Kids biking Seattle's Seward Park

It is always fun to bike in new places, especially when it is one that is mild and snowfree in December.  We are in Seattle to celebrate the holidays with Hillary's sister and family. This is the wonderful family that blessed us with the gift of the Winther Kangaroo trike.  Thinking ahead to our visit they recommended we bring a helmet for Theo to wear so he could experience Seattle from two wheels with his cousins. 

We threw two bikes in the car and headed to Seattle's Seward Park.  We walked through the gray Seattle morning, freshened up with spurts of light rain.  Theo appreciated having a bike with larger wheels so he could go faster, or at least not have to pedal furiously like he does with his own bike. 

 T and S having a blast chasing each other along the perimeter route of Seward Park.

Embracing the wet- puddles, long puddles!

  

Taking a break to build a stone fort along the shores of Lake Washington.

Summer Memories 3: Rental car camping

Not having a car does not stop us from escaping the city for camping trips and visits with out-of-town friends. In fact we rented cars for 6 weekends in 2010. How many times did you use your car for a 2 or 3 day weekend trip this year?

We love camping and it is great to have two boys who love it too. In June we drove to Iowa City for my Seward Concert Band and opted to camp out for two nights. We enjoyed some midnight views of some very vocal and flying Great Horned Owls before testing our new family tent through a very impressive 2 inches in 2 hours downpour (we stayed completely dry!). In the photo below you can see the whole family hiking out after a beautiful 4th of July night at the Afton State Park backpack campground. This was our first backpacking trip with both kids and we were so out of practice we managed to leave behind most of our food, the adult's sleeping bags, and Hillary's rain coat, among other items. But all was good, especially after some other campers donated their bag of marshmallows to us.

In mid-October we headed out with about everyone else in Minnesota for a weekend of record breaking temperatures and fleeting fall color. We were aiming for the gorgeous Frontenac State Park but the unseasonably warm weather and our rambling trip via apple orchards and such got us there late afternoon only to find the campground was full. Guess we should have made that reservation after all. But our poor planning led us to discover a fantastic campground five miles south, Lake City's Hok-Si-La Campground. This campground has a really great model- cars are allowed in to drop-off and pickup your gear but then must be parked in the parking lot. The greatly-reduced traffic makes it safer for kids and eliminates the annoying opening and closing of car doors that typically punctuates car camping.

The best thing about Hok--Si-La is the readily accessible long sand beach along the shores of Lake Pepin. We had the best time building "beaver dams" as the last blast of July weather touched our October day.

Rental car camping weekends have another bonus- the kids (and the dog) get to ride in a car! Here is the happy, and tired crew.

Summer Memories 2: Accepting the SpaceLiner

It came to me innocently enough.  I was at a friend's house while he was packing to move (Dana are you reading this?).  He asked me if I wanted this old purple bike with the detached chrome fenders.  I obliged. 

Five years later I was still trying to get rid of it.  I thought our local bike co-op's used bike sale would find the perfect home for it. 

Problem 1: I had to pay for yet more repairs of it for them to sell it.  The shop recommended a sale price of $140.  Seemed high, but I at least didn't want to lose money on this proposition. 

Problem 2: 
Didn't sell.
Damn.
I'm stuck with it. 

So the old purple Sears SpaceLiner has become my neighborhood cafe cruiser.  It is quite fun to ride, save for a rather uncomfortable seat.  Here I am cruising in my matching purple shirt. 

Winter Slogging, I mean Biking

Ok,  it hasn't been a huge storm yet.  But when we left T's pre-school for his "Ball Investigation" celebration at the local bowling alley, there was about 1.5 inches on the ground.  2+ hours later there were over 3 inches on the ground.  Above three inches and the biking gets much harder, especially biking the Kangaroo with two kids.  For me I added to the burden/workout with our 6 foot cargo trailer, expecting I would go food shopping afterwards.  That was a very bad idea. While the snow was beautiful, it did become a bit of a slog.  We walked part of the way and rode most of the way.  It took like 50 minutes instead of 10, but T had a great time offering ways to help out, even climbing out and pushing the Roo as Hillary pedaled the last blocks home. We all agreed it was a better night for a sleigh ride than a bike ride.

 

Check it out!  H just graduated to riding the on the real seat instead of being scrunched in his car seat.  He immediately loved his new view from the Roo.

Summer Memories 1: Kids taking to bikes

This was a big summer for Theo and Henry who both rose to new bike heights.  Theo quickly ditched his training wheels in the spring and spent the summer improving his biking skills.  Henry reached the size at 15 months when he could ride in the Bobike front seat (a Dutch design).  Like Theo did, he loves riding in the Bobike.  And we love all the things he points to, the exclamations he makes, and his delight with riding up high.  With him right between you and the handlebars the conservation connection is fantastic. 

Here is a picture of the crew biking about 1.5 miles to our favorite Midtown Farmers Market this June.

Catching up on Lost Time

It has been two weeks since I rode my bike to work.  Bums me out.  Between my work schedule and a sudden shift into winter weather without a psychological and bike shift into winter biking, I have been taking the bus every day.  Sure, Hillary and I are doing our short rides around the neighborhood- to daycare, the food coop, rehearsal, friend's houses, etc.- but I depend on that commute for exercise and extra peace of mind.  Even for a regular bike rider, once you get out of the commute groove it can be hard to get back in when you have a good bus alternative..and the onset of winter.

It has been five months since I posted to this blog.  Bums me out.  It is not for lack of things to share.  I frankly don't know where the time went.  It was a fantastic summer with lots of great family bike rides, trips, and time with friends and family.  As the Minnesota winter has settled in - it's 12 degrees F outside now with snow on the ground - I find myself looking back on many great photos of "Riding Phrius".  These are all ones that I took thinking they would be accompanied with their own posts.  But alas, that never happened.  So amidst frustration over my last two weeks of negligible biking, transition to winter, and a long Thanksgiving weekend, I have gathered some photos of a summer and fall of "Riding Phrius".  I will post one or two every few days to catch up on lost time.  I hope you enjoy.
 

"We're still in the garage"

Coordinating Friday afternoons with a family of four can be rather hard, especially when a thunderstorm intervenes in our best made plans.

I thought I might make it home dry skirting between the storm clouds.  But the sky opened up just before I reached our favorite summer restaurant, Sea Salt. I ducked under their roof alongside the mostly dry wedding party, the soaked teenagers, and the many others waiting for their prawns and Po' boys. With nothing better to do while waiting out the rain, I got a beer and chatted with some friends celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary. (I have been waiting for an excuse to stop here for a beer for years).  Faithfully, I texted my coordinates.

Andy: "Sea Salt refuge"
Hillary: "Reading books in the garage"

5 minutes later the truth comes out when Hillary calls.

H: "We're locked out.  I left my keys in the house in the quick hand-off of Henry from the babysitter to me. When are you going to get here? Are you having a beer?"
A: "Yes. I"ll be home in 20 minutes. I'm leaving now." [half a beer left]

25 minutes later I call.

A: "Almost home."
H: "We're still in the garage."

I bike up the alley and spy Henry toddling out from the open door of our garage then head back in. I creep up with the camera and find Hillary and the two boys still reading books. Good thing Hil had been to a book sale recently! We all made it inside before the worst of the storm hit.

Bike walk week with a little birder on a bike

Being three days into Bike Walk Week in the Twin Cities,  I was feeling bummed that my schedule had prevented me from biking yet this week. But at last yesterday morning I was able to bike with Theo to school and then to work.

It is such a treat to ride to school with Theo.  He is so excited about being able to ride his bike without training wheels  This morning's ride was through beds of fragrant, fallen catalpa flowers.  Later we collected a bike windshield-sized catalpa leaf that we propped up in his basket.  He thought that was funny. And he gained an impromptu show-and-tell item for school.

 

Note the binoculars ready for action...

Dad, look at the birds!  (They were starlings, but so cool nonetheless.)

Nice Ride MN at our favorite Local Eatery

 

 Bike Share is here in Minneapolis!  Here is a new Nice Ride station recently installed in front of the Birchwood Cafe.  

Date night on bikes

Hillary and I try to have a date night once or month of so.  On a recent Saturday night it was the typical handoff to the baby sitter and race out the the door whose timing rests on many ingredients including mild planning, luck, and I hope to think some parenting skill.   We usually take the bus on date night.  But for lack of at least one ingredient, we missed the bus.  Headed to the Guthrie Theater to see "M Butterfly",  we quickly realized we could ride our bikes.  What an excellent decision that was.  It was a beautiful night and our route was along the Mississippi River. 

Pedaling through the warm summer evening, wind in our hair,
We are pedaling faster, hoping to beat our missed bus,
Tent caterpillars descending from the trees above,
Cottonwood fluff ascending, wafting lazily on the summer breeze.

We pull up beside the Guthrie Theater and file in with hundreds to enjoy an excellent production of "M Butterfly."

Darkness has fallen, we pedal homewards discussing the play,
Sipping the cooling air with the wind in our hair.

What a date night!

The little commentator on two wheels

After Theo's last night of T-ball we couldn't resist the urge to bike a little further to Minnehaha Falls Park and have dinner at Sea Salt.  "Hey, Theo, do you want to go to Minnehaha Falls?"  "Yeah, there will be lots of cool bikes there!"

With Theo and Henry in the Roo and Theo's bike perched on top, we pedaled on over.  The falls were "turned on" as Theo put it, and flowing strongly.  He was psyched.  We bumped into Theo's best buddy from school - an added bonus.  The fish fry food was really good, and the beer too.  And the Sebastian Joe's ice cream was a treat for all.  The bike ride home capped the evening off.

Theo has quickly moved beyond training wheels and is really biking well.  After a half mile or so on the way home, he said, "I want to ride my bike".  He rode over a mile and half all the way home!  The commentary was particularly good (and loud, apologies to the neighbors): 

"Hey guys, you shouldn't go out in the street when you still have a child on the sidewalk."
"I'm going to catch you, Daddy!"
"Hey, look at the cool garden.  It has lots of plants.  That's another nice garden."
"Wow, look at that house.  It looks like a gingerbread house."
"Huh, what is this part of the neighborhood?  We haven't been here before.  Are you sure this is the way home, Mommy?"
"Whoa, look, a fire, let's go faster!"
"Oooh, it is spooky.  I think it is Halloween." (As it gets dark and we pass thick tree cover)

Ride Magic - My River Commute in 3 minutes of Video

There are some bike rides that you live for. There is one I live for every week, especially when it is a gorgeous Friday afternoon after a long week at work. After a week of riding (or busing) the direct 8.5 mile route from my home to work near downtown St. Paul, I crave the 15 mile route back home along the Mississippi River. It is the perfect way to decompress after a work week and bring in the weekend. Two weeks ago I shot some video and added Tom Paxton's "Ride my Bike" as the sound track. I hope you enjoy it!

The first 12 miles of my river route in video:

My river ride in words:
From the rush of cruising through downtown St. Paul and its mini-rush hour,
To the beginning of quiet as I pass through Harriet Island,
I pass under St. Paul's High Bridge,
Through the Mississippi River floodplain forest.
River sediment, once deep, now laces the trail,
Leading to a surprise - residual floodwater.
I wind through the cottonwoods of Lilydale and,
Gently climb back in time as I ascend the side of the river gorge.
I tunnel to emerge at the cacophony of Mendota Bridge traffic,
Passing over the center of the earth and under the center of the heavens,
And pausing for deer at Fort Snelling, I make a quick descent.
Whoa, the bloodroot is blooming, and Dutchman's breeches too,
Lingering for Minnehaha Falls Park scenes,
I wish I could have stopped for a beer and dinner at Sea Salt.
Thanks to my bike, the "Italian Stallion".




















A view down the Mississippi River with downtown St. Paul in the background. This is very near the Mississippi's confluence with the Minnesota River. I take this photo about a dozen times each year in an attempt to capture the changing seasons along the River. This one is from last October.

A Picnic in the Park for Day 19 of #30daysofbiking

The luscious spring weather begged for a picnic in the park. I hopped the bus home early, we loaded up the Kangaroo with bats, balls, and picnic food and headed to pick up Theo with Moxie running alongside. It felt like a summer day that you savor every moment of...but it was April 19th.


The Kangaroo is a fantastic mobile picnic unit. Just roll it to where you want to picnic and unload the balls and what not. Tie the dog to the frame and you are hands free.
Henry had a wonderful time chasing this ball around and pointing to the string of airplanes ascending.
When the 3.5 year old tires of riding his balance bike, just lay it across the top, and have them ride inside. What a beautiful evening it was for #30daysofbiking.

Balance biking

Wanting to get rid of his training wheels, Theo goes back to practicing on his balance bike.

What a beautiful spring biking day

Short on time and anxious to get going on Day 15 of #30daysofbiking, I loaded Henry into the Roo and we took Moxie for a bike-run along the Midtown Greenway. Looking down, the path was covered with adventurous, yet unfortunate earthworms. Looking up, people's yards were filled with early spring flowers. By night time I was biking home from rehearsal under a star-studded sky. What a great day it was for biking 14 miles.

Day 11 of #30daysofbiking

It was a low mileage day and weekend for me. Too bad because it was a gorgeous weekend. From what I can tell, lots of others made it out more than I did. As I was walking the dog this morning, bikes were crossing many parts of my route. The #30daysofbiking Twitter posts also suggested a busy day. For example, lof Tweeted, "LOTS of people out on bikes today in Minneapolis. Just think if Bicycling Magazine had seen the city today."

For Day 11 I finally got out this evening for a 2.2. mile ride to and from Dunn Brothers for a little cafe work time. Gorgeous evening blue light as the day calmed down and the smoke from so many people's yard firepits lingered low.

Day 10 of #30daysofbiking (ala Dutchman's Breeches)

My favorite way to end the work week is to take the long bike route home from downtown St. Paul along the Mississippi River to Minneapolis. It is a 15 mile route full of great scenery and dedicated bike trail. I had a great time trying to capture a video description of this route yesterday (which was actually day 9 of #30daysofbiking), but I am still editing it down to a reasonable length such that somebody other than my mother-in-law would watch it.
Until I get the video up, here is one image of the wonderful spring ephemeral wildflower, Dutchman's Breeches, that bloom each early spring along one particular spot of the trail. What a treat it is to see them!

Day 7 of #30daysofbiking

Day 7 of #30daysofbiking. Sunrise on the early leaves of the Mississippi River floodplain cottonwoods. I love using my bike commutes to observe the seasonal, monthly, weekly, and daily changes in the Mississippi River floodplain forest between Minneapolis and St. Paul.
It was a big biking day, especially this afternoon. Saw 23 bikers on my 8.5 mile ride (2.7 bikers per mile) to work and 73 (8.6 bpm!) on my way home. That compares to 19 and 45, respectively, two days ago (4/5).

Biking the dog

So you like the exercise you get while you bike around town? Well why not spread the perks to your dog? With the stability of three wheels that come with the Winther Kangaroo, we find ourselves biking the dog more often to give her a good run, especially when time is tight. Moxie absolutely loves it and took to it last fall very quickly. Here is our bike run this morning for day 6 of #30daysofbiking.

Click "Like" to hear from Hillary, my partner in car-freedom

So maybe you've wondered, "ok, this is Andy's rosy view of a car-free family life, but what about the other members of the family?" Well, the other member of the family that is old enough to write, my wife Hillary, recently expressed some desire to write a Riding Phrius post. But she needs some extra encouragement. So for you Facebookers, click "Like" if you want to hear from Hillary. Or write a comment with a Riding Phrius question that you would like Hillary's perspective on.

Winter wash and winter fun

The radio host foresaw the weekend scene as he predicted our first thaw in over a month. Above freezing temps would send many to wash the salty winter grime off of their cars. I joined the carwash line to do the same for the Roo. Anyone who has biked through the winter in a snowy place can attest to how hard it is on your bike. Salt, sand, and road grit all conspire to gum up the chain and eat away at the metal parts. My 2-wheeled winter bike (affectionately called "INDY", short for "It's Not Dead Yet") now has its fenders permanently rusted to its frame. And that is nothing compared to the issues that have caused several bike mechanics to shed blood while removing winter-seized parts. Leery of the havoc that this winter may be wielding on the Roo, I wanted to wash and dry it and thoroughly oil the exposed bolts to prevent corrosion.

Thankfully, the Roo has fared very well this winter. There was a little rust on the edges of a few threads - hopefully we can stay ahead of this. It's a huge advantage having an enclosed hub to keep water, salt and grit off the most critical moving parts.

We made the best of the above average temps over the three day MLK weekend. Theo and Hillary took the bus 1.5 miles to sled and ski with Theo's buddy Nolan. We rode our bikes 1 mile to skate at Matthews Park with friends (that's Henry's red hat poking above my back.) Thanks for joining us Xena! Henry and I took the Roo to pick up groceries at the food co-op and to pick up storage bins and odds and ends at Target. As usual, we got the best parking spots in the lot.