headed to the Cascade Bicycle Club office to pick up my team captain packet (long-sleeved green shirt for me, reflective leg bands for all), but first the boys did a bit of balance biking. The little one (21 months old) isn’t very speedy on his Kinderbike Mini yet, but assuming things warm up we’ll do more riding soon. I wish I’d gotten the show on the road sooner so we could have played at Magnuson Park while we were all the way over there, but as it was, we just picked up our stuff and headed back.

We stopped at the Sand Point Metropolitan Market for snacks and I was quite taken by the Madrax bike racks. Met Market just had the bollards variety, but wow, their website is fun. If I ever own a bike shop (which will be called B.I.L.F.: Bikes I’d like to fix), I’m ordering a custom Madrax bike rack of some sort.

Back to today’s ride: I made it home with no walking thanks to leaving the Burke-Gilman Trail a bit early and heading up Brooklyn. On this easterly trip, it only added half a mile to the trip, but coming from the west, like most my trips, Brooklyn would add a mile and a half so I probably won’t bother. It wasn’t the lovliest ride and I stuck to the sidewalks the whole time, but it was great to get a one-day reprieve from walking the bike.

Daily distance: 10.9 miles
Cumulative: 237.3 miles

30 Days of Biking day 25: Proper rain gear

Apr25

Today was disgustingly rainy and windy, but I purloined my husband’s rain jacket and waterproof gloves and discovered it’s not half bad when properly dressed. However, I’ve decided no matter the attire, I hate the Broad Street tunnel for crossing Aurora. I’ll find a new less-direct route for next time we hit the Seattle Center. In addition to the narrow sidewalk and missing curb ramp, I’m unfairly disillusioned today because I thought a speeding-around-the-corner truck didn’t see me (he totally saw me) and stopped and turned too quickly and dropped the bike. Again! Poor kids. No scratches, but I don’t want to see that embarrassing intersection again. A couple guys were on a smoke break nearby and ran over and helped me lift the bike back up.

I brought my rain covers (Ikea shopping bags), but figured the place was deserted enough that I could lock up to a covered fence instead of the exposed bike racks. And despite being dry under our rain-proof layers, I was in no hurry to face the elements again so we agreed to stay indoors until it stopped raining. Here’s a bike sign we discovered in the Japan section of the Children’s Museum Global Village exhibit:

The only bad part about staying inside so long is that we got to the rock store (formally known as The Frontier Gallery, informally known as “the store with the jackalope in the window”) five minutes after it closed. Darn! Trains are still number one, but rocks are becoming a close second. But the sun was out!

As usual, I had to walk a block on the way home, but I had a brilliant idea that might work next time: I’m going to have the big kid dismount and run alongside the bike as I pedal slowly uphill. He seemed OK with the idea, however declared he was too hungry to do it this time. I can’t really take credit for the idea because after voicing it, I remembered a friend in Queen Anne (super hilly) told me she used to have her toddler get off her Xtracycle as she walked it up hills. Can’t wait to give it a try!

Daily distance: 9.5 miles
Cumulative: 226.4 miles

30 Days of Biking day 24: Easter Sunday Cargo Bike Ride

Apr24

Thanks to a Seattle Bike Blog reminder, I made it to my first Aaron’s Bicycle Repair Cargo Bike Ride. Cargo bikes are not a prerequisite, but I was deemed a cargo bike anyway, due to the fact that I carry so much stuff. The ride was really fun and I met a lot of great people. Quite different than a Spokespeople ride–there were not a lot of helmets and I only saw one hand signal.

Photo courtesy of Eric Shalit, TUBULOCITY

We rode along Nickerson which I learned used to be a four-lane road of speeding motorists, but is now a speed-limit-abiding two-lane road with bike lane on one side and sharrow on the other. In the past I’ve crossed the Fremont Bridge on the sidewalk, but today we followed the crew over the grated street. Not so fun; we’ll stick to the sidewalk in the future. The sidewalk is plenty loud and bumpy and exciting for the kids.

The ride ended at Gasworks Park–I love any ride that brings me towards home! The picnic was great fun…maybe even more fun than the birthday party we hosted at the same spot last weekend. Fewer train piñatas, but more beer. We hung out for quite a while, but the kids started getting restless so we were the first to bail. As it turns out, we left just before the egg hunt! So that’s three egg hunts we’ve missed in two days. We’ll just have to make up for it next Easter.

See many more phtos (mostly of my monkeys!) at Eric Shalit’s awesome TUBULOCITY.

Oh, and the best part: apparently Aaron’s Bicycle Repair has Legos! I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to learn about it. I might take the bus there because it looks uphill from Lincoln Park. My plan is to go on the next nice day and buy a bell…but I have a feeling I’ll leave with plans to buy more stuff. After looking at this photo of a super-family-friendly Xtracycle on TUBULOCITY I think I want my X sooner rather than later.

Daily distance: 17 miles
Cumulative: 217 miles

30 Days of Biking day 23: Why I shouldn’t drive

Apr23

I got lost driving to Lincoln Park today. Yep, the same Lincoln Park I biked to two days ago and have successfully driven to in the past. We’ve just been heading east so often lately for dentist and snowboarding that I automatically hopped on the 90, despite the GPS pleading with me to take the West Seattle Bridge. My GPS maps are out-of-date so after 30 minutes of being led to various closed onramps when the baby started shouting “Out! Out!” I turned tail and headed home.

Once home we hopped on the bike and headed to the Wallingford Center for the local bunnyfest. We missed The Bubble Man and egg hunt, but got to meet the Easter Bunny, get faces painted, and meet The World’s Most Interesting Balloon Artist. We left with oodles of temporary bunny tattoos, puppy faces, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle wristband balloons. Plus we grabbed a sprinkler at Tweedy & Popp and met friends for brunch without having to re[bike]park. Bummed about missing two egg hunts and the Lincoln Park bouncy slide and more bummed about spending so much of this gorgeous day in the car for no reason.

Daily distance: 1.4 miles
Cumulative: 200 miles