Bike, bus taxi... The making of multi-modal children

There have been lots of great Riding Phrius quotations from the kids this past year. They show how facile the boys have gotten at considering and choosing amongst all the transportation options we have. 

Bonding with Henry on the bus. 

While returning from the Fulton neighborhood’s Fourth of July parade last year I was riding our Winther Kangaroo trike, Hillary had Henry on the Bobike and Theo was on his bike.  We were riding along the Hiawatha Light Rail Train (LRT) in Minneapolis when Theo exclaimed, “I know, Mom, we can catch the LRT, put our bikes on it and then ride the last bit to our house!”  Great idea, Theo.  Why didn’t we think of that? 

“I want to go to the Minnesota Zoo.  Let’s rent a car!” - Henry.

“We’re going in a rental car?  Yay!” - Henry

Henry inspecting our rental car during a Wisconsin X-C ski weekend.

“Let’s ride our bikes!” - Theo

“I want to ride my bike” - Henry referring to what is actually a small tricycle that he will sometimes ride for mile-long trips. 

“How about we borrow a car?” - Theo.

“How about a taxi?”

“What, we’re taking a taxi instead of a bus?  Taxis are expensive.  I used to think they were a dollar a ride”. - Theo

Some readers of Riding Phrius have joked that Theo and Henry will want to drive big SUVs when they turn sixteen.  That could be, but hopefully our kids are gaining a deep experience of using a variety of modes of transportation.  I hope this experience will help them adapt in this rapidly changing world where transportation choices have important environmental, social, and economic implications for individuals, communities and society. 

As I was writing this I found this interesting Grist post on the decline in driving by young people. 

--> Theo and I showing off our ski boots and skis after  carpooling with friends to the MN Youth Ski League in Theodore Wirth Park.