My only bike riding lately has been to ferry bikes to and fro Ride Bicycles on Roosevelt for Christiaan to fix them up. It started with repairs/tuneup on the crashed city bike which led to ordering a double kickstand to make things less wobbly while standing still (I’ll have to learn to avoid icy patches to make things less wobbly while moving). So far I’ve only had fenders put on the road bike, but that’s a great start. I didn’t note the model, but they’re Planet Bike so I’ll fit in just fine here. The mudflap looks a little silly to me, but it’ll keep me from kicking up schmutz on the trailer. Hopefully I’ll get around to having the mountain bike done, too, before our next snow (ug, I can’t believe I’m mentioning snow so casually).

So yesterday I picked up the Dolce and dropped off the Milano. It was a pleasant change to ride both directions to the shop. Every trip I wonder if there’s someone sitting in the Latona Pub watching me ride one direction and walk back minutes later day after day. I probably don’t look like a bike thief dropping off my conquests at a chop shop on account of the two pint-sized accomplices.

Today we walked to the shop to pick up the Milano sporting her fancy new Pletscher double kickstand. This thing is so cool! It folds up to the side so it even looks good when not in use. The top tire lifts a little bit off the ground when the kickstand is engaged and Baby Rijder figured out how to lean a little to make his seat rotate back and forth.

Cleaning out my bag I found my receipt from the last set of modifications courtesy of Dutch Bike Co. Fritz replaced the back rack with a Civia Hyland Rack that sits farther back than the stock rack. Attached to it are two Wald 582 Folding Rear Baskets. Speaking of cleaning, I gotta get those holiday decorations off the bike! I might leave the little lights in the front on for visibility, but the star lights get in the way and the tinsel is just embarrassing at this point.

I’ve decided I want fenders on all my bikes. I’m sure the weather will clear up at some point, but right now it feels like it’s going to keep raining forever. I keep the double trailer hooked up to my road bike (2005 Specialized Dolce Elite) and would like to start using it again. We haven’t taken it out since September since Baby Rijder decided he’s not comfortable in it, but I’m hoping the four-month break and more comfortable Nutcase helmet will be the ticket to a happier passenger. The trailer will be an easy way to keep them warm and dry, but it’s no use if I’m scared of getting myself muddy riding fenderless on wet roads.

I tried to stick them in the trailer first thing in the morning (first thing in the morning=10am despite the fact we got up at 7:30), but it didn’t go so well. The little one started crying and then the big one started crying so I bagged the whole plan and drove to our morning excursion instead. After playing and napping I gave it another go, this time with no rushing around and double the number of toys and snacks. I also decided not to stick the stroller in the back of the trailer because it disrupts the flap, leaving an air and rain gap.

I planned to leave the bike at Ride Bicycles, but didn’t want to wear them both for the mile-walk home (or walk at three-year-old speed) so my bright idea was to bungee the stroller to my back. I couldn’t get it to work so I used the Ergo baby carrier (plus bungee cord for extra support) to wear the stroller. Something felt very unkosher about using a baby-attachment tool to ferry around a stroller, but it certainly did the trick. Now I’m wondering what else I can Ergo to my back while the kids are in the trailer. Thanksgiving turkey, maybe? Kid balance bike?

The trailer ride was not a smashing success. BR screamed for 30 seconds and then calmed down and happily snacked and chilled out for the rest of the five-minute ride. I’ll have to see how the ride home from the shop in a couple days goes before deciding if we need to take another break. I’m sure there’s still plenty of rain planned for the future so those fenders won’t go to waste.

Next up will be to get the mountain bike (2004 GT I-Drive 2.0) fendered up so I can ride without fear on snowy or icy days. I think the nubby tires should do the trick on our snowy roads, no studdeds or zip ties needed. I’m worried it might be a bit of work to get the trailer to fit on the bike due to the disc brakes so this might not be an immediate project.

Speaking of fenders, Portland’s Worst Day of the Year Ride has a name-the-mascot contest and I’ve submitted the super awesome suggestion: Fender. They probably won’t select it because it’s too wimpy a name for those too-tough-for-their-own-good hippies who ride without fenders, but I haven’t lost yet! We’re not planning to go down for WDYR, but it certainly looks fun. Maybe next year.

Note to self: don’t crash your bike the one day of the week the bike shop is closed. You’ll want to drop it off ASAP to get it fixed so you don’t have to deal with it the next day.

Amazingly, the kids were totally cool getting back on the bike today after yesterday’s crash. I didn’t want to walk the mile home at three-year-old pace so I bungeed the trailer stroller (called the “trailer stroller” because it lives in the double trailer). It’s probably not a good idea that I’ve discovered a way to add even more stuff and weight to the back of the bike, but how exciting!

Dan wrenched the handlebars back into alignment so the bike rode over fine and it’s probably fine to ride in general, but it could use a good going-over. And I’m still recovering from the shock of crashing so I’m happy to have the bike out of my hands for a while. I probably overreacted when I left our helmets at the shop, too. But if I want to ride a different bike I can always use the kids’ old helmets and go without myself or see if Dan’s fits me.

In car news, we just discovered Dan only has three payments left on his lease. I think we could easily function as a one-car family. At some point he’ll start commuting to work in Bellevue by bike, but in the meantime I could give up my car to him. I do wish I’d opted for a small station wagon instead of the sedan. But at least I have new roof racks! We had plans to go snowboarding in Vancouver last weekend, but Dan’s check engine light came on. Rather than cancel our plans, we had Rack N Road attach a roof rack to my little car. I’ve wanted one for a while so it all fell into my master plan.

Almost three years of riding with kids with no problems, but today I had my first crash. It was a solo crash, so it could have been worse, but it was plenty embarrassing. We rode out of the way to hit the ATM on the way to music class and it was out of service so the frustrating part is that we shouldn’t have even been there. I was turning right from 45th onto Stone, right in front of Archie McPhee. So at least I chose an extremely high-profile intersection in which to crash.

I’ll admit I don’t have any experience in riding on icy roads. I barely have any experience driving or walking on icy roads. Nothing seemed slippery for the mile on the way to the bank and I saw the white on the road, but I didn’t think my slow right turn would end in disaster. The bike slid out from under me and we landed on our right sides. A woman pulled over right away and helped me lift up the bike. Thank goodness, because it’s impossible to lift it alone, even with the extra adrenaline from a crash. Another woman pulled up in a minivan and offered to put the bike in the back and the kids in her two car seats and drive us all somewhere. If I hadn’t been so embarrassed, I would have been very touched. Baby Rijder was understandably scared and crying, but Brandt still wanted to push on to music class. He got a little freaked out by the women fussing over us and started crying, too, but as soon as I thanked them both and got us on our way, he was totally fine.

I can’t believe we got off with barely a scratch. My right knee took the brunt of the fall and has a nice big scrape to remind me of the incident. Baby Rijder got a mini road rash scrape on his nose. Of course when we got home and I said, “Wait here a sec while I grab the camera!” he walked into a table and gave himself a nice big welt on the forehead. Plus the skin under his nose is chapped from runny nose plus weekend in the snow. So he looks more banged up than he really is. Sheesh.

The bike didn’t make it out scot-free, either. The handlebars are pointing off to the side a bit so we crookedly rode home (what a way to avoid a trip up 50th!) and got the car. Amazingly, we were only five minutes late to music class. Naturally, Ride Bicycles is closed on Mondays, but I plan to drop the bike off tomorrow to have it fixed back up. Actually, I was very tempted to lock it up outside the shop today and be done with it.

We ventured out into the cold and blustery afternoon to visit one of the open-on-Sunday libraries. Brandt wanted to go to the dinosaur (Ballard) library, but upon realizing how windy it was, I talked him into the rocky wall (Greenwood) library. I’ve learned to appreciate riding to uphill destinations so I can take it easy on the way back home.

Someone shouted “Nice bike!” to me from across the street. Last month I wouldn’t have known if she liked the Milano itself or the two Bobikes attached to it. Now I don’t know if it’s one of those or my lights and tinsel. So much to like!

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about grocery shopping by bike. While any downhill return journey is nice, it feels imperative for a grocery trip. I can drag an empty bike trailer (I think) uphill to a grocery store, but I’m certain I can’t get a full trailer plus kids up any sort of slope. There are a couple grocery stores that fit the bill–QFC in Wallingford and PCC in Green Lake–but I just don’t like them. QFC is sucky and PCC makes Whole Foods look like a discount grocery outlet. The only solution seems to be moving to a pad downhill from Trader Joes.

We got some good stuff this year!

I got Dan a black Endura Luminite Jacket, Crew Red Star Wool SockGuy socks, and a black Knog Beetle rear light, all from Ride Bicycles, an awesome new bike shop very close to our house. I’m so excited to have another shop close enough to walk a broken bike to so I don’t have to deal with Gregg’s anymore.

I got myself the same SockGuy socks (how cute, matching socks!) and four pairs of socks at Sock Monster in Wallingford, two knee-high and two over-the-knee. Best purchase was red BACON socks on the mens side. Due to a production error they were left on the machine a bit too long and are a couple inches longer than they should be–over-the-knee socks for the price of knee-high. Score! I think the current run of TOFU socks also came out too long.

Brandt didn’t really get anything bikey, unless you count his new messenger bag (Thomas the Train soft lunch bag with strap). Why doesn’t Timbuk2 (or anyone for that matter?) make a toddler messenger bag? It’d be so cute!

Baby Rijder was handed down Brandt’s first balance bike, the Kinderbike Laufrad Mini. He can walk it around, but he doesn’t really fit on it yet. It doesn’t help matters that Brandt hitches a ride every time BR gets going. I don’t think they make a tandem balance bike. It probably wouldn’t work out too well, anyway. I’d like to keep the Mini inside so he can practice on it a lot, but it’s pretty stinky. Brandt’s Kinderbike Renner doesn’t smell, but this one’s rubber tires are very pungent.

We were running errands by car yesterday afternoon so I swung by Candy Cane Lane in Ravenna on the way home. It was really crowded and I was too lazy to find a parking spot and walk through so tonight we went back by bike. The Ravenna neighborhood is pretty hilly so I didn’t think I’d be able to make it the whole way without walking, but it still sounded better than dealing with the car. As it turned out, I made it! It was hard to appreciate that at the time, though, because as we cycled those last two downhill blocks, all I could think about was how hard the ride home would be.

It was really cold out so we all bundled up. Mr. Familyride thought to wear gloves, I wasn’t as wise. But we each had our own problems on account of this. My fingers were too numb to unbuckle kid helmets, but Dan’s iPhone wouldn’t register his gloved finger so he had to take this picture with his nose. So what’s the answer? Fingerless gloves with a mitten flap? Oh hey, I guess it is! Lovely Bicycle! reviewed some a year ago. Looks like I need to amend my gift guide :)

We walked our bikes the first block of the way home, but I made it the rest of the way. It wasn’t a bad ride, but NE Ravenna Boulevard is awfully narrow and there are steps up to the sidewalk so that’s not an option. I doubt there’s a different route to get over here, but I’ll look into it for next year.

There are a lot of gift guides circulating, but they’re all boring and not applicable to me, so here’s mine. It’ll probably bore you.

Nirve Hello Kitty Bicycle Bell – $6.99 I cannot wait to visit Chubby’s Cruisers when I’m in LA next month. Not positive I’ll get the Hello Kitty bell as they have tons of choices.
Bicycle Basket Liner Bags in Red Cherries – $34.99 each Too cutesy? Perhaps. But I need to give the random assortment of kid crap I throw in my baskets a uniform look. They convert to carrying bags with drawstrings, too!
Kroozie Stainless Steel Bicycle Cup Holder in Matte Black – $20.00 Lots of colors available. In the future I’ll want to attach them to handlebars, but for now I want to rig them to stick in front of my baskets for rear kid access.
Wristlet and Matching Reversible Coffee Cup Sleeve – $20.00 Coffee sleeves are the must-give accessory this season. And who doesn’t like reversible? Double score!
Schwinn Phantom Tile Coaster – $6.00 For when you take your coffee at home, set your mug on this 4×4″ super awesome coaster.
I Heart Public Transportation 100% Corn Mug – $12.00 OK, not specifically bikey, but it’s awfully cute. And it’s biodegrable and unbreakable.
Bicycle Seat Cover in Black Bear – $20.00 Wet saddles suck. This seat cover is waterproof and has an adjustable drawstring bungee cord for the perfect fit. Also available in cow.
I Heart My Bike Bobby Pins – $8.00 Tame that helmet hair. Available in blue, pink, red, green, black. Also rings and earrings.
Keep Calm and Ride On Scrabble Tile Pendant with Necklace in Black – $8.95 Buy 3 pendants get a 4th free! Various colors.
HP Mini 210-1199DX Pink Laptop Computer – $379.99 Not sure if this exact model is still avaiable, but it’s nice and small (10.6″ x 6.9″ and 3 lbs) and would fit so much better on my bike than my current big laptop.
Laptop Bag – Vintage Bicycle on Stripes – $48.00 Perfect to protect that new small laptop! Custom sizes available.
Bianchi “Master Says Faster” Sticker – $0.75 OMG these are rad! They’d make awesome spoke cards. 1 1/2″ x 2″.
Scotch Thermal Laminator – $19.99 Did someone say spoke cards? 75% off! 15.5 Inches x 6.75 Inches x 3.75 Inches, 2 Roller System.

After watching the annual lighting of the Lenin statue in Fremont, we paid our first visit to Hub and Bespoke, an awesome “cycle boutique” for their first annual decorated bike parade. I was told we won (not that the parade was a contest), but my favorite bike was the one with mistletoe in the front and two ornament balls dangling side-by-side at the back.

My bike is decorated with two sets of $3.99 battery-powered Kallt light string with 10 stars and four sets of $1.99 battery-powered Kallt light strings from Ikea and one string of blue and white tinsel. It’s so cute and festive, I think I’ll leave it fancied up until New Year’s–or probably longer because, let’s face it, I’m lazy and probably won’t undecorate it until I want to participate in an undecorated bike parade.

One other family rode in the parade. I first noticed the dad’s bike for its after-market double kickstand. I think I want one! It’s not very robust, but it’s better than what I’ve got.