Labor Day Bike Camping

It'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 previous post, 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....

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.

Starting out so early in the day also gave us the chance to pause for wild blackberry breaks along the way.

After some cycling, water, cycling, stretching, water, blackberries, whining, and cycling, we made it! Almost 25 miles.

And of course, I immediately had to set up our tent so that whenever we wanted to crash that night, it was ready.

The kids kept busy playing with the copious gravel at the site...

...or having picnics (I believe the menu featured heavily in the Pirate's Booty genre).

Finally the dads arrived that night. From then on, it was bike + gear chaos.

But we had a good time. We went on some hikes and scavenger hunts.

Cooked some food, roasted some marshmallows, listened to coyotes howl at night, laughed our butts off around the campfire, and celebrated Andy's birthday!

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!

We Go Buy Pumpkins

We'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.
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).

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 longtail bikes 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!

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!

"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.

He partook of the face painting...

...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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My To-Do List

Check out some toddler shoes for Matty

Go to the chiropractor

Pick up popcorn at the Farmer’s Market

Grocery Shop

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.

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.  

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. 

Then it was off to our chiropractic appointment. 

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!

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!

 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.

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.  

Training Ride

The 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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Pedal Bike!

Alton is riding his first pedal bike! Followers of We Go By Bike might remember when Alton acquired this bike, 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 video here 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.

We Go (By Bike) By Bike

Last 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.

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.

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!

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!

Missing the Ride

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. 

There are 5 adult bikes in my house: a long tail, a street/city bike, a mountain bike, a Brampton, 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. 

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^th 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.

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 Oregon 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.  

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.