tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38416896181745210332024-02-19T14:43:03.295-08:00We Go By BikeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-84762302273198502292013-02-12T21:57:00.000-08:002013-02-12T21:58:44.964-08:00To the Next LevelIt's been an eventful month on the bikes for our family. First, I wrote about <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2013/01/back-in-saddle-again.html" target="about_blank">returning to cycling</a> after a long series of weeks stuck in the car due to a minor injury. I discovered that in the interim of not riding, my son (and nearly-constant riding tagalong) had grown and was bursting out of the comfy blue child seat he'd been using for the past two years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPyZvBBcZOElk8U2cr_NPiOSXmOYQK_01zoSXPVLd1JSUeeXVP8ewv0HnVuW0uRtFKJf5TaAbWwZr4EqL40dqVU4XHv0PI8MOO8x2hA3qviA22EeARPgcwAmAv-Eqd5lexfoKOMkI8WhV/s1600/photo%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPyZvBBcZOElk8U2cr_NPiOSXmOYQK_01zoSXPVLd1JSUeeXVP8ewv0HnVuW0uRtFKJf5TaAbWwZr4EqL40dqVU4XHv0PI8MOO8x2hA3qviA22EeARPgcwAmAv-Eqd5lexfoKOMkI8WhV/s400/photo%25282%2529.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(<i>Above, Alton munches a snack in his seat - Spring 2012)</i></div>
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It was time to take the big little guy to the next level. When your ride is an Xtracycle, the progression for a kiddo who has outgrown the buckles 'n straps is a set of "stoker" bars! Stoker is the term used to describe the person who rides on the rear seat of a tandem bike, behind the "captain" who steers. Although longtail bikes are not true tandems (because the rear rider does not have pedals), you can still anchor a set of handlebars behind the saddle to allow a stoker to take a ride on that sturdy deck. <a href="http://www.xtracycle.com/" target="_blank">Xtracycle</a> (the maker of my longtail) also designed an attractive set of wooden platforms to give your kiddo a <span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">footrest. Last weekend, we hit our favorite local bike shop, <a href="http://www.clevercycles.com/" target="_blank">Clever Cycles</a>, for a set of those footrests, and a craigslist "stem" component and salvaged set of handlebars saw our son in a whole new riding position!</span></div>
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/b6ff53f8c31ffb66f0131c6c86707331_zps88c3785d.jpg" width="400" />
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<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">Bundled up for a chilly Sunday grocery store run, w</span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">e swung by the home of our blog co-author, Fabi, to ask her to take our picture. Y</span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969);">ou can see his booted feet on those wooden platforms, and his hands are wrapped securely around the new red grips he picked out. This seat behind the parent is meant for a child rider who has the capability and understanding to sit and balance upright with handlebars, but might not be riding his/her own bike because of speed or distance of the ride, or lack of visibility and safety on the road.</span></div>
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="400" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/ade286da9118cf03d6dbd5a9b2a8e3a7_zpsa5d839ff.jpg" width="300" /></div>
Our son just turned five, and is at an age where he can ride his own bike and enjoys it, but can't be a solo rider on these family errands just yet because he needs to stick to the sidewalks (with MUCH supervision from Mommy and Daddy) and gets tired out. Enter the stoker! He can climb aboard the deck, which lowers his center of gravity compared to the child seat, and hang on securely for the duration of our roam around town.<br />
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<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=8d12d180a0577d8c473c86384db905f6_zpse83f5177.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/8d12d180a0577d8c473c86384db905f6_zpse83f5177.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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Alton reports that he loves his new setup! He requested a pad for his bottom (which I've already made, by the writing of this post!), and said he might need the platforms a little higher under his feet. But we're all loving the easy on/off of the stoker bars. Our boy is growing up!<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/b509e8301061e22429cb29e6420a1cd0_zps271f9ac8.jpg" width="400" />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-30163304456509793212013-02-01T20:58:00.000-08:002013-02-07T14:38:16.224-08:00Ten Things I Hate Love About Riding in RainI began penning this post in my head a week ago, during one of my triumphant first rides "<a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2013/01/back-in-saddle-again.html" target="_blank">back in the saddle</a>" after my auto injury, which I wrote about earlier this week. I looked outside in the post-breakfast light and saw a sprinkle in progress, so I put on my waterproof gloves as my five-year-old son Alton and I set out. Even riding at our slow (under 12mph) speeds, a sprinkle in the air is all it takes for me to feel like I'm riding into the spray of a garden hose and thoroughly drench my face and my attitude. "I hate riding in the rain," I grumbled inside my head as I uselessly swiped my gloves across the lens of my glasses. There are some Portland-area riders who wear their mud-spattered rain pants as a badge of honor, and look disdainfully at fair-weather cyclists who let their pedals gather dust through winter (and fall and spring--it IS Oregon, after all); I am not one of these die-hard cyclists. Riding your bike in the rain without being completely sopping and miserable represents an investment in gear to keep you dry, time to take a little extra care with your ride, and forethought in how you will keep your belongings from getting soaked (unless, of course, a bike is your sole means of transport, in which case these "costs" are peanuts compared to the cost of owning and maintaining a car), so I have to plan ahead. I sympathize, and will admit freely to occasionally submitting myself to the lure of sitting on top of four wheels instead of two when it's really pouring.<br />
However, last Friday was not one of those days. It was not pouring down rain, just that aforementioned annoying drizzle, and so rather than driving I was out on my bike grouchily squinting through my foggy glasses...when I decided to turn my attitude around. There isn't anything that I can do about the rain--I live in Oregon, for heaven's sake--and so instead of letting my mood gloom over like the sky, I'll focus on the positive. Maybe someday these will become my first thoughts when I see the drops spatter on the pavement!<br />
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<b>Top Ten Things I LOVE (or will eventually learn to) About Riding in the Rain:</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Free moisturizer for my skin as the droplets slowly skim down my cheeks.</li>
<li>Fewer people out and about overall: cars, bikes, and pedestrians.</li>
<li>My bike, bags, jacket, and helmet all get a rinse-off.</li>
<li>I burn more calories, either by shivering in damp clothing, or by sweating inside my rain pants.</li>
<li>Rainy days mean slightly warmer weather; there's a BIG difference between 37 and 47 degrees.</li>
<li>It makes me appreciate dry, overcast days, not just sunny, sparkling, cloudless days.</li>
<li>People gape at me, astounded that I would ride in such "awful" weather which, I'll admit it, makes me feel like a badass.</li>
<li>I might see a rainbow. Cheesy, I know--I don't care.</li>
<li>I wipe off my glasses over and over and over again, so they've never been so clean!</li>
<li>It accustoms my son to say, when I hesitate about pedaling through a shower, things like, "Mommy, it's only water."</li>
</ol>
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Happy wet riding!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-24081080191022516712013-01-28T19:55:00.003-08:002013-01-28T19:55:30.902-08:00Back in the Saddle Again...So the title of this post is painfully punny, but expresses how happy and comfortable I feel to be, once again, cruising along on my trusty bike steed after about two months of not riding. Back in early November, around the time that my blog co-author Fabi and her family found themselves completely without car transportation for several weeks, I was involved in a minor auto collision (in my car). Struck from behind while my head was turned to one side, my shoulder/neck muscles, ligaments and spine were, to put it technically, out of whack. I found myself at multiple chiropractic appointments per week, stretching and getting injury massage, and avoiding my bike out of fear of prolonging my recovery period or putting my ability to keep up with my own massage training courses in jeopardy. Fortunately, my chiropractor approved of my rate of rehabilitation and recommended that I get back on and ride for healthfulness, exercise, and to see how my injured area would do once I was back to my "normal" routine. So now after mostly using four-wheeled transportation for the end of last year (I am resolutely not finding out how much Christmas cookie weight I gained while I was sedentary), I am riding around all of my regular neighborhoods and errands.<br />
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Surprisingly, a lot has changed in two months! I lost muscle tone and my seat calluses (I was sore sitting down after my first ride), and my little co-pilot got bigger. The first time I went to put Alton on his bike seat on my longtail after this hiatus, I had to loosen straps and reinforce my stance holding the bike up. The little guy (who just turned 5), has gotten more adept at riding his own bike, so one of our first outings together was one mile up the street to the movie rental place, with me riding my longtail in the street and Alton riding "Little Red" on the sidewalk next to me. He did great! But that was no surprise, since he and his daddy took a ride right after Christmas to our main city library, a 5+ mile round trip.<br />
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Alton hitched a ride some of that time on Andy's "Big Red" longtail bike, which has a sturdy deck to sit on and handlebars for Alton to hold, while his little bike gets strapped down in the saddlebags. Now that he's outgrowing that blue child seat on the back of my bike, we'll get a set of rear handlebars attached to the back deck of my longtail as well, so that it's easier for the little guy to get up there and his center of gravity is lower than in a child seat. Not to mention that his long legs will be busting out of his footrests, soon!<br />
We've made a few changes to our cadre of bikes in the few months that I've been off the bike, too. Just before my accident, we sold my hybrid bike...<br />
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<img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdlwpA0pJZuiNba6PTGX0xNm5bI0EM21GBYB3f9Ly4B9nvmL1T8zQZ0iEKQ25mT02yoZ9QtmDZz0V-DvQ0MPE3ibdHSAlb1o6MHlOPInUrp06yjj2yVZTRMeR4Ozx6Cljhdw_uR3cMQpk/s400/DSC_0029.JPG" width="400" />
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...and then just this week, our best biking buddies and co-authoring family, the Zawalskis, <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2013/01/from-their-house-to-ours.html">opted to purchase our Dutch bakfiets</a> for some fun side-by-side riding with their two youngsters. It's been a couple of years now since our family cycling went from recreation to obsession, and we're learning a lot about bikes, our abilities, how we like to ride, and to always, always stay flexible! Whatever we do, I'm glad to be doing it from the seat of a bike once again.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-51786053992191864072013-01-28T00:03:00.001-08:002013-01-28T08:18:18.235-08:00From Their House To OursEarly in 2009 my husband and I decided to purchase a kid
trailer for our bikes. We had two kids
ready for biking, and one seat wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Shortly after we purchased our trailer, the
Rhyne’s shared with us these crazy-amazing bikes they discovered called cargo
bikes. The cool thing was that even
though we had two kids, we could still have them on the bike with us because
the cargo style bike, are longer than a regular bike. It became my mission to acquire said
bike. I sold the trailer I had within a
month of buying it and I started doing my own research on what would be best
for us. I checked out Clever Cycles and
other bike shops in town to try my options.
At Clever Cycles I fell in love with the Bakfiets. But then again, who wouldn’t??!! It’s a totally awesome bike that was totally
out of our budget! So, I started looking
online for the runner up which was the dummy.
I found someone selling it on Craigslist in <st1:city w:st="on">Eugene</st1:city>.
Since no one else was selling a Bak, I jumped on this dummy and have been
riding it ever since.<br />
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<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28tSo4l2gGJSZwmGRE7sBCEc94XtPPNClFcvpfUaNurUUIk4iiQpCw1JO-1eVI6a-JLmUYnUzCpvwxfg86kOtVEMkJNdKY17aRI0ChvvM6uXRM8WSkvjI9hERyAu6wFS-CBMRfbJwZH_0/s400/IMG_2743.JPG" width="400" /></div>
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I still loved the idea of having a Bakfiets so when Katie
and Andy mentioned that they were looking into selling their Bakfiet, I knew
that I had to at least have some time with the bike and see if it would be a good
decision for our family to purchase it from theirs. We had the bike on a week long trial and of
course, I loved it. Having two kids and
a Bakfiet, for me was easier then having two kids on a long tail, especially on
the cold rainy days. There was no way
that my husband and I could afford to have both bikes, so I’ll admit it, I
cried when the time came to return the Bak to the Rhyne house, but then my
husband had a great idea. He said, ‘you
have been considering selling your long tail (gasp! I know!) for a different long tail that is a
better fit for riding’ (on the dummy, I can’t stop and put my foot down, which
sometimes worries me with the two kids on the back). He said, ‘why not sell the dummy, buy and use
the Bakfiets until we don’t have a need for it anymore, and then you go back to
a long tail?’ It was tough to think
about selling my dummy. We have had some
really good times over the past year and half and I thought that maybe some day
my kids would ride this bike and remember being carried on it. Saying goodbye to the dummy was also saying
goodbye to the visions of all the rides my husband and I would take with the
kids; long day trips with picnics, bike camping, touring, etc. And then I realized, we don’t really do that
enough to justify keeping it. It was the
bike that started it all and in many ways has changed my life, but I also know
that having the Bakfiets is a better fit for my style of riding and my
kids. So after a lot of bak and forth,
and a long conversation with Katie about the pros and cons, we decided that we
will be listing our beloved dummy for sale and we are going for it with the
Bakfiets!</div>
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<img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1jRo9OvoDMgvLLEsm-9KQvo3dxwVa6X9j7DhXogvrZexIeILt6-TaoBGD2oxYdNzwRSDG5yE5-z8VBTiwa5HZouypJkJmT-SABsXIJdHK7tS1PKkyg8LZIblAPU_3ojQq1pdoKM0XX76/s400/DSC_0023.JPG" width="400" /></div>
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Andy, was kind enough to deliver it on his way to the
grocery store today and even though it will be hard to say good bye to the
dummy, we are looking forward to new adventures on our new ride. </div>
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No pictures…yet, but it’s
a busy week coming up. We’ll keep you
posted. (<i>Edit from Katie: I added a picture of Fabi's old bike, the "Dummy," with her two kids on the back, and a picture of her new Bakfiets!)</i></div>
Fabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05527009752364553622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-26818093278431629692012-11-03T19:47:00.001-07:002012-11-04T11:43:38.786-08:00A Bang Up Adventure<br />
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Dani and I reserved Saturday a few days a go for a
Dani-Mommy Day. We decided we’d head out
on the Brompton (Tyke Toter attached) toward downtown <st1:place w:st="on">Portland</st1:place>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSDxFLDNGGJGICu2DXRJOTLfUixkv97WZfo6vN6mxXT_DnOv8lTVfglT7MTdLkXOg0AAmi7DHfD_QTyjtK3wzUbLk6JH0akPdQxIAIDTdoyTEfZhJI6WcfOtwjnevQbMitSjmTjETK5h8/s1600/IMG_5129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJSDxFLDNGGJGICu2DXRJOTLfUixkv97WZfo6vN6mxXT_DnOv8lTVfglT7MTdLkXOg0AAmi7DHfD_QTyjtK3wzUbLk6JH0akPdQxIAIDTdoyTEfZhJI6WcfOtwjnevQbMitSjmTjETK5h8/s400/IMG_5129.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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Leaving the house.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzTVt2skrprldIOdDZCJqd7vHCypkfXFBXPpeWBeurtRn9GoZVipWooyVBuvsM5OJiOG_KxeI2trTOXUBaGIdN4ML89JLUiCR2172c4q3qepL_sDYS0GWpwhmVtxPvBmNSwt8WC9EYLkD/s1600/IMG_5130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOzTVt2skrprldIOdDZCJqd7vHCypkfXFBXPpeWBeurtRn9GoZVipWooyVBuvsM5OJiOG_KxeI2trTOXUBaGIdN4ML89JLUiCR2172c4q3qepL_sDYS0GWpwhmVtxPvBmNSwt8WC9EYLkD/s400/IMG_5130.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Dani was VERY excited for a train ride.</div>
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The only thing we really planned was breakfast at St. Honore
Bakery. </div>
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OJ followed by delicious sandwiches and pastries. </div>
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After breakfast, we decided, we’d head toward the waterfront
and ride there for a while, then get on MAX and head back towards <st1:city w:st="on">Hillsboro</st1:city>. A few detours a long the way included a stop
at a bike shop to see if I could purchase a waterproof seat cover for my
saddle. Empty handed we left, but with
the advice of taking the next street over to the bike shop down the street, “…so
that you’re not having to deal with the tracks (Street Car tracks).” The shoulder looked rideable on the street I
was advised not to ride on so I made my left hand turn and before you know it
Dani and I took a HUGE spill in the middle of the street! </div>
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Wet road, wet leaves, and tracks - not a good combination!</div>
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I noticed a vehicle behind me a ways and the shoulder narrowing because the
sidewalk gets wider at each Street Car stop, so I gave my left hand signal and
started inching over. My tires got stuck
on the slippery tracks and we fell to the left and slid about 10 feet. </div>
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I had so much adrenaline I don’t really remember the
fall. Since the Tyke Toter seats Dani in between my arms and legs, I just remember holding myself up
as we were sliding so I wouldn’t mash Dani into the concrete under my weight. I quickly picked her up, checked her face for blood, picked up
the bike and tossed it on the sidewalk, and held my screaming child. She calmed down fairly quickly, but the whole
ordeal left us with some bumps and bruises as a souvenirs. </div>
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Dani's pants, dirty from the fall. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYIFARCFSTbYG7hHUcddSvfXHfkKebyntoVf3fT01V8BC-rcFoxh12oSOwuS2yAozDQw-KdkFVfBKZQE8Drn9sfg-FTFY30os4eVnndua-su_YgrzzoNFe_6OYFUksmep_Fua0P_Ab_le/s1600/IMG_5165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaYIFARCFSTbYG7hHUcddSvfXHfkKebyntoVf3fT01V8BC-rcFoxh12oSOwuS2yAozDQw-KdkFVfBKZQE8Drn9sfg-FTFY30os4eVnndua-su_YgrzzoNFe_6OYFUksmep_Fua0P_Ab_le/s400/IMG_5165.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Outside Dani's left thigh, scraped pretty good. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB9CKUzF7dn6XXZe1G-TUpsavGkY7pMULwDI4uCtI1zPomtBx4nzTnlEgquWWKuKNiXxGYQmTT0h99lNsmpCvCpnfCRDeX5_Wm9vFbh_I16MXnp-uro7VOhD0q5-abd_QggE3wVTQY1Zp/s1600/IMG_5136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB9CKUzF7dn6XXZe1G-TUpsavGkY7pMULwDI4uCtI1zPomtBx4nzTnlEgquWWKuKNiXxGYQmTT0h99lNsmpCvCpnfCRDeX5_Wm9vFbh_I16MXnp-uro7VOhD0q5-abd_QggE3wVTQY1Zp/s400/IMG_5136.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Both gloves ended up with holes in the center. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSYDXXlOdYwnSPTQCq-jZtV8dyPBVfhgamVRAiaNVWdCjgXRIHeb7pS7y1sJp_3s66aP3322mrOAIPsE_4UQOYOsmTgwHQyB0-GwSBes3j-WC7mmbkSlewBaiiGfxp9aGVOl2NZH-3TLf/s1600/IMG_5137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSYDXXlOdYwnSPTQCq-jZtV8dyPBVfhgamVRAiaNVWdCjgXRIHeb7pS7y1sJp_3s66aP3322mrOAIPsE_4UQOYOsmTgwHQyB0-GwSBes3j-WC7mmbkSlewBaiiGfxp9aGVOl2NZH-3TLf/s400/IMG_5137.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Hole on left pant leg. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRIsQnb1Eoz0RfqVQK-P8sYbP6-rYz-N47zKvDUeIJQqK2fe8NSKfCLqfRE4nMR107HU8g-649V9O-9wrbhnpE8EJdQOTE6rI6wXALgPZA5UMgvaozUSaY-R70VVOSyt3ozBrxzasd11R/s1600/IMG_5139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRIsQnb1Eoz0RfqVQK-P8sYbP6-rYz-N47zKvDUeIJQqK2fe8NSKfCLqfRE4nMR107HU8g-649V9O-9wrbhnpE8EJdQOTE6rI6wXALgPZA5UMgvaozUSaY-R70VVOSyt3ozBrxzasd11R/s400/IMG_5139.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Bruises on left knee...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglg6I_55C5MyoV1Zw-jPcSGJ4fPQd0L2iy4bA8gE_dwBfLcaoe9Ryt56DA_22aZBkC0_909hN30AT0qH62xBKL7lyTjw5pU3RF7GGpuaW_PqPhl4Ilr-Xs1obwbjiq29V3hpJjXl9IMrC7/s1600/IMG_5141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglg6I_55C5MyoV1Zw-jPcSGJ4fPQd0L2iy4bA8gE_dwBfLcaoe9Ryt56DA_22aZBkC0_909hN30AT0qH62xBKL7lyTjw5pU3RF7GGpuaW_PqPhl4Ilr-Xs1obwbjiq29V3hpJjXl9IMrC7/s400/IMG_5141.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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leg...</div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKahmczIRULNoPoFe80mbTI94WmVcTalulm-etR9SEEfXCAQ0n8xnuxQxjAj9WiePA6o8fsufpoTFGLVf1jKWHwp3xormL9LpsAXc_7L6aKlCRkIhjH6CE1HQOvyktasKI-mP0IJKi3rS/s1600/IMG_5149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKahmczIRULNoPoFe80mbTI94WmVcTalulm-etR9SEEfXCAQ0n8xnuxQxjAj9WiePA6o8fsufpoTFGLVf1jKWHwp3xormL9LpsAXc_7L6aKlCRkIhjH6CE1HQOvyktasKI-mP0IJKi3rS/s400/IMG_5149.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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and hand.</div>
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(All swelled up pretty good in about 10 minutes)</div>
<br />
Damage to the bike was minimal. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyk_88O3eY1GVn1OHdKqn70ivxIOtErkIQM04O1QfWbY99YEN5dBjFBKymWDvI5ACSanlwxkIDmTKRdmh6NPXLRs8EQGvfW9bsKp0SB8zC5kKRGgpNlFjHIhG6Dse1cfGiMoX0cf3pDeK/s1600/IMG_5138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyk_88O3eY1GVn1OHdKqn70ivxIOtErkIQM04O1QfWbY99YEN5dBjFBKymWDvI5ACSanlwxkIDmTKRdmh6NPXLRs8EQGvfW9bsKp0SB8zC5kKRGgpNlFjHIhG6Dse1cfGiMoX0cf3pDeK/s400/IMG_5138.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Tear of Tyke Toter orange handle cover and small rip on grey Brompton handle cover.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvWAktX-0VQOKpDVLcoYjtubnuhktCeUeXR6eXbshCaVSjqt2XLzfi7SYGhnvtd2S4gRWeXWib8WPN2UwMTfIdEuxHmUAnr7HgYbzYkFeISctix1DPZhTdp2RiFJk8oWvfUvpjUwo3mJg/s1600/IMG_5154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvWAktX-0VQOKpDVLcoYjtubnuhktCeUeXR6eXbshCaVSjqt2XLzfi7SYGhnvtd2S4gRWeXWib8WPN2UwMTfIdEuxHmUAnr7HgYbzYkFeISctix1DPZhTdp2RiFJk8oWvfUvpjUwo3mJg/s400/IMG_5154.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Tears on the left side pocket of the Brompton T-Bag.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8liuvmkhO1Jum2g6TVrEuH6V0f7qSpri8g-unK6pDxHJN-Oa4TcKGQVaDX90AUOVt1y-AZiw9Mbi30QUp3ZoccsV5IFRwbxqDmBvbXtI-KHRn8nkdD6enDB_8WOW38zHMLI1fdNRafFP/s1600/IMG_5150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl8liuvmkhO1Jum2g6TVrEuH6V0f7qSpri8g-unK6pDxHJN-Oa4TcKGQVaDX90AUOVt1y-AZiw9Mbi30QUp3ZoccsV5IFRwbxqDmBvbXtI-KHRn8nkdD6enDB_8WOW38zHMLI1fdNRafFP/s400/IMG_5150.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Small scrape/tear on the left rear side of Brooks saddle.</div>
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As we tried to regroup, Dani wanted to scrap the waterfront
ride and was a little scared when we got back on the bike…and truthfully, so
was I. We rode a little ways to get to
the nearest MAX stop and the few blocks served as a nice way to
calm down. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJKI3b7G3GspgqVKOwIbL-czoP_hK0FK55W9m2pz_I94aAVGDJzb_nGIj3hXHwO9ZxfV3qmGP42OhqwpddWcWczEm_2B-DnqvPVdNWxW3cThsaYctXr5_LLZukQrvWLHnXJdxa_q8zlYf/s1600/IMG_5142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJKI3b7G3GspgqVKOwIbL-czoP_hK0FK55W9m2pz_I94aAVGDJzb_nGIj3hXHwO9ZxfV3qmGP42OhqwpddWcWczEm_2B-DnqvPVdNWxW3cThsaYctXr5_LLZukQrvWLHnXJdxa_q8zlYf/s320/IMG_5142.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Post fall.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmZmLXXFg9lf3iXuDkTip4c5VgE8ksDvdFBGFN1_ro0HQcG018Rfis3nPqzIUAxaNAc4IRytkttYDYqSOfWID9xulln5KY2d5_Qi7luSTKEM2upu44G7M8B5glbtAthqbV6oAizI5gUOs/s1600/IMG_5144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUmZmLXXFg9lf3iXuDkTip4c5VgE8ksDvdFBGFN1_ro0HQcG018Rfis3nPqzIUAxaNAc4IRytkttYDYqSOfWID9xulln5KY2d5_Qi7luSTKEM2upu44G7M8B5glbtAthqbV6oAizI5gUOs/s320/IMG_5144.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Waiting for MAX headed towards Hillsboro.</div>
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Our ride from downtown <st1:city w:st="on">Portland</st1:city>
to our stop in <st1:city w:st="on">Hillsboro</st1:city>
took about 30 minutes. From our stop we
headed to the fabric store. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgq-UEqHqLCNT1XMgXdnL9Lb2zocwx59x8jLEFX5W6bwKQFuTHXB-rVReTQ9CbO94hjgj9T__w3THGRZA5kuYf4mgCkFAl8OOyFWlg7bGT5R4FXmtOP66sqxsDSOMHfD2aALE0J6Vtn4Pa/s1600/IMG_5155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgq-UEqHqLCNT1XMgXdnL9Lb2zocwx59x8jLEFX5W6bwKQFuTHXB-rVReTQ9CbO94hjgj9T__w3THGRZA5kuYf4mgCkFAl8OOyFWlg7bGT5R4FXmtOP66sqxsDSOMHfD2aALE0J6Vtn4Pa/s400/IMG_5155.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Dani was in
great spirits, but I was down. Not only
had all the pain set in, but so had the guilt.
I couldn’t get over how irresponsible I felt. The guy had told me not to go down that
street and it didn’t even register that he said that because it was a safety
issue. I didn't even remember the
fact that my tries could get caught on the tracks if I cross it at a parallel. I felt shitty and low and couldn’t stop
thinking about all the <i>‘what if’s…’</i>
that could have made the situation worse.
I took a few minutes to take some breaths and accept that it happened
and realized that learning from it was the best thing I could do. </div>
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With our shopping done at the fabric store, we headed to our last stop, a haircut appointment - which was the whole motivation for a girls day in the first place. In better spirits but more pain, I opted for a MAX one stop over and then rode the bike the ¼ mile to the salon from there. I ended up skipping my haircut, but Dani
loved being pampered. </div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZMZRHVOtOLM6Cf_0S6t9pWfYcJervNtk8RpDCtNrunTqlFpDZYJ2p2lJXl_FEL1t9ld5fX1gIX3q4teFLFXJB2GvR9GL9RCdKNWw91MCnkJif8IrDHhPFQN2EwuJJPABKnId6BxBw3oB/s1600/IMG_5160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7ZMZRHVOtOLM6Cf_0S6t9pWfYcJervNtk8RpDCtNrunTqlFpDZYJ2p2lJXl_FEL1t9ld5fX1gIX3q4teFLFXJB2GvR9GL9RCdKNWw91MCnkJif8IrDHhPFQN2EwuJJPABKnId6BxBw3oB/s400/IMG_5160.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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She got the works – wash, cut, <i>and</i> style – and she loved it. </div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KkuzYAb0REmN1J9FNuwCpTqI8To2calUiG169GffmVAsEVvOYtzdtC7e_7r-wY9HU1gHU1SM9tcIi1a7hmc2_FZOUXNbY3N82CB6fk4RQfl5F3XPijes9fWobkYaR2swBZB_xgl6rq0i/s1600/IMG_5164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-KkuzYAb0REmN1J9FNuwCpTqI8To2calUiG169GffmVAsEVvOYtzdtC7e_7r-wY9HU1gHU1SM9tcIi1a7hmc2_FZOUXNbY3N82CB6fk4RQfl5F3XPijes9fWobkYaR2swBZB_xgl6rq0i/s400/IMG_5164.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Tired, a bit beat up, but a lot wiser; we arrived home after
a much unexpected adventure. </div>
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**Please Note:
Falling off the bike was due to user error. There is a safe way to cross tracks. I pulled this as a reminder from <a href="http://totcycle.com/blog/i-crash-ballard.html**">http://totcycle.com/blog/i-crash-ballard.html<span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">**</span></a></div>
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<h2 align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 22.5pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #437486; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 19.5pt; font-weight: normal;">CROSS TRACKS AT A RIGHT ANGLE<o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<div style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 16.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="color: #8b633f; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.5pt;">And
while we're at it, easy on the front brake while riding on wet leaves.</span></div>
Fabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05527009752364553622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-83394725987652777772012-10-29T20:45:00.001-07:002012-11-04T11:43:02.638-08:00Gearing Up and Staying Dry<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since my post about not riding my bike as much, I am happy
to say that I have been enjoying my two-wheeler just as we head into wet and cool fall weather and before we know it, there will be the usual “unexpected” snow on
the ground. As it gets colder and
colder, I often wonder <i>how did I
make it through last fall and winter on a bike?</i> And I remembered all the
cool stuff I have to get me through. Although I don't usually ride in freezing temperatures or downpours, I
thought it would fun to post some of the items we have purchased to get us
through this season, so here goes:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhW-zm_3POVkpl0kprOTurwV_hngNBcF6nIa9ZrNH1gjGs8VpCylUgac2U69Bl_BZP8G7h9ID5wYtxC2Nh5C5EfP_qJN1y4LXmpPNYQQiWPUqhPNeekCZ7-bFjPi09WsEmVX7EMf52F0D/s1600/IMG_5051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIhW-zm_3POVkpl0kprOTurwV_hngNBcF6nIa9ZrNH1gjGs8VpCylUgac2U69Bl_BZP8G7h9ID5wYtxC2Nh5C5EfP_qJN1y4LXmpPNYQQiWPUqhPNeekCZ7-bFjPi09WsEmVX7EMf52F0D/s320/IMG_5051.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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My wonderful waterproof jacket. I purchased this from <a href="http://www.teamestrogen.com/" target="_blank">www.teamestrogen.com</a> based out of Hillsboro. It has some reflective stripping on the side as you see from the flash reflecting on the image. The zippers have a seal that makes the pockets waterproof and the tail of the jacket is longer than the front so water can run straight down past my pant waist. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDmRXXXEWDvrU8ns35AWiunARpLJyRMAv0ju8GhsvO0dzYF6oAgWfRXqlHYT4lSbh8ib_wnPb89YoP6l4ynKzAnXwqPc1VrbjsZJrYQBw9F-nMdk8jLX3dX1RQQKoFmU1dAXs6-ZYV3Ng/s1600/IMG_5052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDmRXXXEWDvrU8ns35AWiunARpLJyRMAv0ju8GhsvO0dzYF6oAgWfRXqlHYT4lSbh8ib_wnPb89YoP6l4ynKzAnXwqPc1VrbjsZJrYQBw9F-nMdk8jLX3dX1RQQKoFmU1dAXs6-ZYV3Ng/s320/IMG_5052.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Under my jacket I wear a wool long sleeve shirt (it's usually not this wrinkled, but I haven't had to wear it for several months!). I have a light weight and a heavy weight. Between the rain jacket, the wool shirt, and the heat I generate while biking, I stay very warm. And what I love about these two upper body garments is that they are very light weight and not bulky like my day-to-day jacket and rain cover. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjZAy3pubnQmRvFBBztItRskAqNJlTY8gqnUE_M20HDlrDUxsjAdYy29r8eYM2XBntU1GwTY9lEAYV1dozFCgKro6RsHwDk6KiFAV8IkcWIbw4RqC8k7MRR1a21JdadtUXzDB7aH29or_/s1600/IMG_5053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjZAy3pubnQmRvFBBztItRskAqNJlTY8gqnUE_M20HDlrDUxsjAdYy29r8eYM2XBntU1GwTY9lEAYV1dozFCgKro6RsHwDk6KiFAV8IkcWIbw4RqC8k7MRR1a21JdadtUXzDB7aH29or_/s320/IMG_5053.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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These are my rain pants. I also purchased them from Team Estrogen. I found that they are a bit warm and so when I know it's going to be a really rainy day and that I'm probably going to be in them the whole time I'm riding, I simply put on some leggings underneath and carry a change of pants if I am destination bound. They are great at keeping the water out. They have a zippered cut-in at the bottom if I need some air circulation and they also have two velcro pieces that can cinch the pants tighter so they don't get caught on the bike as I ride. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPu8XfgZssG0wdrewJIy8L8tZMX67Ifs9nEAuVj6eEVzs8RpxEEnV68wzG5ZZpVLR8QXLTP2RuyQJzA66Iz24KTaTnQcGbMIcXfFe3RVWzmILW8-wa3aSa617JSOBSkJhMV5ZSi_lwS_PM/s1600/IMG_5054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPu8XfgZssG0wdrewJIy8L8tZMX67Ifs9nEAuVj6eEVzs8RpxEEnV68wzG5ZZpVLR8QXLTP2RuyQJzA66Iz24KTaTnQcGbMIcXfFe3RVWzmILW8-wa3aSa617JSOBSkJhMV5ZSi_lwS_PM/s320/IMG_5054.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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At the top of this picture is a skull cap. The kids and I (Fabi) have one, but Gabe doesn't care for it as much because he doesn't like that it covers his ear and he feels like he can't hear very well. I personally only wear it when it's really really cold, because I have a lot of hair and get hot very quickly. It's very warm and soft on the inside and waterproof on the outside - this can be purchased at most local bike shops. It is worn under the bike helmet. We also have waterproof mittens (from Costco) for the kids and waterproof gloves for the adults. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhStkVV9KkELtyklZ71Igcd2A0t0UTk91f1Gs60kJhHD3zlpuQPh3dwhE1wQb9dQvmKiDE64L_kN2bmq3S_lVCT-XUYXvltLjedrFKyWMxRdvBzWl5FI27ChAIBuhZrZh1SzZ2_qEODqZY/s1600/IMG_5055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhStkVV9KkELtyklZ71Igcd2A0t0UTk91f1Gs60kJhHD3zlpuQPh3dwhE1wQb9dQvmKiDE64L_kN2bmq3S_lVCT-XUYXvltLjedrFKyWMxRdvBzWl5FI27ChAIBuhZrZh1SzZ2_qEODqZY/s320/IMG_5055.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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These are some ear covers that Katie and I made for our (and our family's) helmets. It's two triangular pieces of felt, measured to the size of each person's helmet straps (the part that goes right around your ears), sewed together to form a little ear muff. I said above that I don't always like to wear the skull cap, but I LOVE these for my ears because it saves me from that numbing feeling as the cold air continuously blows past my ears without making my head too hot. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrivEmoVg91h_jdkzeWV4g-2KQJYyDuSgZIMyruIaOQ1F271-QRk7oaeyS7nVKPGQya4D0jqiqKTUb4Fn68WAWlDfIDQK-AgHMC0shMI7g_ne96gcfZlBvnx8nxADReFRorltobwMoOnp6/s1600/IMG_5057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrivEmoVg91h_jdkzeWV4g-2KQJYyDuSgZIMyruIaOQ1F271-QRk7oaeyS7nVKPGQya4D0jqiqKTUb4Fn68WAWlDfIDQK-AgHMC0shMI7g_ne96gcfZlBvnx8nxADReFRorltobwMoOnp6/s320/IMG_5057.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Next, I have two snow bibs for each of the kids. Last year Katie gave us the one we used for Matthew and Daniella used a snowsuit that was handed down from another friend. This year Columbia was having a sale so I got the bibs there, and have found that these seem to keep the kids warmer than the one's from last year. The bib goes right on over their clothes so we're not actually having to change outfits every time we want to go somewhere - which for anyone with kids knows how time saving that can be! And in comparison to having the snowsuit, this is much better for us. I find it to be more versatile since we rely on layers throughout the changing temperature of the day. With the snowsuit I was finding that there was no middle for Dani between too cold and too hot. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJoUDuJ4-igk0yAT6pkAPjSBKBAH-ylj6U_NBxci6S6zR7pmFIDdcF9Ep3TleRjWeUtG9eZdyNnTFFmhnKgL4Pa4-WPqVkjo3fqMnkGfBSv4Bjj4pfGjas_fG1rGGGIU7okJNacanTQWz/s1600/IMG_5060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJoUDuJ4-igk0yAT6pkAPjSBKBAH-ylj6U_NBxci6S6zR7pmFIDdcF9Ep3TleRjWeUtG9eZdyNnTFFmhnKgL4Pa4-WPqVkjo3fqMnkGfBSv4Bjj4pfGjas_fG1rGGGIU7okJNacanTQWz/s320/IMG_5060.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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For each of the kids we also have Columbia jackets that is a two-in-one. The inner layer is more for warmth, while the outer layer is waterproof. And they are worn over the snow bibs. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiKVO2Gns4gdJcTqaSUQVA_L66jlVvOu23_mEucnttKPvI2tJfhMkzq_nuku_pqcu_9lRs2CtCw_jvXWevJAEFYJRtxeuOzuQ4d9jfYqlCoWrz0yJBkDyvvsgNhR2tu3Ps74FZxgaBrnl/s1600/IMG_5059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiKVO2Gns4gdJcTqaSUQVA_L66jlVvOu23_mEucnttKPvI2tJfhMkzq_nuku_pqcu_9lRs2CtCw_jvXWevJAEFYJRtxeuOzuQ4d9jfYqlCoWrz0yJBkDyvvsgNhR2tu3Ps74FZxgaBrnl/s320/IMG_5059.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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We also carry just a lightweight rain pant (mostly in the springtime) for days that are warm, but with showers in the forecast. These are great because they don't get hot, just keep water out. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgvDSQILmx8d1iFaCLUeKn4HC4oO3H0-ScbpYhPIvt29Sv7DuscdFwCZiy3O_DK6Nq6_OVaBkX8COqCvAy7Xq9E8VmhmpOX9e2ivHIuiHa8kaSZsTWS0Xkz_g0zLnOj_l7iszzff0HGiy/s1600/IMG_5058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgvDSQILmx8d1iFaCLUeKn4HC4oO3H0-ScbpYhPIvt29Sv7DuscdFwCZiy3O_DK6Nq6_OVaBkX8COqCvAy7Xq9E8VmhmpOX9e2ivHIuiHa8kaSZsTWS0Xkz_g0zLnOj_l7iszzff0HGiy/s320/IMG_5058.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I noticed Katie had some of these for Alton and thought it was a good idea to have them for my kids too. They are great for riding with the kids on a rainy or sunny day, but they are actually really good for windy days too.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JZCtsBYFlfYEK4_f_RrjLCv_nWM4AM5BROpf4MLGZ0rOKD55Dko8jnaLqeZER3yBBApO6Rm6Qyil1xdCv0Qbv7Nxq82HLHLZm6gWCYOcq7ecl6xgZ9OENUO4aR2u1Xl-FHHSpPqmDc9d/s1600/IMG_5064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JZCtsBYFlfYEK4_f_RrjLCv_nWM4AM5BROpf4MLGZ0rOKD55Dko8jnaLqeZER3yBBApO6Rm6Qyil1xdCv0Qbv7Nxq82HLHLZm6gWCYOcq7ecl6xgZ9OENUO4aR2u1Xl-FHHSpPqmDc9d/s320/IMG_5064.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We all have Smart Wool socks (usually you can find them for less than $10 at REI Outlet or when REI has their clearance sales) and they keep our feet nice and toasty. And finally.... </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kumFCxhmVBNiicqSRq3MnoC1iwE0bt1VgkWxMYznxU_l9EmHoj7f0BEiA9LazFkRhrqOZugm6aCswB5JEaWWzZbgGnvUzwb2-WgI6gTAkoDGmCv8i1bJtYiMLGCAvLJJd3SrRCKhVWBu/s1600/IMG_5062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0kumFCxhmVBNiicqSRq3MnoC1iwE0bt1VgkWxMYznxU_l9EmHoj7f0BEiA9LazFkRhrqOZugm6aCswB5JEaWWzZbgGnvUzwb2-WgI6gTAkoDGmCv8i1bJtYiMLGCAvLJJd3SrRCKhVWBu/s320/IMG_5062.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We all have some kind of waterproof or water resistant boots. </div>
Fabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05527009752364553622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-90479850425903369122012-10-22T22:44:00.000-07:002012-10-27T19:21:27.249-07:00Trimming the Excess<span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently, a friend of
mine (<a href="http://jessicashepard.com/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Hi, Jess!</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">) emailed me and asked for ideas on how to pare down the packing
when going on a family camping trip. She said that she, her husband, and their
almost-five-year-old daughter like to camp, but the car has every inch stuffed
on those trips. I was inspired by her question to write a blog post—even though camping is not specifically about family cycling, it was family cycling and bike camping that really inspired us to
start streamlining our gear and lighten our camping load, so I want to provide
other families of cyclists, family campers, and just plain ‘ol everybody with
some ideas of how to avoid bringing everything but the kitchen sink.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3tO82xqBTKVVaxmyEkKxIQQztrIPAV6hT9EQ8A2AZycAmTDzeA2TJF2ynh7Fb_FCZuTzTNDjv3HlAKIx4dcMBG35Hpw6I9Gg1uK1HvD-zcvH6PIrMaeoziGRfya2_hI8zDVUdo7nDQ-J/s1600/553843_10150948477718111_1072286660_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp3tO82xqBTKVVaxmyEkKxIQQztrIPAV6hT9EQ8A2AZycAmTDzeA2TJF2ynh7Fb_FCZuTzTNDjv3HlAKIx4dcMBG35Hpw6I9Gg1uK1HvD-zcvH6PIrMaeoziGRfya2_hI8zDVUdo7nDQ-J/s400/553843_10150948477718111_1072286660_n.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">First off, I’m
assuming that if you are reading this, it’s because you want to use as much of
your existing equipment as you can; it’s pretty easy to go into an REI or
outdoor store and drop hundreds of dollars on the most state-of-the-art lightweight
gear. It can be more difficult to try to make the stuff you already own feel
smaller.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span><span style="color: #222222;">I know that for my husband and
me, we were always casual car campers, not hardcore backpackers. We just threw
everything we owned into a car and met up with friends at a state park. Most
families are going to camp within this zone as well, and if you are car campers
who want to dabble in bike camping, then trying some lightweight trips with
your car is the way to go and experiment before packing it all on the bikes. </span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span><span style="color: #222222;">Here are some places where you can start
trimming the fat.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhK1-o35V_4NE6EyIvfOgojQHgQZFxDm5gBQPgoapVYmEp95HkDSYxn90gjjKO7J-s7zPcY0_nBLQLqn7zqvqd9qCdz21M74bSaeSg3HQbdtLXb7RDBMNdlNh0J5vezhQohlzru0Cl9y4e/s400/DSC_0470.JPG" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>1.<span style="line-height: normal;"> Food.</span></b></span><span msolistparagraphcxspmiddle="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> Plan out each meal, plus snacks, ahead of time. I know overpacking food is a real problem for me, and that I always envision hordes of starving camper-zombies heading toward me while I scrape at the bottom of an empty cooler. But really, how far will you be from "civilization"? Just bring the food that you need, and make a quick run to the nearest mini mart or grocery store if you really find yourself running short of supplies; some campgrounds even have a little general store or ice cream counter. Break open packages to rid yourself of excess packaging or pack things in smaller containers, pre-chop or pre-cook at home whenever you can. Instead of hauling along a gigantic cooler that can fit a case of beer, bring a smaller cooler and when you take a drink out, put another one in to cool down, and replenish ice if you need to (from a nearby town, or campgrounds in hot climates will often sell ice on-site).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span msolistparagraphcxspmiddle="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">When you
start planning out each meal, consider whether you can cook all of your meals
either over the campfire or over the stove. If you plan to have a campfire each
night, maybe hot dogs, sausages, burgers, or even steaks (or vegetarian
favorites) could make up the main course for your dinner, with carrot sticks
and string cheese to supplement. If you want to get a little more variety,
maybe try foil “hobo packets” with a bunch of pre-chopped ingredients (Google for recipe ideas). Do a
no-cook breakfast (Bagels? Muffins?) and snack through the lunch hour, and you
don’t need to bring a stove or propane.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">If you’re heading to a location where it’s
going to be 90+ degrees all night long, you might want to avoid the campfire
entirely. Besides having sandwiches for dinner, you could use a propane camp
stove for one quick-cook dinner item, like ground beef in a skillet, then set
out tortillas, cheese and salsa for a DIY buffet. I have also found that many
state parks have restroom buildings with outlets near the sinks where you wash
your hands, and sometimes I will bring a plug-in hot pot so that I can just
quickly boil water for coffee or oatmeal without having to set up our whole
stove rig.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic3Fh0GSsEKIm5okglRrcyfxytp0uCq_5mTwM6-nDaapvW6F-AWQiBgoUdnE3Ksk8Hs4u5UhZ2BZQ9w37ZkLiWhCixxG-phLO6nQgNWRhUJg7Ofg1sVgfd197KEiKI_w7aMzxY6iGFlfgB/s400/DSCN4481.JPG" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>2. Kitchen supplies</b>. Once
you’ve planned your meals, you know what cookware and utensils you’ll
need.</span><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">Take that list, and pare it down
even more. Maybe you don’t need a serving spoon and a stirring spoon and a
spatula, etc. Use your eating utensils to flip burgers or stir oatmeal; the
Health Department is not going to be coming around to inspect your work.
Remember, this is your </span><i style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">family</i><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">, the
same people who have probably sneezed into your mouth at some point in the
past, so they can’t complain about double-dipping. Many people also like to
bring disposable plates/napkins/utensils when they go camping. Besides
generating a lot of trash, which is something I try to avoid, bringing
disposable tableware piles on the amount of stuff you have to pack. Instead of
lugging along an entire Costco pack of Chinet plates, just bring one non-disposable plate,
cup, fork, and spoon for each family member. If you are preparing any food that
requires pots/pans, you have at least some cursory dishwashing to do already,
so what’s a few more things? Many state parks have a dishwater dump station or
even a sink reserved for cleaning dishes, so they are trying to make it easier
on you. Or ask the kids to lick their plates clean instead—it is camping, after
all! Use one cloth napkin or washcloth per person instead of blowing through an
entire roll of paper towels. Most of the time, families are only camping for a
weekend night or two, so you will survive being a dirty hippie for that long.</span><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiED4ZHjJ6b_Vk7Gedp68koKpijO8ew2hfQ6sijO5rfFsJ0DVGxf21aYejYMKXN1d0UMyIwOverabqG9tLF9XWwoL-yOWxn-PVXe-G8z2SbOVYq5nqfqUd1mHy3ih8SYfSKr5FR1E22AJBb/s400/DSC_0023.JPG" width="265" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">3. Clothes</b><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">. Speaking of
dirty hippies…don’t bring so many clothes, either. I was commenting to a friend
earlier in the summer at how amazed I am that it took me so long to slim down
my camping “wardrobe.” Most years, I would set out for a car camping trip with
a fresh t-shirt and shorts per day, plus pajamas, swimsuit, undergarments,
etc. You’re camping, so it’s all about
the dirt. Bring one outfit, and that’s all. Pack clean underwear for each day,
but unless you are doing something especially sweaty (trail running) or messy
(cleaning fish), you’ll be okay in the same clothes for a couple of days in a
row. I know for my family, the most strenuous stuff we do often involves “hiking”
at a preschooler’s pace, so you’re unlikely to even break a sweat, let alone
get so stanky that your fellow campers can’t sit near you in the great
outdoors. Most of the time you don’t need pajamas, either. If you are sleeping
in a tent with family or with friends you know very well, consider stripping
down to your skivvies in your sleeping bag. Then pack the prudent weather
essentials, of course, such as sweatshirt/jacket for chill or rain, hats and
sunglasses for the sun, thick socks for making breakfast on cold mornings,
extra underwear for your recently potty-trained child, and so on. Try to think
about items that could do double duty, too, like pants that can roll up into
shorts, or using socks as mittens or hot-pad holders.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0jqa7_i8MtniyDTI3Sd1T3o2xV-6w0ZjNCvyYYkDNOID0TRwALnoaCwN2sG_ZzGNZqYr5JLhXUc-uqwEJZzrmZYgWTnc8HZGsfFIBGehjmITLGggY_FO1t18BQK0g2P-fgvZ0qmyi1gZ/s400/DSC_0777.JPG" width="265" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">4. Toiletries</b><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">. If you are
only there a couple of nights, consider ditching your usual cold cream rituals.
Toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap for hand washing, plus essential prescription
medicines and you are fine. A towel for each camper is not necessary most of
the time, because you are probably not taking the daily showers that you would
take at home. If you are planning to do a lot of swimming or showering after
fish-cleaning, maybe you could invest in a camp towel, which are made from
microfiber so that they suck all the water off your body, then dry very
quickly, and they fold and pack down much smaller than a large beach towel.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">For a first-aid kit, you really don’t need to
go overboard. If you are at an established campground (rather than the backcountry),
the ranger station will have all the basic band-aids and gauze, plus the means
to contact emergency services if you actually need a medic or ambulance. I
usually just like to bring along a couple of Advil or Tylenol (in case of a
simple headache or sore knees from a hike) and a sharp pair of tweezers (for
the splinters kids inevitably get). If you’re concerned about injuries or
emergencies, just remind yourself that help is not that far away—you can get in
your car and drive to the nearest town to a store if you really need something,
or even cut the trip short and go home if you need to. And the rangers or local
law enforcement are there for the really dire situations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQdFMJvU8thl1lAjnRtem_MZWCqerq6YuJ01uPC2WLFVJyOyqVq6N3xgObWMAVeZDyUo5g1akYM9ynEdwFw7EHM2lL2fL3dzpn-zoWybyOgEfGjZGO-MF6LPksKKD7vHQT3swwUZ5OU44/s400/DSCN4512.JPG" width="300" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>5. Toys</b>. This is a great
place to cut down on the overpacking. The point of camping is to experience
Mother Nature, so bring toys and plan activities to take advantage of your
surroundings. If you are at a state park, sometimes they will have a nature
center or junior ranger program, so ask at the park gate or check bulletin
boards for things that might be happening during your visit.</span><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">One of my son’s favorite activities on a
camping trip is a scavenger hunt. Make a list (or grid of pictures for children
who can’t read yet) of things you are likely to find in your campground
environment, and tailor it to your child’s ability level. For older kids, you
might consider letting them use digital cameras to turn the game into a photo
scavenger hunt. Alton is four, so I drew him a series of pictures that varied
from easy things to find, such as a green leaf or flying bird, to slightly more
difficult or whimsical things, like a tree smaller than he is or a spider in a
web. A forest scavenger hunt can add interest to a family hike, especially if
you can bring along binoculars or a magnifying glass. When we camped near a
beach in California, I changed his list to surfers and Frisbees. And don’t
forget to take your time on walks or hikes, if that’s what your little one
needs. It doesn’t matter if you never get to see those waterfalls, as long as you
had a good time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">For playtime at the campsite, just let your
kids get super dirty. Shovels and buckets, old cars to zoom in the sand or
gravel, using a stick to draw in the dirt…you don’t need to pack up tons of
toys to have fun. Do a Google search to jog your memory about all those dorky
old day camp songs, like “Down By the Bay” or “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed
a Fly,” and sing them with your kids. Play I Spy or 20 Questions. Make up games
or stories. Let them help with camp chores, like building the campfire or
filling a bucket with water. Another favorite campsite activity for us is to
make pictures with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-Solar-Print-Paper-Refill/dp/B000VFM30O" target="_blank">solar paper</a></span><span style="color: #222222;">, which is a special kind of paper that, when
you place items on top of it in the sun, burns an impression of your objects
onto the paper. Sometimes I’ll combine this with a scavenger hunt, and set my
son hunting around the nearby bushes for things to use for his solar paper
image, like a tiny flower, or dried leaf.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiDinw9ijiLjbWTcIzCjoiTRstWiZN0pcQ6hO_RMeKNPiKFtOSuQPUFUFZcUdOZJCBBdAPZNgm9bp49Ysl6VPqTyhf9E0K75HM0_bmdXQAYy5Xtly01wBx3qkXUiQDQMDOZhgj_c-LkfNb/s400/DSC_0807.JPG" width="400" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">6. Tent, sleeping bags,
sleeping pads</b><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">. These are sometimes some of the biggest things to pack, and
there isn’t often a lot you can change about them, but here are a few ideas.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">-Tent: if your tent is old or not appropriate
for your trip (i.e., the weather forecast is for rain, but you can’t find your
tent’s rain fly), consider borrowing one from a friend or checking your local
outdoor store to see if you can rent one. Those are both great ways to try out
a different style or brand of tent to see if you like it before you buy it. If it's just space in the car you need, open your tent's bag and separate the tent, poles, and rainfly--see if it works better for packing the car to cram these things into small areas rather than take up a large piece of trunk real estate for the tent all together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">-Sleeping bags: again, renting, borrowing, or
buying a new one are options if your old bulky bag needs replacing or is inappropriate
for your climate, but if the temps are warm enough you might be able to bring
blankets instead. For a few summer camping trips this year, we had blankets as
covers with a sheet to lie upon, and zipping into a sleeping bag was just not
necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">-Sleeping pads: these camping-specific sleeping
surfaces are made with either dense foam or foam with an air-filled core. For
the first few years that we were camping together, my husband and I would bring
along a big full-size air mattress, with either a battery or foot pump to blow
it up. Usually, these just are not tough enough for life in the outdoors. We thought
we were being economical buying a “cheaper” brand of air mattress for our
camping trips, but once we had sprung a leak in the SECOND air mattress we
bought at Target, we could see that it was going to be less expensive in the
long run to buy sturdy camping equipment that would last instead of spending
money on a new air mattress every summer. We bought self-inflating Therm-a-rest pads, and we’ve now owned them for
almost 10 years with no problems at all. These come in a range of prices new,
or you might be able to rent them as well; if you want to camp a lot, they
could be a good investment for your family to consider.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgctdC9Yb0DORLGi7LmtDLcj5V9NLJg4y2ZoA57R-sgOfiOgSbVghJ822mRXqcW2XJSyWcPyQXS5aIP7QMhwNBK8NE_0ZPrROoT1OcoUBpiHIckcqYfFZ7-8X6yLYCJG3LJ2iB1LVnGwutc/s400/DSC_0102.JPG" width="265" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 18pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>7. Luxuries</b>. These are
the things that you don’t actually </span><i style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">need</i><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">
to spend a night outside, but are things you kind of want to have. Folding camp
chairs, maybe an extra folding camp or card table, bottled water, a sun
umbrella or shade/rain shelter, your own barbecue…I’ve seen people haul along
(or hauled myself) many of these items at various different campgrounds. You
know <i>you </i>best, and what you think you can’t live without. Just try not to bring
ALL of them. Most of the time, the campsite you pitch up at will have a fire
pit (likely with some kind of grill top), picnic table with benches, a spigot
with potable water, restrooms nearby, etc. Experiment with leaving different
things at home, and maybe you’ll be surprised at how well you get along without
all the creature comforts of home.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">These are just a few ways for the weekend family car camper to pare down on the non-essentials to make room for more fun (and more sanity when packing that car). Another place to get more tips, ideas, and advice about enjoying nature and life in the outdoors with your small children is <a href="http://wildernessforkids.com/wp/" target="_blank">this site</a>, written by Jennifer Aist, who has also published a great book called Babes in the Woods on the same topics. In the future, I hope to write more cycling-specific posts about bike camping with kids, so in the meantime I will hunker down with a hot cup of tea and toast my feet at an imaginary campfire.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-indent: -0.25in;">Have more questions or specific issues you'd like to ask about? Ask in the comments section below!</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-36910433598345148192012-10-22T20:37:00.001-07:002012-10-22T20:37:15.123-07:00Labor Day Bike CampingIt's now almost Halloween, so I apologize for this very belated post about our We Go By Bike camping trip over Labor Day weekend! We can gaze at the sunny patches in these photos and sigh wistfully while the Oregonian rain patters on the windows outside. First of all, as I mentioned in a <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2012/09/training-ride.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, this Labor Day camping trip was going to be not only a first for the entire We Go By Bike family (contributors Katie and Fabi and our husbands and children), but also Fabi's family's first time bike camping. We excitedly got together for practice rides, meal planning, gear lists, etc. The plan was as follows: Katie (me) and my son Alton meet up with Fabi and her daughter Dani in the morning on Friday and ride at a pretty slow pace to the campground: we would both be riding heavy-ish extended frame cargo bikes. My husband Andy meets up with Fabi's husband Gabe and their son Matthew after the workday is over on Friday, and the dads ride at a faster pace on lighter bikes to make it to the campground before it's too dark. On the day of our ride, I got my bike and son all packed up, rode to a local park, and met up with Fabi and Dani to begin our trip. So far, so good....<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="400" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/A4E81FC2-A7A0-4545-AB65-66918CAC5645-639-00000037ACF165DC.jpg" /></div>
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It was more than a year ago on a prior bike camping trip that I debuted my homemade bike books--a thrifted picture book with a hole punched near its spine to fit a metal binder ring, which I tethered to the kiddo bike seat for drop-proof reading 'n riding. Both Alton and Dani in their Yepp seats took advantage of my awesome invention.</div>
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/ADCF9555-68D4-4408-945A-C2FA9830EC45-639-000000379735E01B.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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Starting out so early in the day also gave us the chance to pause for wild blackberry breaks along the way.<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/4744763D-28F0-4B98-A059-A7AF5A423A86-639-0000003780F333FE.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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After some cycling, water, cycling, stretching, water, blackberries, whining, and cycling, we made it! Almost 25 miles.<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="400" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/1944BB99-C6B4-4EFE-9357-708820E1B82F-639-0000003749135454.jpg" />
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And of course, I immediately had to set up our tent so that whenever we wanted to crash that night, it was ready.</div>
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The kids kept busy playing with the copious gravel at the site...</div>
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...or having picnics (I believe the menu featured heavily in the Pirate's Booty genre).<br />
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Finally the dads arrived that night. From then on, it was bike + gear chaos.</div>
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<img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSHyNwp1O6Tib7q4d_4Gjr6BRegg-sdVX_qVyF1lvGm5QnCOJU2Xn262DEcvZixB1DzBa_r0YAISj_TZLjKCdcY5B6TvSRWN3g2RuSaKri207W93Ay8bBQ2SBBRJ9_5XsU_QH-QAN9f1a/s400/DSC_0105.JPG" width="400" /></div>
<span style="text-align: left;">But we had a good time. We went on some hikes and scavenger hunts.</span></div>
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Cooked some food, roasted some marshmallows, listened to coyotes howl at night, laughed our butts off around the campfire, and celebrated Andy's birthday!</div>
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And before we knew it, it was time to pack up those bikes again and head home. Can't wait to do it again soon!</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-73010206184497021072012-10-07T11:25:00.004-07:002012-10-07T11:26:16.189-07:00We Go Buy PumpkinsWe've been having some gorgeous fall weather here in Oregon. Cold and somewhat grayish mornings slowly warm into brilliant afternoons with cornflower-blue skies, million-watt sunshine, and changing leaves in a full complement of autumn hues. With nothing pressing to get done this weekend, Andy, Alton, and I decided to ride to Lakeview Farms, our favorite local pumpkin patch. When you arrive at their parking lot near the barns, guests at Lakeview purchase a ticket for $3 that gets you a trip out to the pumpkin patch, which you can access either by a train ride or a boat ride, and you get to pick which one you take out there, then back! Each ticket also gets you $1 off a pumpkin purchase. With available extras to buy like snacks, pony rides, corn maze, centipede tractor rides, and gratuity-only face painting, you can really spend a day at this place having fun for still only $20 or so. Locals, I highly recommend it.<br />
But first, the ride! Andy mapped out a route to the farm since it would be our first time cycling there, and we tried to skedaddle out the door by 8a.m. (we were only running like 15 minutes late).<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/76cc71e0e12bcf41a54019f57427d2bb.jpg" width="400" /></div>
It was sunny but cold, so we pumped our legs briskly to get the blood flowing. As you can see from the picture above, Andy and I opted to ride our <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/p/longtail-is-bike-with-extended-rear.html" target="_blank">longtail bikes</a> today, the extend-o frame bikes with extra long decks on the back to hang useful adjustable bags and strap down all sorts of stuff. Normally, Alton's blue kid seat is bolted to my Xtracycle Radish that you see in the background; this is my "station wagon," the bike that always has all my stuff ready to go, with room for more. But for today's trip (an estimated 12-13 miles in each direction), Andy offered to carry Alton on his bike, aka Big Red, since Andy is a stronger/faster rider and the extra weight on his bike made us more evenly matched for stamina. So my two guys got all bundled up for the crisp morning and took the lead. Once we got to the northernmost border of the city, our route was mainly on country roads that were semi-commercial and semi-residential. On the sunny street in the picture below, we saw a deer bounding through the trees on someone's property!<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/0142738d092347ffc52a7dcfa799eb5b.jpg" width="400;" /></div>
One of the streets we navigated was actually a slightly more busy rural road--still not too many cars this early in the morning, but we were disappointed at the microscopic shoulder and impatient Saturday morning motorists. But eventually we arrived at the gravelly driveway of the pumpkin patch (below), which was not yet very crowded for a stunning fall day!<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/0c4d21dbec9709587edf55beca674640.jpg" width="400;" /></div>
"Lakeview" Farms really does include a lake! In the background you can see the boat ride on the water, while Alton proudly displays one of his pumpkin selections.<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/46e1474908e260e99a5d736dc40e1d55.jpg" width="400;" /></div>
He partook of the face painting...<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="400;" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/ed58ef97f4546b7dcd760cc777929a48.jpg" /></div>
...and got a lollipop for the ride home. Time to hit the road for our afternoon plans, which (originally) included picking up some papers at Andy's work, a haircut for Alton, stopping by REI, and lunch. The weather had other ideas.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/1b503f29bb69d5154817936775bbafb9.jpg" width="400;" /></div>
The sun is beautiful in all these still shots, but what you can't see is the incredibly gusty wind, blowing as hard as it can from the east, which of COURSE was the direction we were now headed! We zigged our way south a bit before turning left onto the next road, and Andy turned back to me in his saddle to encourage me to get as close as I could to his back tire to benefit from the "draft" off of his bike in front. I rode as close as I dared (and waited until no cars were coming to snap the picture below with my phone), but it still felt like the wind was stopping me in my tracks with every puff.<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="400;" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/ee385737d952c407b36a49d405232539.jpg" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our optimistic plans now abridged, we pedaled hard into the gritty air and went straight to lunch, where we wolfed down carbohydrates as quickly as possible. Worn out by sun and fun, Alton said that he felt sleepy, so I reached into my two-wheeled station wagon to pull out the neck support that Alton calls his "pillowpet," which is a little cushion that I made for him to more comfortably nap on the bike. It works kind of like an airplane neck pillow, only in reverse, so that it keeps his chin from hitting his chest under the weight of his bulbous helmet after he falls asleep in his little seat. He reclined in that cock-a-mamie way that only kids can, but didn't actually doze off.</div>
</div>
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/298fc6112ec1011086589d2b2ef563bb.jpg" width="400;" /></div>
So of course, he insisted on hitting a park on the way home. Andy and I took turns stretching our limbs and groaning on the park bench while Alton scampered happily over the jungle gym.<br />
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<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=4c1b9d80c9399402c6224bced91d52aa.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="400;" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/4c1b9d80c9399402c6224bced91d52aa.jpg" /></a></div>
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When all was said and done, it was a 35-mile day. We were gone for a total of 9 hours, so clearly we took our time with the ride, the family fun at the pumpkin patch, the re-energization over lunch, and the park detour. Enjoying the fun that comes our way, making schedule adjustments, and just plain taking our time are some of the things I love most about family outings by bike, where we really get to slow down and leave the hectic at home.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-66620084239944675482012-09-20T15:06:00.001-07:002012-09-20T15:06:54.742-07:00My To-Do List<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Check out some toddler shoes for Matty</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go to the chiropractor</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pick up popcorn at the Farmer’s Market</div>
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Grocery Shop</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was all pumped up to knock out this to-do list by bike and
as the morning hours started to fade away, I told myself that I should use the
car instead. The kids haven’t been
feeling well and as a result they are moody and irritable. And with the cloud cover and chill in the air
today, I thought I was justified in using the car. Besides, with two kid seats on my bike, I am
always intimated to go grocery shopping with both the kids because it seems to
be difficult to fit all the groceries on the bike.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a quick pep-talk, and scrapping the popcorn pick up
which would have been a 20 minute out of the way detour, I got myself and the Little
Z’s all geared up and out we went. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About ½ mile away from me was a woman from a resale group I’m
a part of, selling shoes I thought would be a good fit for Matthew. It didn’t work out, but the short ride did convince
me to head back home and pick up a sweater for all of us. For the first time in a while we had a misty
cloud cover kind of day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then it was off to our chiropractic appointment. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKBbbXHg2BVlt_tfN4SmzgtnBaXW_aBJrzCeSJJnBTnZAUYYLG6AdXOSNekukJkjTBcmapu2FyxPfqz50UUTIpu9qbXu4NklTm-9JvD7m_5eMI_tu_fk4QglPR22RmbHY15d1iCF1GexT/s1600/IMG_4661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKBbbXHg2BVlt_tfN4SmzgtnBaXW_aBJrzCeSJJnBTnZAUYYLG6AdXOSNekukJkjTBcmapu2FyxPfqz50UUTIpu9qbXu4NklTm-9JvD7m_5eMI_tu_fk4QglPR22RmbHY15d1iCF1GexT/s400/IMG_4661.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After everyone was nicely aligned, we headed off to the
local grocery store. On my way to the
store, I was reminded once again that there is a new knitting store around the
corner I’ve been meaning to stop by. So
I U-turned up onto the sidewalk and as I was unloading the kids, the owner,
Tina came out to welcome me. The store
was opened and I got some Christmas yarn shopping out of the way. That wasn’t even on the list!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWb-JPHJTqWuV1pZUiniCgNh4F7nS0yO8BqQpThfb4ofiFgDP9uQRaKeZzyyGcFZqZYDQt746CivEGbSoq9ffi9Oqd0oD_y3W5pIIDhQTflP8T1KflXHSVSaUG733QRqMoQT9uee7ff8ft/s1600/IMG_4663.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWb-JPHJTqWuV1pZUiniCgNh4F7nS0yO8BqQpThfb4ofiFgDP9uQRaKeZzyyGcFZqZYDQt746CivEGbSoq9ffi9Oqd0oD_y3W5pIIDhQTflP8T1KflXHSVSaUG733QRqMoQT9uee7ff8ft/s400/IMG_4663.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSN1-jnV4S_-22QMcxG1pRw6KUROoln445w3VgPnmBwIhvMbyRgVNMPPGVHYocZgqQSmd7p8HnXJsz-dnN-YsVZwWhcn_7FZr9rgQ1rXAtZ6CbN5nLrOJtpiVEBdqhQ5pqwZxho98fg4A/s1600/IMG_4664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidSN1-jnV4S_-22QMcxG1pRw6KUROoln445w3VgPnmBwIhvMbyRgVNMPPGVHYocZgqQSmd7p8HnXJsz-dnN-YsVZwWhcn_7FZr9rgQ1rXAtZ6CbN5nLrOJtpiVEBdqhQ5pqwZxho98fg4A/s400/IMG_4664.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And since we were so close to the grocery store, Matthew
decided he was going to walk alongside the bike while I pushed Dani, who was
sitting in her seat. We made it there –
not without him falling and scrapping his knee of course – but I did it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFlO3EQUmGn3TiQO62aXl8RkeopiRjPq4p4fXeGucIrOqVSMXvSqlVLU8UKuX_5PxAqHMqjfwRAGemrZ98O60TrY2nCTGR4gArNCypZ4sZVpsARyp33q5mYGEajCAYUQMh716cyBuup4l/s1600/IMG_4665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFlO3EQUmGn3TiQO62aXl8RkeopiRjPq4p4fXeGucIrOqVSMXvSqlVLU8UKuX_5PxAqHMqjfwRAGemrZ98O60TrY2nCTGR4gArNCypZ4sZVpsARyp33q5mYGEajCAYUQMh716cyBuup4l/s400/IMG_4665.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I finally went grocery shopping by bike with both kids!! And I was able to share my excitement with two women who stopped to look at and get information on this bike that they’ve never seen before.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJhuZallhUpt2zoSIHOhE6mMSyycJ2LNRpXObGjs00hiDUjytkaptDBMB0Dd7eY4wOcIoAyxjS-WgBzYanJdz18w9Ygk98_lkk_rliJV4jIGZNKIFQ3chSmUYowgIsRD9r22bICp1u0CU/s1600/IMG_4671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJhuZallhUpt2zoSIHOhE6mMSyycJ2LNRpXObGjs00hiDUjytkaptDBMB0Dd7eY4wOcIoAyxjS-WgBzYanJdz18w9Ygk98_lkk_rliJV4jIGZNKIFQ3chSmUYowgIsRD9r22bICp1u0CU/s320/IMG_4671.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To top it off, being out of the house helped everyone fell
better…and tired which meant I got a quiet afternoon while the two Little Z’s got a much needed napped. What a lovely unplanned
adventure we ended up having today. So
glad we took the bike. </div>
Fabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05527009752364553622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-10709007963172292412012-09-15T22:15:00.001-07:002012-09-15T22:16:03.267-07:00Training RideThe We Go By Bike family was cooking up something special: a Labor Day bike camping trip for the whole gang! It would be my (Katie's) family's first time bike camping with Fabi's family, and their first time bike camping, period. But with the campground just under 30 miles away, Fabi and I decided that we should squeeze in a training ride a week before the trip. We would ride the bikes we were planning to take on our trip (Xtracycles), and practice some hill climbing since our camping route involved an incline. And what better way to reward ourselves after a hard ride than getting to sit down and relax at a winery?<br />
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<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=ea07e17b6c7b184493ea055faf267986.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/ea07e17b6c7b184493ea055faf267986.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Fabi and I met up with our families at the local Saturday Farmers' Market, then peeled off from the dads and kiddos to begin our ascent.
Well, we had a pretty general idea of what the cycling route to this hilltop winery would be like, but the steepness was even more than we had realized when there were a couple of stretches where we had to push our heavy bikes along. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/22455dc29879ed27e6148e9b18dd7a06.jpg" width="400" /></div>
Luckily, we had lots of water and took breaks, so moving slowly was not a problem. Eventually we crested the hill just above the winery, so after that it was a short downhill and straight into their gravelly driveway.<br />
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<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=399fcfbe0da26ef1ad2e966c68d8a886.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/399fcfbe0da26ef1ad2e966c68d8a886.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
We definitely got some odd looks from the other winery patrons as we rolled up and parked our big bikes, but we were too busy catching our breath and taking in the scenery to worry about that.<br />
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<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="400" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/6f4bc616fd9b2ec09661ae13f50cd966.jpg" /></div>
After removing our sweaty helmets and belting down some water, we were ready to sit down with a glass of wine! Thankfully, the winery also sold small cheese snack plates, which we two hungry cyclists were happy to purchase.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=7076D903-F1C5-4D27-9551-9F610064EFC2-639-00000037F194AF37.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" height="400" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/7076D903-F1C5-4D27-9551-9F610064EFC2-639-00000037F194AF37.jpg" /></a></div>
All told, we spent almost three hours chatting and snacking and enjoying the lovely view. And when it was time to go home, we had a really sweet downhill descent to start off our journey. It was a trip we would definitely make again!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=B6D96D8C-F2C0-4296-9145-7080BBB218F7-639-00000037DF4A9AC6.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/B6D96D8C-F2C0-4296-9145-7080BBB218F7-639-00000037DF4A9AC6.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-77701298386825844492012-09-12T21:52:00.000-07:002012-09-12T21:52:20.089-07:00Pedal Bike!Alton is riding his first pedal bike! Followers of We Go By Bike might remember when Alton <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2012/04/first-bike.html" target="_blank">acquired this bike</a>, as a hand-me-down of his two cousins' first bike. A few months down the road, and now Alton can ride like one of those big boys. With two velophile (bike-loving) parents, it's wonderful that Alton can share even more in this family pasttime. You can see the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875);"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf7udLXuhD4&sns=em" target="_blank">video here</a> of his very first ride on the bike; since that day last week he's asked to go out and work on his newfound skill many times, so he gets better every single time he rides! Pictures to come soon.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-5963574048518554282012-09-12T17:19:00.002-07:002012-09-12T17:24:43.586-07:00We Go (By Bike) By BikeLast week, my co-author Fabi and I (Katie) were planning a Girls' Night Out with a mutual friend of ours, Carrie. As we were tossing around possibilities for the simple drinks 'n dessert outing, I asked if we would be taking the MAX light rail to our chosen restaurant destination. Alas! My head was up in Bike-land, knowing that the place we were headed was only a brisk 5 minute ride from the train station. But since Carrie doesn't own a bike, our trip from the station would have to be on foot, which we vetoed since the street would be poorly-lit late at night. Hatching a plan, I queried whether Carrie would be willing to pedal with us cycle-happy gals from the train station if I could bring a bike for her to use, and she was game! I got to work in my garage with bungee cords. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=5760E7C0-3AE3-4BC5-A887-583D8DC8AF69-3412-000007B915C5525D.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/5760E7C0-3AE3-4BC5-A887-583D8DC8AF69-3412-000007B915C5525D.jpg" width="400" /></a>
</div>
Most of the time, bringing an extra bike somewhere is no challenge for my household. Both my husband and I own Brompton folding bicycles, which sturdily fold down small enough to fit side-by-side an airplane overhead bin. One of these little bikes (or even two!) in its folded state can ride shotgun in the side bags of our longtails, or perch proudly in the box of our Bakfiets, the wheelbarrow with handlebars. However, neither the longtails or the Bak is allowed on the light rail, since they would block aisles. I needed to create a bike-on-a-bike setup that would involve two regular-sized bicycles so that I could hang or fold them out of the way on the train. Knowing that the 27-pound Brompton would be unstable teetering so high on the rack of my skinny-wheeled hybrid bike, I decided to unfold the little Brommie, lash it to my sturdy metal rear rack, and tow it along behind me with its front wheel in the air.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/5EC52CF2-8A6A-4260-8FDF-3FEA8490B011-3412-000007B94C0C90CA.jpg" width="400" />
</div>
Now came the fun part! I rode to my nearest MAX stop, where Fabi was waiting with her hot pink Brompton folding bicycle, cheering on my homemade tandem rig. We folded her pink Brompton and my aqua one, then boarded the train with our suitcase-sized bikes and hung my hybrid up by its front wheel. A few stations farther down the line was friend Carrie's stop, which is walking distance from her house, so she had started off down the sidewalk once we let her know we were on the train and hopped into our train car when we pulled in. Another couple of minutes on the track, and we disembarked at the station nearest to our restaurant. Bromptons unfolded, we fitted Carrie with the helmet I'd brought for her, adjusted the height of her seatpost, flicked on her lights, and she was off!<br />
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<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=EFCEB354-D585-4501-B404-D860D0781E28-3412-000007B901084C78.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/EFCEB354-D585-4501-B404-D860D0781E28-3412-000007B901084C78.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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It was a nice warm night, so we pedaled easily through the evening air in our dresses and sandals, and snagged a patio table once we arrived at the restaurant. Our bikes parked close by on the concrete, we enjoyed late happy hour pricing on some wine and ordered decadent desserts. After much talking and laughing, we clambered aboard our saddles once more and cycled our trip to the train station in reverse. After waving goodbye to Carrie, Fabi and I rode a few stops farther, where we pedaled to her house and utilized her car to haul my two bikes home. Although I was proud of our unusual utilization of person-powered and public transportation to have a fun night out, both Fabi and I felt uneasy about me riding the farthest distance home with the bungee'd tandem so late. So she kindly shuttled me to my door after tucking this latest adventure under our belts. Cheers!<br />
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<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/?action=view&current=b3bba59f49cad050201c73bba65898f3.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" border="0" width="400" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/b3bba59f49cad050201c73bba65898f3.jpg" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-71075123402479534402012-08-09T23:20:00.000-07:002012-08-09T23:20:33.620-07:00Missing the Ride<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have a confession to make.
Ready? Besides my Tuesday bike
ride to my carpool for school, I really can’t remember the last time I rode my
bike to run errands. Eek! No really.
This blog is all about biking and a biking lifestyle and here I am
feeling like a phony…a fraud. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are 5 adult bikes in my house: a long tail, a
street/city bike, a mountain bike, a <st1:city w:st="on">Brampton</st1:city>,
and a road bike and lately I have found myself taking the car everywhere I go. Where am I going with this? Well, I guess I wanted to share that even for
people who are excited about biking as a lifestyle, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t
a challenge sometimes. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are times when I’m on the bike and my kids are having
a meltdown and wish I just had my car with me so I can buckle them in and take
off. The thought of not having to plead
with my 2 year old to keep his hands off the chain while I tell my 4 year old
for the 6<sup>th</sup> time to ‘come here, so I can get your helmet on’, while
I figure out how to get the grocery bags on the bike, is just
too much to handle. No screaming toddler
rocking the bike while I’m riding on the street. No frustrating thoughts that I’m not there
yet, meanwhile all the cars are flying by and if I just had my car, I would be
there already! Argh!! As much as I love my bikes…and actually
riding them, there are times when these thoughts are all that go through my
head. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yet, when I drive those few miles, a little voice in my head
always tells me I should have taken the bike.
Summer is finally here and it will be gone soon. We live in <st1:state w:st="on">Oregon</st1:state> for cryin’-out-loud, there is no time
to waste. A brief 2 months of rolling out
without having to gear up and I’m totally wasting it. A little pebble of guilt starts to build up as
do all the excuses I give myself for why I chose the car. Life seems to end up getting in the way, yet the
bike is one of the only times I have to escape everything else that is pulling
at me. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I share this just because event though under normal
circumstances, I love riding my bike and I think it’s a great way to slow down and take it easy,
I also wanted to be honest in sharing that it can be a challenging choice. Like most things, there are good biking days
and there are bad biking days and there are weeks when I just don’t want to do
it. So if you’re thinking about biking
sometimes but feel ‘it’s just too much to commit to’, just know that it doesn’t
have to be all-or-nothing. It’s about
getting out there and having an adventure…even if it’s a little one. </div>Fabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05527009752364553622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-32177468613632963422012-07-30T14:54:00.001-07:002012-07-30T15:00:19.116-07:00Bike Camping with Kidical MassKidical Mass is a family cycling organization; <a href="http://kidicalmasspdx.org/" target="_blank">the local Portland group</a> schedules rides about once per month, where a short, easy route often starts and ends at a park, the better to encourage families to ride together, and to get kids comfortable and enjoying themselves on bikes at any age. This month, instead of a brief daytime ride, the planned ride was actually an overnight bike camping trip! The KM leaders carefully selected a campground, scouted out the route and printed directional "cue sheets" for everyone, sent timely and informative emails about logistics and timing and cost and everything...generally being incredibly considerate and anticipatory of the needs of all the families and kids of all ages that would be on the trip. Since this was actually our first experience with the Kidical Mass group, we were really impressed with their depth of preparation. One of the important notes they included was that since the ride would take us on some fairly busy roads and swift downhill descents, they did not recommend that children ride their own bikes (and at around 22 miles, the journey was probably not one that many kid riders would want to undertake).<br />
On Saturday morning, the cluster of about 22 bikes gathered at a park in Southeast Portland. While the adults scoped out one another's rigs and made introductions, the kiddos expended some energy on the playground before the trip commenced.<br />
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Our son Alton was right around the average age of children on the trip: there were quite a few three, four, and five-year-olds, a handful of one-year-olds, and just a couple age eight and up.<br />
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Since we were meeting the group about 20+ miles from our home, Andy, Alton and I elected to pack up our Brompton folding bikes for this trip and use the MAX light rail train to get that much closer to the rendezvous point. We loaded them up with the Brompton Touring Bags and our backpacker's packs, similar to our <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2012/05/bike-camping-by-brompton.html" target="_blank">local camping trip by Brompton</a> earlier this year, but without all the rain and cold weather gear!
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This touring setup on the folders is modeled after that of Russ and Laura, co-authors of the cycling blog Path Less Pedaled. Imagine our excitement, then, when we learned that these two experienced bikepackers would be attending the trip as well, sans kids, to film and photograph it for their website (I've included some of their photos here--denoted with copyright watermark). It was really nice to meet them in person (<i>in the picture below, from left: Laura, Russ, me/Katie, & Andy</i>), and you can read their account of this campout <a href="http://pathlesspedaled.com/2012/07/bike-camping-with-kidical-mass-pdx/" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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Our group in motion! Longtails and tandems and trailers, oh my!<br />
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One of the KM leaders was heading up the charge with his Surly Big Dummy proudly waving an American flag (<i>above</i>), and the other leader's family brought up the rear with a jaunty banner (<i>below</i>).<br />
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After wending our way through some residential neighborhoods, we hopped on the Springwater Trail, a paved path that heads east out of Portland into the next county. Much of the trail is edged with overgrown wild blackberry bushes, so once or twice we stopped to rest and stretch and indulge in tart, juicy berries.<br />
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Our lunch break landed us in the outer Portland metro area in the town of Gresham. We "parked" at this downtown city park to sit in the shade, eat lunch, fill water bottles, and use the bathrooms.<br />
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Alton and his hi-vis shirt give this park a thumbs-up.<br />
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Back on the bikes, we soon turned off the Springwater Trail and onto country roads. Drivers were quite courteous to us and passed our long cycle-train with plenty of room, so we responded in kind with road decorum and rode single file--the environment was happily still quiet enough to carry on a conversation with the folks to your fore and aft. In Path Less Pedaled's photo below, we have nearly made it to the swift descent that made up our last several miles of riding down into the campground; it's hard to see, but we were actually climbing a steady incline and I am in the green shirt at far left, trying not to pant with my mouth open since my picture was being taken!<br />
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Made it to Dodge Park! Time to unpack these bikes. <br />
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After often being surrounded by gigantic RVs when we camp at public campgrounds, we took notice when most of these Kidical Mass families had very compact tents to keep their loads on the bikes manageable. Summer is the perfect time to experiment with bike camping for the first time since temperature isn't much of an issue; we even saw that one family brought a very small tent to accommodate the mom and two kiddos, while the dad elected to sleep in his bag under the stars.<br />
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After the tents were pitched, we all wandered down to the river to splash, dig in the sand, and/or throw rocks. Then it was time to start that campfire, down some food, and move on to the most important part of the evening: roasting marshmallows!<br />
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Alton preferred his s'mores to simply be chocolate squares, hold the marshmallow and graham cracker, please.<br />
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We chatted around some and turned in early, then dawdled a little over breakfast before packing the bikes back up and grouping together for a posterity picture, thanks once again to Path Less Pedaled.<br />
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Those swift downhill miles down into the campground made for a slow climb out on our way home! After touching base with the group and stopping for one last bathroom break, Andy, Alton and I took up a faster pace to begin our long ride home. We made it to the MAX station and got on the westbound train for home...then Alton crashed out cold in my lap! He slept heavily all the way to our destination, where we shuffled all our packs and bikes off the train, and Andy agreed to let me sit on a shady bench with my little napper and the gear while he quickly rode his unladen bike the couple miles home, got the car, and picked us up. Alton was so tired he even slept halfway through a trip to the grocery store, which was our errand on the way home to ready ourselves for the coming workweek. It's hard work being an attentive passenger on the bike!<br />
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This trip was a very educational and fun experience for us. We got to visit a new campground, meet other bikey, camping families, check out others' gear and bikes, meet two of our favorite bloggers, and further hone our own bikepacking abilities. We hope to get in a few more bike camping trips soon, bring some more local friends along, and continue to broadcast this kind of two-wheeled fun to as many families as we can!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-88105664872957384872012-07-29T21:20:00.000-07:002012-07-30T13:33:10.472-07:00Tour de Parks 2012Last year, the We Go By Bike crew (my/Katie's family, and Fabi's family) participated for the first time in the Hillsboro Tour de Parks. Here in our suburb of Portland, Oregon, the local county bike non-profit (<a href="http://www.washingtoncountybikes.org/" target="_blank">Washington County BTC</a>, a worthy group) plans a family cycling event to coincide with a day-long downtown Farmers' Market extravaganza. As you can read in <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2012/07/vintage-post-tour-de-parks-2011.html" target="_blank">my description from last year</a>, the event is free with suggested donation, and you can choose to ride with your two-wheeler-ready kiddo around two parks, a quick toodle around town through six parks, or a double-digit mileage (about 15 miles) by seeing TEN parks! After zipping too quickly with our small passengers through six parks last year, we decided for this year that cruising ten different parks was the way to go.<br />
But wait, what's this! With the Tour de Parks cycling event not commencing until early afternoon, our family decided to do a little local berrypicking by bike first. We'd scoped out a nearby family farm (around 5-6 miles away) with "u-pick" blueberries at a good price, and weighed our longtail cargo bikes down with buckets to arrive just a hair after morning opening hours. In no time at all, we had 35 pounds (!!!) of blueberries! Home by bike.<br />
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With berries safely stowed in the fridge, we scarfed down some sustenance and zipped a couple miles to Downtown Hillsboro to meet up with the other half of We Go By Bike (Fabi's family: Fabi, Gabe, and kiddos Dani and Matthew) and be ready to hit Tour de Parks. And we're off!<br />
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For this event, Fabi chose to ride her Brompton folding bike, the inaugural trip with the homemade kid seat supporter that Andy fabricated for Dani so that she could join her Mommy on the Brommie.<br />
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Our whole group at 53rd Avenue Park: (from left) Dani on Fabi's bike, Matthew on Gabe's bike, Alton on Andy's bike, and me (Katie!) on the far right.<br />
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Once the ride was over, we hit that downtown market celebration and got Alton a gigantic chocolate ice cream cone in the sweltering heat. Below, he communicates, "Can you just stop taking pictures and let me eat my ice cream now?"<br />
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Yes, it's October, but it's a beautiful sunny day, and this puts me in a mind to thinking back about some of the things we did this summer that I haven't yet posted about. So let's go back in time to July and a dazzling Saturday afternoon! This day was Cousin P's birthday, so after helping her celebrate at a pizza 'n play place, we went to Downtown Hillsboro for a fun family event: the Tour de Parks! This is the fourth year that they've held this kid-friendly bike ride, where families can choose from three different lengths of courses that take you all around Hillsboro and through the city parks. We ended up on the medium-length route and saw six different parks while we rode through town.
First order of business, we got our son Alton settled in his child seat on the back of my longtail bike with a water bottle and snack--I have made small "leashes" to tether his water bottle and snack cups to the straps of his seat for trips when he'll need them. In the picture below, you can see him holding his water bottle while the snack cup (with spillproof lid!) is the small white circle dangling just above my left heel. The stretchy leashes are just long enough to give him freedom of movement with munching or sipping, but not so long that they actually get in the way of my pedaling. He likes to drop whichever item he's currently not using to the side, then tells me that he's "going fishing" when he reels his eatware back up.
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Andy held our small digital camera to take pictures on the ride. Here you see us riding in line with some good friends, the Zawalski family. The orange child seat is mounted onto my friend Fabi's bike--she has an extended frame bike, like mine, also equipped with bags so that she can haul gear, groceries, and more! Unlike my bike, however...she carries two kids on hers! One child seat mounted behind her for her daughter Alton's age, and one smaller seat balancing the weight by being mounted to her frame in front of her seat for her younger son. I ride ahead of her with Alton in his blue seat, and Fabi's husband Gabe takes the lead in front of me in his orange t-shirt. We were quite a parade!<br />
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<style="clear: new="" times="">Here you can see the two "big" bikes riding in a line!
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Through Walnut Street Park.
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Turning off of Baseline Road, one of my favorite major streets to ride in Hillsboro because it has a dedicated bike line and runs East-West through the whole city. It can get me many places!
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At the end of the ride, the City of Hillsboro was hosting an awareness event on Main Street about environmentally-friendly choices. Information was dispersed about green power choices, saving water, etc. There were also food vendors and free popcorn for kids. Alton was happy to sample!
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After some relaxation in the shade beneath the trees to eat our snacks, it was time to load the kids onto the bikes again and head home. Below, Alton and I pose with our Xtracycle "Radish" next to Fabi's Surly "Big Dummy" (no, I don't know where the brand came up with that name, although it's a honkin' big bike frame) with her two kids. Matching bike baskets and all! A fun day to ride with friends, and we're so glad that we have buddies to share our hobby with.
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</center>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-2444621343305869082012-07-20T16:49:00.002-07:002012-07-20T18:54:51.700-07:00We Go By...PlaneThis summer, my (Katie's) family embarked upon an unusual kind of bike trip: one that involved flying with bicycles to our destination! With a friend's wedding scheduled in sunny Southern California, we planned to fly from our home in Portland down to San Diego, attend the wedding, and then utilize public transit and our folding bikes to travel to a campground and relax on the coast for a week. We spent quite a while preparing for this trip, including a <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2012/05/bike-camping-by-brompton.html" target="_blank">practice camping trip</a> with the Brompton folding bikes, to ensure that our small-wheeled rides would be able to carry all three of us plus camping gear. We made sure that our small stove and fuel bottle were empty and dry to comply with TSA regulations, carefully selected which items to check and which to carry on, and assembled the necessary tools for small bike repairs or flat tire changes. It was our first time traveling by plane with the Bromptons. Months ago, we'd caught wind online of a <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10056770/" target="_blank">cheap plastic bag</a> sold by Ikea that was large enough to fit the bikes all folded up, and had sturdy nylon handles to hoist the bag over your shoulder (we think they are intended for bed comforters?), so we bought two. These bags made the bikes easy to carry, protected, and also slightly disguised as you move through airport check-ins. In the picture below, Alton and Andy pose proudly (and blurrily, sorry for the poor photo quality) next to the two bike bags after we've passed through TSA security.<br />
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"Slightly disguised," you ask? Well, having never traveled with bicycles before, Andy and I were made anxious by the stories we've heard of airline employees eager to slap you with extra fees. In most cases, airlines will require that bicycles checked as luggage be partially disassembled, boxed, and charged a one-way fee of $50-100 extra. In order to try to avoid these fees, Brompton owners who carry-on or gate check their folding bikes will not refer to it as a bicycle, and will instead call it "mobility equipment," "exercise gear," "<a href="http://pathlesspedaled.com/2011/03/this-bike-is-not-a-bike/" target="_blank">camera cargo carrier</a>," etc. Since Andy and I were checking our large duffel bags, but bringing our bikes on board the plane as carry-on luggage, we did not want to pay bicycle fees on top of checked baggage fees, so we disguised our bikes by placing them in pouffy plastic bags and removing the seats and pedals with a wrench. We practiced our party line a couple of times before entering the airport: if asked, we'd refer to our bags as "sports equipment," and if really pushed, as "bicycle parts," a label that was technically correct since the Brommies were unrideable without saddles and pedals.<br />
Once at the security line, we were momentarily split up, and I found myself alone as I hoisted my bagged bike up onto the conveyer belt to the X-ray machine. "What is that?" asked a TSA agent. "Sports equipment," I robotically answered. "Oh," he said, "I thought it was one of those folding bikes." His undertone hinted at admiration of this type of transport, and I was not so paranoid that I thought he was trying to trap me into admitting that I was packin' a bike (and I know he couldn't charge me a fee, anyway), but I moved on. To the gate and airplane we went, where the bikes fit easily side-by-side in the overhead bin.<br />
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To attend our friend's wedding north of San Diego, we rented a car for two days, wisely deciding that cycling around semi-rural roads in the wee hours on a Saturday night post-nuptials would be pretty dicey. But after returning our vehicle to the SD airport, we hopped up on our bikes and rode a few miles to a depot station, where we collapsed our gear as much as possible and purchased our tickets for a commuter train headed north, up the coast. <br />
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Once on the train, we shuffled all of our stuff out of the aisle and squeezed in together: one seat for Alton, one for me, one for Andy, and one for all of our stuff! Plus more on the floor.<br />
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We disembarked at the end of the line in a town called Oceanside, a coastal city that is the gateway to a very large military base. The military owns much of the immediate surrounding land, including the beach bluffs, so the way for us to continue north to our campground destination was actually to display our civilian driver's license I.D. and ride on the roads through the base itself. We saw very few other vehicles, one or two other cyclists, and an amusing sign that you don't see every day.<br />
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We were besieged by headwinds and uphill climbs as we pedaled slowly through the base, making terrible time and causing me to worry that we'd arrive at our campsite after dark, still needing to set up the tent and eat some dinner. Luckily, I'd printed out all of the pertinent bus and train schedules ahead of time, and we happened upon a bus route going in the right direction with a pickup time in only ten minutes. Done! Our friendly bus driver was glad to help us get our bags on board, did not charge us a fare for the ride, and even drove us a little ways past the stop to get us right to the gates of the campground. He saved us a lot of time and what probably would have been a very late night for our arrival and dinner.<br />
We had made it to San Clemente, CA, which is technically Orange County, but an environment more similar to San Diego area, where sandy desert scrub pervades the land almost right up to the ocean--no lush orange groves in sight here! Our campground was in a dry little gulch, with a dirt bike/hike path going right up and over the surrounding hills and down to the ocean. In the picture below, we are at the highest hill summit on the path looking down into the campground; our tent is the little orange blob right in the middle of the picture.<br />
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Once we were at the beach, the trail ended with a few porta-potties and a bike rack, a perfect spot to lock up our bikes and head onto the sand. We always rode our bikes from camp down to the beach, because it was an easy 10-minute pedal with some fun downhill coasting, instead of a 30-minute walk while giving Alton a piggyback ride and carrying beach gear.<br />
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At the beginning of the week on our first full day in town, we rode to the only major grocery store, which happened to be on the other side of both the city and some pretty steep hills. After pushing the bikes much of the way there and getting wind-whipped on the downhill on the other side, we found an alternate, less-steep route home that unfortunately had us cranking the pedals as fast as we could to stay out of the way on busy streets with no bike lanes. Here at home, we live in a suburb where the cycling culture is not as prevalent as in nearby Portland, and I often find myself grumbling at drivers passing me too closely on the street, seemingly unwilling to take the time to drive around me with ample space, and I mentally sulk that the Portland cyclists must have it so much better than I do. On our bike vacation in California, however, I put my pouts in check and realized that my hometown drivers are far more courteous and knowledgeable of how to relate to cyclists on the road than the car-happy Californians. It's not that the SoCal drivers were all incredibly aggressive or rude, but most of them seemed to not be paying very much attention to us (we paused at every intersection to ensure that we weren't cut off by someone taking our right of way and turning in front of us), and it appeared that they didn't know what to do with a cyclist that was (following the rules of the road and...) riding in the driving lane. You would have thought we were cheerily clippity-clopping down the street on Clydesdales painted green for all the "huh?!" attitude we got. Well, when in Rome, you do as the Romans do, so we followed the lead of most of the cycling surfer dudes we saw and rode on the sidewalk instead of the street. Most of places we needed to ride, we could hop onto an older thoroughfare street with wide, unused sidewalks, or ride parallel to the freeway on a street with a bike lane. I have appreciated my local Oregonian drivers much more after this trip!<br />
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Despite needing to become accustomed to riding on sidewalks, we really loved being able to get around this unfamiliar city on bikes. We'd take the bikes to the beach on our daily visits, drop in to mini-marts for the occasional snack, enjoy a few meals out, and never, never have trouble finding a parking place in the super-touristy and busy downtown. Not only was this a slow-paced way to explore San Clemente, it gave us a chance to exercise amidst our beach lolling, and saved us money in rental car fees.
Midweek during our trip, we perused a local newspaper to find details on where we could celebrate Independence Day and watch fireworks, and were pleased to hear an announcement that our campground was providing decorations for the campers to use in bedecking their bikes, scooters, and strollers, and then join in a parade around the park. We happily scurried over to claim our streamers and American flags, and pedaled slowly in a herd of kiddos while smiling, dinging our bike bells, and singing patriotic songs.<br />
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That evening, we headed into downtown for an early dinner before riding back to our nearest beach to watch the fireworks. Concerned that revelers in the dark might feel emboldened about stealing our sweet little folding bikes off the bike rack, this evening we rolled them right onto the sand with us and propped them on rocks. We pulled on sweatshirts, watched the sunset, and waited for the sky to light up!<br />
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After a lazy blur of days sunning at the beach and playing at the campsite, we were ready to move on. The campground would only let us reserve our site for seven days, so for the last two days of our trip we relocated to a campground in San Diego, much closer to the airport when the time would come to fly home. My parents live a few hours away on the Central Coast of California, so they decided to drive down with my brother for a visit. After camping alongside us for a night, we all packed up to prepare for relocation to beautiful Mission Bay, San Diego. My parents offered to take our son Alton south with them by car, to spend extra time with him and to lighten the load that Andy and I would carry on our bikes as we rode to the next destination. So while Alton was taken out to lunch and to the Model Railroad museum in Balboa Park, Andy and I had a breezy, not-too-hot few hours' ride and train trip back down to meet up with them. Below, we break for map check and water at a state park along the coast: you can see our bikepacking setup, which is a backpacker's pack on the rear rack and tethered to our saddles, and a Brompton-specific touring bag on the front mount.<br />
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A nice protected, paved road and beautiful vistas for half of the ride...<br />
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...then we passed through this tunnel to turn away from the ocean and inland toward the military base, where we had a very quiet ride and very little traffic passing us once again.<br />
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Once at our campground in Mission Bay, we had one more fun evening with grandparents and uncle before they had to leave to head home. The facility had lots of distracting recreations available, however, so we consoled ourselves with playground and pool time. Alton even decided that he'd see if he could ride one of our Bromptons! He can't ride a two-wheeler alone just yet, but had fun balancing on the pedals with the handlebars tipped waaaaay back.<br />
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Our final full day of camp was also our wedding anniversary, so we made plans for a decadent dinner out in downtown San Diego that night. We rode our bikes to a nearby bus stop and hopped aboard a city bus to get within a few blocks of the restaurant...and Alton fell asleep on my shoulder! He was out cold and we didn't want to poke the sleeping bear and wind up with a cranky dining companion, so Andy lifted both bikes off the bus and I hoisted Alton onto my hip to step down onto the sidewalk. With a little bit of walking to do to reach the address, Andy secured my folded Brompton onto the back of his unfolded one and rolled the two bikes alongside him while I carried the little guy. Now that's cargo biking!<br />
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The next day, we broke camp, packed everything up, went to the airport, checked our duffels, rode to the mall and watched a movie, then returned to the airport for our uneventful trip back home. The bikes fit on the plane again with no problem, and we learned that "we've put them in the overhead bins before" is a door-opener with airline staff. It was a great trip, so much fun seeing these cities from the seat of a bike, and really nice having no schedule and nothing to do but apply sunscreen. We'll definitely bring bikes along for future plane travel. Many thanks to We Go By Bike co-author Fabi and friend & neighbor Marinda for rides to and from the airport, dog-sitting our dog Minerva while we were gone, and watering our plants!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-34448182170770428992012-07-20T09:31:00.004-07:002012-07-20T09:31:55.380-07:00Get Lost!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is a belated post about an organized ride in which Andy and I participated during <a href="http://shift2bikes.org/cal/viewpp2012.php" target="_blank">Portland's Pedalpalooza</a>, a weeks-long event each June where local cycling enthusiasts plan fun bike rides with extremely diverse and wacky themes. Amongst rides to specific destinations, like breweries or a farmer's market, there are costumed rides (the Dr. Who ride!), rides for groups of people (the "ginger" redheads ride), and the most (in)famous, the Portland Naked Bike Ride. And no, I didn't ride in that one, so don't ask for pictures.</div>
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On one evening in June, Andy's parents were in town and offered to spend the evening with Alton, so Andy and I scoured the Pedalpalooza schedule to see if there was a ride we could join. We found one that appealed to us: the "Get Lost!" ride. After meeting at a Portland bike shop, the group of riders would roll a pair of fuzzy dice right in the street to determine where we would ride. The total on the dice indicated how many blocks the group would travel, and the even numbers took us left, while the odd numbers took us to the right. "Snake eyes" or double numbers meant we rode straight ahead. Below, Andy waits with our Bromptons in front of the bike shop Velo Cult. We took the Brommie folding bikes for this ride because we wanted to be able to easily take the Max light rail out to the meeting point and home in the evening.</div>
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The ride commenced: the group would gather together in one spot and wait for stragglers...<br />
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<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQik8JCI-8g96DBVRLT0uh7zA4BBBAwHqSGege6uHA8OOnf-yqe8dZF_gVbvQIT2lCgJlVySatbR2h6klfJP6HO1wr_ohnvfqcjuBbwn39mlDWWkLNpZ6S0q64puiJXMxEJbWCZke7nQO8/s400/DSCN4532.JPG" width="400" /></div>
<br />
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...then folks would take a turn to roll the green fuzzy dice (you can barely see them on the ground in this picture) and we'd tally up their total and start riding right or left, six blocks, or nine blocks, or four blocks, etc.</div>
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<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvPzIAGPRM1cXm6Tg6YbPnsqlj697dmGC79gW1NeGD0wa9bg6h2X50gy-EAyxJclkYPzZu8uTiUZv7xI4hFPTzz-mamwTr-X9u35GTJ5yue5SVj8oi9MMOKVrrT8iWsSyt2Rd84Xv850UD/s400/DSCN4553.JPG" width="400" /></div>
The group charges ahead down a quieter residential street. You can see on the far left that we had a couple of skateboarders join us for the fun!<br />
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<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7oUkqNLf8L8FGwWmv_pBAmCV7OVBruqcuynO73ryXLbu3JQEVoQGd0rE22DL60xuIgHbqhaM9i48celVf4_ioiiWXbf1KjWDsxLNQhDg2DGYRh5OVm6CipU9B4c8nwnNxmlN8ZFgXAzG/s400/DSCN4533.JPG" width="400" /></div>
Here I am on my Brommie, pedaling steadily.<br />
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<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvISN61EOxmYM9mw5asOFNQsG-SKbZixOrvu3snfqwjqp4J9pc1KdVaMDPUGDx8POdsM8sfmZQfMkALFoe9UHOcc10nnxQcr827Bswz08WJQ_vQkBzelxvRahUYIZWGkNIHBvdbQ7s0bgi/s400/DSCN4538.JPG" width="400" /></div>
Some of the ride took us on pretty busy streets. We clustered
together
and I felt reassured by the safety in numbers that cars would find us
highly visible on the road and veer around us, even if they were
slightly annoyed at having to alter their courses. Below, you can see a
vehicle passing us, and the lead rider is a guy wearing blue bunny ears
taped to his helmet and a Utilikilt.<br />
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<img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHz3lbPjaNdMo6W0fziYg3QuKhNhTfMyPMm2SHhTOaz6qJLZPibY9sGCQj4HPVoy2z19mbDY3BVERKdLkdBWUNT_hDFZKF2vIxe-INvWuUZ6NXhLVHk89MMonoIbTM2JoUJ2g8Y4A1vlgZ/s400/DSCN4548.JPG" width="400" /></div>
Many drivers, however, would wave, smile, and toot their horns when they saw our eclectic mix of cyclists swarming through, because bikes are very much part of the culture here in Portland, and because most folks realize when Pedalpalooza kooky events are taking place.<br />
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Eventually, our rolls of the dice took us all the way out to the Portland airport on the extreme east side of town!<br />
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We went up and down some large hills that allowed us to take in beautiful views.<br />
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The ride was just scheduled to last a few hours, so when our time limit was up and we were just toodling around some neighborhood, our leader asked if everyone wanted to keep riding, or start heading back toward our starting point. The group consensus was that we'd keep riding for a few more rolls of the dice or the nearest bar. Although we Portlanders love cycling, we love beer, too. The ride ended up at a jovial dive a few blocks later.<br />
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Andy and I said our goodbyes and treated ourselves to a dinner out in Portland since our little son was occupied with his grandparents. We had a great time, thought that the mix of people (in the picture above, you can see a "tall bike" on the far left--two bike frames stacked double decker) on this ride was really enthusiastic and welcoming, and we'd definitely do it again!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-55592930567163456342012-06-20T16:44:00.001-07:002012-06-20T20:11:13.296-07:00Anatomy of my LongtailYou might have noticed that here at We Go By Bike, in addition to loving two-wheel power of all kinds, we have a special affinity for cargo bikes, and longtails in particular (Fabi's family has one, and you can see descriptions of the two my family own <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/p/longtail-is-bike-with-extended-rear.html" target="_blank">here</a>). A longtail is a really convenient way to get your bike to carry more for you, because with the back wheel & frame all extend-o and the front half of the bike being normal, these cargo beasts pretty much ride like normal bikes even though they are carrying a station wagon's worth of stuff. Most "regular" bikes can be converted into longtails, either by you if you have bike mechanic skills, or at your local bike shop (you can learn more about them on <a href="http://www.xtracycle.com/" target="_blank">Xtracycle's site</a>: they are the original longtail creators and I'm just their happy customer, unpaid for my positive opinion). We are continually impressed by how much they can carry, like <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2012/06/30-pounds-of-shopping.html" target="_blank">Fabi's post</a> about the 30lb bag of cat litter, and Andy's legendary trip to Costco last fall (<span class="hasCaption">a
flat of Diet Coke, two gallons of vinegar, a 30-pack of toilet paper,
15 rolls of paper towels, and a duffel with Andy's work clothes and
lunch box).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVEAGfoBzqzBvkSRc6O94-Tqb6lwbnsObPOcPPY62uGUHmjA2WQkLpHKs1o8wZ9KSyRXhON4F2uBt5INFQgJxt01A6Qpozyo25Y_g5oA-dXcAt5r6FWWwYDD6WnMAFST_EKS-adkqxdFd/s1600/303766_10150359492386603_98663140_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLVEAGfoBzqzBvkSRc6O94-Tqb6lwbnsObPOcPPY62uGUHmjA2WQkLpHKs1o8wZ9KSyRXhON4F2uBt5INFQgJxt01A6Qpozyo25Y_g5oA-dXcAt5r6FWWwYDD6WnMAFST_EKS-adkqxdFd/s400/303766_10150359492386603_98663140_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
However, I still don't think that their trunk space is well-known: recently I brought dinner to a friend with a newborn baby, and when I stopped by later to pick up my dishes, she said that she had almost taken them along to a Farmer's Market, hoping to bump in to me, but wasn't sure if I would be on my bike and unable to take them home. Au contraire! This bike holds a ton of stuff, so I snapped a little picture diary of yesterday's grocery store trip, just to show you how awesome my longtail can be when it's stuffed to the gills.<br />
First, the full-body shot: my Xtracycle Radish longtail parked in our garage with a full store load (although this pic was actually from a couple months ago, I just wanted to give you the big picture).<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/c9bee926.jpg" width="400" /> </div>
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Here was my actual grocery run from yesterday (clearly we eat a lot of Cheerios at our house; General Mills ought to give me a stipend for being their mobile billboard by riding around town with that recognizable yellow box). This trip was not so big that I needed to utilize the plastic deck behind Alton's blue child seat, but that sturdy surface provides a resting spot for things with easy bungee tether points all around it. Zero dollars per gallon!</div>
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Here's a side view of the bags. These are Xtracycle's own "Freeloader" bags, which you can see are open on top and sorta shaped like a sling, with adjustable straps so that you can tighten the sling snugly to your load. On the inside of each bag is a large velcro pocket, which is really handy for keeping some things out of the weather, or for stowing items that you need and use on the bike all the time.<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/edd1b6ba.jpg" /></div>
As I mentioned above, the longtail really does ride like a regular bike even when its loaded down, and part of how this is accomplished is because those sling-bags keep weight low to the ground. Even still, it's important to try to balance your weight somewhat so that you don't notice a "pull" on your heavier side. You can see that on this trip I loaded my bags pretty full on each side, and made sure to mirror my gallon of milk on one side...<br />
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<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/7b09daaa.jpg" /></div>
...with a seven-pound bag of apples on the other side.<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/84c3dfc9.jpg" /></div>
Somehow, no matter how much or little I buy at the store, I usually wind up with no room in the rear bags for my purse and personal accoutrements. For this reason (and for the reason that it's pretty), I have a handlebar basket on my bike as well. It's a fabric bag with some kind of plastic stiffener inside to help hold its shape, a drawstring top, and even a strap to carry it like a purse. You can see that on my handlebars I also have a cage to hold Alton's (green) water bottle. Handy to pass back to him for a drink while we are riding!<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/e3d65954.jpg" /></div>
Inside the fabric basket on this trip were my purse and two Pooh Bear stowaways. I'm not sure how they ended up coming along on with us, but I was glad that I had room for them!<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/71725a78.jpg" /></div>
The bike came with only one set of mounting points for a waterbottle cage (bikes that are more touring or mountain bike specific usually have at least two), so I use that one for my own water bottle. <br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/c058b2f3.jpg" /></div>
My seat's trunkbag underneath is where I always keep a cable lock and key, so
that I never have to remember to bring a lock with me, and so that it's
stowed out of the way under my seat between the footholders of Alton's
child seat.<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/bddca063.jpg" width="400" /></div>
I usually also carry a waterproof seatcover, to protect the leather of my super-comfortable Brooks saddle in the Oregon <strike>rain</strike> drizzle.<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="300" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/53de8ad8.jpg" /></div>
Then you have me, or part of me at least. Alton snapped this picture and I guess this is all you get from a four-year-old's perspective. But on this somewhat chilly and wet day I was wearing a jacket, pants and cycling gloves in addition to my omnipresent orange reflective vest.<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="400" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/1cb0167b.jpg" width="300" /></div>
My last piece of cargo: my son Alton. Since his pic includes a face, you can also see him utilizing our helmet earwarmers, little triangle sleeves of black fleece that I made which slip onto our helmet buckles for in-place earmuffs on the ride.<br />
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<img alt="Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App" border="0" height="400" src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o172/ktrhyne/e17a48ea.jpg" width="300" /></div>
Now let's get going before that ice cream melts!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-46043713524179298302012-06-14T11:33:00.001-07:002012-06-14T11:37:01.891-07:0030 Pounds of ShoppingEarlier this week Gabe and Dani were sick with some 24-hour bug, so while the
two sickies were taking their nap, Matthew and I decided to head out on the
Dummy for an easy-going lunch at the grocery store deli. While I was walking around, I realized we
needed a new bag of cat litter and bought a bag.<br />
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Aside from what was supposed to be an easy lunch turning
into one of those days when I wonder why I bother leaving the house with my
2-year old, I was sitting there wondering <i>what
was I thinking buying a 30 pound bag of cat litter when I’m on my bike?</i> As the time approached for me to head out, I
started getting nervous about loading up my bike. I was wondering if I was about to fall on my
face – taking my child with me. </div>
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I cautiously lifted the bag, keeping an eye on people
staring at me like I was crazy, and eased the bag into the side saddle. It was a perfect fit. No fussing with it at all, it slipped
right in there. Aside, from the bike
pulling a little bit to the left (the side the cat litter was on) we had a very
balanced ride back home. </div>
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(A <i>30-pound Good Mews cat litter bag loaded on Fabi's Dummy</i>)</div>
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<br /></div>Fabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05527009752364553622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-8972697215444846392012-06-13T15:36:00.003-07:002012-06-13T15:36:34.161-07:00Big Red-yBig Red is ready to go! Andy finished all of <a href="http://wegobybike.blogspot.com/2012/05/father-son-balance-bikes.html" target="_blank">his work</a> on his longtail cargo bike, which is a red mountain bike converted into an Xtracycle. After the gears, pedals, and brakes, he installed the rear rack deck and bags.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEt9hLFIjBoJy53YntCdrZGr83ssmqqwFoecuLcQxTcIdlxTWd6Nl9k6bsaxFHHwVIvWyW4hz4LcRq9fle6F3ycrWoXLhDSTTZi6iT6e3baD8NS2cEMg4pIDyM1-RnUjYvS7lPJNwwy9S/s1600/603109_10150880168563111_977310411_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEt9hLFIjBoJy53YntCdrZGr83ssmqqwFoecuLcQxTcIdlxTWd6Nl9k6bsaxFHHwVIvWyW4hz4LcRq9fle6F3ycrWoXLhDSTTZi6iT6e3baD8NS2cEMg4pIDyM1-RnUjYvS7lPJNwwy9S/s400/603109_10150880168563111_977310411_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Eager to take advantage of our ever-increasing bike cargo capacity, we grabbed Big Red and the Bakfiets and took off last Sunday morning.<br />
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We hit the grocery store and adjacent Farmers Market...<br />
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...then once finished with selecting our purchases, we unlocked our bikes near the Market entrance amid murmurs of "Wow, look at those bikes," "Pretty cool," etc. We were donning helmets when some friends of ours stopped by to say hello--they said they recognized our bikes right away and knew it was us! What notoriety.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-48272553999015754142012-06-11T22:44:00.001-07:002012-06-11T22:59:40.340-07:00Rollin' Around on a Monday<br />
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Tonight we decided to run our errands by bike. We first went to the library to drop off some
(overdue) books.</div>
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Then we went to our old house to get some things done and
had planned to grab some dinner out. The
kids wanted burgers so as we were headed out, we ran into Andy and <st1:city w:st="on">Alton</st1:city>. We invited them to dinner and bike-pooled. I’m sure it was quite a sight, two long tail
bikes, hauling three kids (in total), and a mountain biker riding down the
street.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlV4TIH7v5MH1aD4eiViq8F6gk0jb5-YQvHD0XmwTD_2L7Nk9qva2l1jgu7wZkor-lu_wvTxu2I87k_oSslBe_v8DNNUAD0CJgmVtLcE3cxxEPqoYJRswhhlWf_Gyy1DQ_aoEbV2-1nGMf/s1600/IMG_2747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlV4TIH7v5MH1aD4eiViq8F6gk0jb5-YQvHD0XmwTD_2L7Nk9qva2l1jgu7wZkor-lu_wvTxu2I87k_oSslBe_v8DNNUAD0CJgmVtLcE3cxxEPqoYJRswhhlWf_Gyy1DQ_aoEbV2-1nGMf/s400/IMG_2747.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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(<i>Andy & Alton on Big Red</i>) </div>
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After everyone was full, it was time to say good-bye to the
Rhyne boys and finish up with yet another trip to Home Depot. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3iwIMCdL3wGJS9YPYmTQHkO5TY1h0crWajTg_og2Qvc9nitrhKwcyGTgG7iQPLJDfQ42eZ0sON3k0COYMw7wmW1Mw2jQ2ir06lKcQmL96Ge5LYZ9kvptK8PDMApWJ84s5veD2yhxOdPU/s1600/IMG_2752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3iwIMCdL3wGJS9YPYmTQHkO5TY1h0crWajTg_og2Qvc9nitrhKwcyGTgG7iQPLJDfQ42eZ0sON3k0COYMw7wmW1Mw2jQ2ir06lKcQmL96Ge5LYZ9kvptK8PDMApWJ84s5veD2yhxOdPU/s400/IMG_2752.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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With everything in order and everyone in tow we headed
home. Not an eventful bike errand
evening, but a successful one. </div>Fabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05527009752364553622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-26023849944944215812012-06-10T14:37:00.000-07:002012-06-11T23:00:08.112-07:00Dani Learns to Balance<br />
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For Matty’s birthday we decided it was time to buy him a
balance bike. We searched several
different stores and got several different opinions and eventually settled on a Strider
balance bike. </div>
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His birthday was two weeks ago and he is yet to ride his
Strider bike. Dani however, LOVES
it. She wants to ride it everyday…in and
out of the house. </div>
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On Saturday the guys took off to run some errands and Dani and I got some special Mommy-Daughter time. It was such a beautiful day we decided to
head out – me on foot, Dani on the Strider – and walked about ½ mile to our
local grocery store for some dinner at the deli and then another ½ mile to the
park. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpRdzvzYni0XFiDwKtCE6S_30AiMDmM69jUpyRznBAOPCuFFB7IIbrEvCFQsk8ehj4DE9a_WQ7Evdult_ROX1EOkxAimCmEjjO84FjEcoDopM45F8cbVeu5KnM5smu5iLfCBPbJSQ6rss/s1600/Dinner.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpRdzvzYni0XFiDwKtCE6S_30AiMDmM69jUpyRznBAOPCuFFB7IIbrEvCFQsk8ehj4DE9a_WQ7Evdult_ROX1EOkxAimCmEjjO84FjEcoDopM45F8cbVeu5KnM5smu5iLfCBPbJSQ6rss/s400/Dinner.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="text-align: left;">This was the first long ride Dani had ever had on Strider so she was still wobbly, but by the time we were headed home; she was putting her feet up and trying to balance!</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">Now she is addicted even more than b</span><span style="text-align: left;">efore.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIJ-v5l5QzmLkYmFLWmFrnhYXfdKoBJnw-xFJmh-t37VuULNds6qLYgHYn0RbXI1k24h3ms5DKLQiFb_C8PhAetqj1P_XggodJGboW_WbIGYgUWOvJLvrTcBykdqg1iidggEbXvyYMuD-/s1600/Dani+Balancing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaIJ-v5l5QzmLkYmFLWmFrnhYXfdKoBJnw-xFJmh-t37VuULNds6qLYgHYn0RbXI1k24h3ms5DKLQiFb_C8PhAetqj1P_XggodJGboW_WbIGYgUWOvJLvrTcBykdqg1iidggEbXvyYMuD-/s400/Dani+Balancing.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"> </span><span style="text-align: left;">I’m such a proud Mama.</span></div>
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<br /></div>Fabihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05527009752364553622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3841689618174521033.post-17173018113415832162012-05-19T18:24:00.003-07:002012-05-19T18:24:37.244-07:00Naptime Shopping<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We had a productive Saturday morning by bike. First, Alton and I were off to a little meet 'n greet for his preschool class for <i>next</i> year. He will still know at least half of the kids in his class, including one of his best little buddies.</div>
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<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmSTy9cDeF9HQ59o2gHoTPuwcOlDi_xcbeBQyAB3_ukL-_YjAZmUqPQtxw9JQvl7f8iRqfbFsq3aZclkb0nG62W6Zkm6VLLR9Wd1gsd_TvjZuGc65ISnOVkTWEQIIfKX-mMoD50Gm0u7fF/s320/photo(4).JPG" width="320" /></div>
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After a fun hour or so of rare weekend playtime at school, Alton came home for a small lunch and naptime. Andy had some work to do in the garage (bike projects, what else?), and so we removed the child seat from the back of my Xtracycle Radish for a little mommy-only errand time. Not having the weight of the seat + child in the back feels so zippy and light to me now! I had actually been planning on taking one of my smaller bikes for this trip, but one of the things I wanted to accomplish was purchasing a baby shower gift, and when I checked their online baby registry ahead of time, I had my eye on a pink baby bathtub, so Xtracycle it is....</div>
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Onward to Safeway, where I had a hankering for Mexican meal fixings: beans, avocados, sour cream and sauce for guacamole, and margarita mix. I even stashed a bag of tortilla chips in my handlebar basket to keep them from being squished by the other groceries!</div>
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My last stop was at Home Depot, where I picked up a few paint samples for a room we're painting, and a soda for Daddy's caffeine fix. I snapped these items sitting on the deck, but there was still plenty of room in my "Freeloader" side bags for these things along with the baby shower gift, purse, and groceries. All three of my stops were within 1 mile of our house, which just goes to show that you don't necessarily have to live in an urban environment to make biking work for your myriad family errands. I get wistful sometimes of reading family cycling blogs of folks with dining and shops that are a small handful of blocks down the street, and wish that I had more businesses close to our house to patronize. BUT I have more at my fingertips than I think.<br />
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Home and parked, so that Andy can go help Fabi and family start moving into their new house: by bike, of course! He conducted an experiment with our Bakfiets, where he removed the wooden cargo box in exchange for a bolted-down plywood deck, ready to move large and awkwardly-sized items. He even screwed in eye-bolts for bungee tiedown points. He's excited to participate in his first move by bike, even if so far he is the only cycling participant in this move!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0