Riding Phrius goes to Greece

Well, at least the Andy part of Riding Phrius. 

By being car-free, we prevent all these carbon emissions by riding bikes, taking public transportation, and only using cars when we absolutely have to. But unfortunately much of that savings gets blown with airplane travel to Ohio and Pennsylvania  and other distant states to visit family and friends.  But this time I have really blown it... by going to Greece with my dad. 

Dad is 87 and loves to travel.  He discovered Penn State University trips several years ago and has gone on at least half a dozen.  They are a good deal and they are run by an excellent tour leader who likes having him on the trips. But he hasn't been able to go on one for over 2 years.  Every time I see him, he mentions how much he wants to travel.  So through a collective family effort of Hillary letting me go for 12 days as she stays with the boys and my brother staying at the house with mom, I am the one that gets to accompany dad on this group trip to Greece.  Rough.

I was a little leery of this trip. I did the last trip with him 2+ years ago to Spain and Portugal.  Four hours before we were going to fly home from that trip, Dad discovered that he had lost his passport.  With a trip to the Seville police station, a lucky connecting flight past the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, and some fast foot work on the part of the tour leader, he managed to get another passport.  Do I really want to travel with this guy again?  Well, obviously the answer was yes. 

Late this afternoon we arrived in Athens.  Just as we were getting to the passport inspection station we hear over the PA system, "Passenger Mr. Holdsworth, please come to the service counter".  Oh boy, what is it this time?!  After worrying about the worst things it could be, we learned that the airline had left dad's suitcase at London Heathrow.  As the tour leader said, this guys is cursed.  We should have the luggage by sunrise and we hope he has gotten this out of his system for the rest of the trip! 

Day 27 of 30 Days of Biking

With a late day at school and work, we spontaneously opted to eat dinner at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, the Birchwood Cafe.  I biked from the Hub Bike Shop and met Hil and the kids at the Birchwood.  I hadn't been there in months and had a great chicken stew.  It really hit the spot on a cool evening.

We also had a fun bike ride home for Day 27 of 30 Days of Biking.  Day 27 was a big one for Theo.  For the first time he biked on his own bike across one of the Mississippi River bridges. 

Here are a few pics from our evening ride home from the dinner.

Alleycat: "I'm a Cheetah!"

Theo's favorite way to get in his daily dose of 30 Days of Biking is what we now affectionately call "Alleycat".  Alleycats are informal bike races typically in urban areas.  I have a work buddy who first told me about alleycat races, but I have never done one.  Last year Theo and I started doing "preschooler alleycats" - minor bike chases in the alley behind our house.  We do circles and figure-eights around trash cans between our neighbors' garages.  It has actually proved to be a great way for Theo to advance his bike skills and learn good lessons from a few "soft knocks".  Hillary caught us on video and in photos during our post dinner Alleycat the other night.  Theo was so fast that he declared, "I'm a Cheetah!" Here are some of the photos:

Confessions from Riding Phrius and Support of Fellow Car Freers

I started our Riding Phrius blog to share the day-to-day joys (and challenges) of a young family living car free. It has been a gratifying means to share our experiences with family and friends and hopefully many others. But on Friday morning I got an especially gratifying comment from Henry's teacher. "Andy, I love your blog, it has helped inspire us to remain car free." Henry's teacher and her husband recently had a baby. They were on the verge of buying a used car. In fact they were so close that her husband found a car, went to the dealer the next day expecting to buy it only to learn that they had just sold it to somebody else! So car freedom, desired or not, prevailed. I am really glad that Riding Phrius can help inspire and confirm the unique quality of life that comes from being car free.

I must confess that Hillary and I have had many discussions in the last few months about the emerging constraints of not having a car. Believe it or not, we have been "Riding Phrius" for over 8 years! Neither of us thought we would go that long. We knew that as the kids got older and more and more involved in activities, the desire to have easier access to a car would increase. Hillary would really like to be able to get out of the city more regularly to visit regional parks and friends. Theo recently announced that he wants to do a kids cross-country ski race next year. There is this awesome Minnesota Youth Ski League that Theo could join to really learn how to ski, but it meets at a park on the other side of Minneapolis. (Note: we could actually get there on a single bus from our neighborhood to the park, but it would be a 50 minute ride-- kind of long to do every Sunday with kids, especially if we want to get to church or anything else that day). And the kids are getting bigger and heavier to pedal around in the Winther Kangaroo. Theo is riding much more, but not in the winter, or the pouring rain, or when the trip is longer than a few miles.

If an HourCar hub was near us on Lake St... if we still had a closer car to borrow...if the recent winter hadn't been so snowy and long....we might feel this less. Still, I think those days when we need to make those longer trips inside and just outside the city are relatively few in number, like maybe 20 extra days a year? To own a car for those extra days, would compromise so many of our prime biking days. We would lose many more biking days to driving short trips around town simply because a car was right in front of the house. We would lose out on so many days of short bike trips and the attendant surprises - a fresh breeze, a glimpse of a flying Cooper's Hawk, bike to bike conversations with the kids, etc.

The draw to have a car is so strong. Cars are embedded in American culture and individual identity. For most people, whether it be a sports car, a hybrid, or an SUV, their choice of a car sends important messages about them. They like speed, they want to be green, they want be seen as "outdoorsy". NPR's Marketplace just noted this in the beginning of a series that will be exploring the costs of car ownership over the next few weeks. I look forward to hearing that discussion.  Here is the kickoff, that I paraphrased in this paragraph.

Theo joins me in 30 Days of Biking: the first 10 days

"Theo, do you want to ride your bike every day for the next 30 days?" I asked.  "Sure, Dad!" Theo replies.  I took the pledge for 30 Days of Biking and am so psyched that Theo, at 4 going on five, was up for it too.  He rode his bike to and from school the first day when the AM temperature was 35 degrees and there were still ice patches on the sidewalk.

Day 2: Late afternoon bike ride to the nearby school park.  Bobike for Henry.  Kids love the Bobike, Henry is no exception.

Day 3: Family morning ride to park for Theo to play with his friend.

Day 4: "Theo do you want to ride your bike to school today?", Hillary asked.  "Of course, mom, it is 30 Days of Biking!"

Day 5: I left the rusty, studded tire, sluggish winter bike (named "I.N.D.Y.": It's Not Dead Yet) in the garage and finally pulled the Italian Stallion out for the non-winter commutes.  Such a nice ride!   Theo made it to dinner time without riding.  So we took a beautiful evening family ride around the block.  Henry just loves the Bobike.  He frequently says, "Henry go on Bobike" and now gets upset if we try to divert him to the Roo.  In recognition of all the growing Theo has done since biking last fall, I raised his seat.  He was skeptical of the need, but did not resist.

Day 6: Theo bikes the mile to and from school again today.  "It's a beautiful day for a bike ride, Mommy.  Boy, it's a good thing that Daddy raised my seat."

Day 7: I was blessed with a beautiful view of a Bald Eagle flying along the Mississippi River Gorge during my morning bike commute. It landed in a tree further ahead on the bike trail.  I biked by it and there it was perched next to another Bald Eagle!  These are the wonderful moments that come with lots of time outside

Day 8: Fun to bike with Theo to school today.  He told me all about the erosion happening along the sidewalk on 31st Ave.  He spotted a Robin on the corner of a building.

I arrived home from my bike commute and met up with Hillary, Theo and Henry just as they were biking home from school.  Theo and I started a round of what I will call "Alley Cat".  This is a "game" we started last year.  It consists of biking circles and figure-eights in the alley behind our house.  We wind around whatever obstacles, trash cans, parked cars, in a low grade chase.  He loves it - it is a lot of fun.  Here I am in hot pursuit...

Day 9: Mommy, "Theo, we need to go to the post office."  Theo, "And we'll ride our bikes because it's 30 Days of Biking!"

Day 10:  More "Alley Cat" for Theo and me today.  It is actually a great game for practicing biking and testing your limits a bit.  Theo gets to practice tight turns and the braking and control necessary for them.  He has to deal with uneven surfaces and gravel.  He took a spill on the gravel  and luckily landed unhurt but all the better for the lesson of being extra careful with gravelly surfaces.  He blamed Hillary for distracting him and causing him to fall.  Another good lesson, there will always be distractions, one must stay focused despite them.

Theo is really into 30 Days of Biking.  Yesterday (day 12) he, Hillary, and Henry just missed the bus to the YWCA.  Theo quickly responded, "That is OK, Mommy.  We can ride our bikes instead because it is 30 Days of Biking!"  They had a great ride to the Y and got a bonus stop at the library on the way home.

Just do it: 30 days of Biking this April

I participated in 30 Days of Biking last April and one month last fall. This is a great way to help you get your bike out early this year and experience spring from the bicycle lane or trail or road.  Even a trip around the block is rewarding (I had many days where that is all I did.).  But then you can work up to longer trips. 30 days of biking changed people's lives last year.  People lost weight.  People started bike commuting regularly.  There were some great stories.  And it also builds community.  It was the first time where I appreciated the power of an online community of participants tweeting about their bike rides every day or writing about it in their blogs.

And you can do it wherever you live!  People from all over the world have taken the pledge.  World bikers unite!

Register here: http://bit.ly/30Register

Let me know how it goes for you.

Here is a cool Wordle made from the motivations stated by people who have already registered.  

Fun video of bicycles in winter in Minneapolis - and Henry and I are in it!

Even as a winter biker I have been quite amazed at the conditions that Minneapolis' winter bike riders have endured this winter.  They were out after the big 17 inch snow storm and in and after the many storms after that.  They got quite a bit of media attention too.  Hardy winter commuters kept up there 18 mile or more commutes.  Impressive. 

A Minneapolis woman was also impressed and did a photo essay of Minneapolis' winter riders.  She turned it into a YouTube video.  Just before she completed it, she saw Henry, Moxie (the dog) and I pull up in front of Theo and Henry's school in the Winther Kangaroo.  She couldn't resist taking some photos.  So we appear at the 2 minute mark of the video.  Enjoy!