Neighborhood Youth Ski League

Theo and I raced the Winther Kangaroo trike the five blocks from our house to catch the #7 bus to Theodore Wirth Park for today's Minnesota Youth Ski League (MYSL).  Just as we locked the "Roo" up, the bus passed.  Bummer.  No MYSL for us this week.  Theo was a good sport about it.  By this point the snow was really coming down.  He said, "I'll just ski home".  I rode behind him as his sag wagon.  Really enjoying the novelty of skiing through the neighborhood in the beautiful fresh snow, Theo skied on to his friend's house where we stopped to say hello and then headed back home.  He probably got just as much skiing in without any car/bus time.  Nice! Back home, he reported to Hillary that he practiced his star turn, pizza stop, and "shuffle, shuffle, glide".  Call it the Neighborhood Youth Ski League for us today.

Studded tire at last!

It was such a mild winter last year that we squeaked by without a studded tire on our Winther Kangaroo. But with the 11 inch dump last weekend, there is no skirting it this year. After many late night public meetings for work this week, I took this morning off to winterize the Roo. Henry's trike helped out nicely.

First Snow Ride

There is nothing like the first snow to get two young boys excited. By the time Henry and I left for his pre-school, nearly an inch had fallen and sun and blue sky made for a beautiful winter one-mile bike ride to pre-school. Henry marveled at the beautiful scene and giggled as I gave him the"wiggly-ride". The "wiggly-ride" consists of quick, small left-right swerves down the sidewalk, all made safe with the benefit of the three wheels of the Winther Kangaroo.

Here's Henry and our "sleigh-dog" Moxie at school.

Late night errands with a Cargo Bike

As a car-free family we have a lot of bikes for various uses. But sometimes they're spread around at various locations, or in need of repair. I had concert band rehearsal last night and expected to use my wife's bike "All Sass No Gas". But I forgot it still had a flat tire (second one in two weeks :( ). Then I figured I'd use my commuter bike "The Italian Stallion". But it was in my bike locker at work since I took the bus home yesterday afternoon. So I went with our family cargo bike, the head turning Winther Kangaroo. It was no big deal biking the cargo bike the 1.75 miles to rehearsal. Then I had it to pick up the 33 lbs of dog food and some sale item storage bins. Go Twin Cities cargo biking!

Bikepool for Saturday Soccer

This is Theo's first real year of soccer. Real in that they practice one night a week and have Saturday morning games at various parks. Last week a friend commented to Hillary that with Theo's interest in soccer, soccer mom-dom (and thus a soccer mom car) are in our near future. Yes, it is a matter of when. But so far we are managing well.

First, thanks to our friends Rolf and Renata, whose son plays on the team, and gave Theo and Hillary a ride to last week's game at a park far away from our house.  Today's game was at Minneapolis' Sibley Park which is within easy Kangaroo biking distance at just 2.3 miles away.  We even did a "bikepool", picking up another one of Theo's teammates.  This bikepool doubled as a daddy Saturday morning "spin class".  This spin class was less a cardio workout and much more a leg strength workout.  With the help of the 1st graders' budding math skills we calculated that I was pedaling about 380 pounds.  Whoa.  

Theo showing his friend the gears and the hydraulic brakes of the Winther Kangaroo before their soccer game.

The bikepool ride seeded some questions.  On the way home from soccer Theo's friend Hanif asked, "why your family hates cars".  A bit surprised by the impression that we hate cars, I responded that it's not that we hate cars, in fact we use cars often, especially when they are the better way to get around.  He had noted that his family uses cars everyday to go most everywhere.  I acknowledged that many people need to use cars because their work is far away and not conveniently reached by public transportation, for instance.  But then said that our family doesn't need a car for most of our trips.  Then Theo chimed in with the distinctive stream-of-consciousness style of a young kid, "We can take a bike, a bus, a taxi.  Cars create pollution.  Look at all these cars just parked on the street, sitting here, nobody is using them.  If we want to go camping, we can rent a car.  If we need to go farther away, we can take an airplane."  Gotta love hearing your 6-year old make such a rational argument for not owning a car.  Admittedly, this is the same kid who also occasionally asks, "Why can't we get a car?".

But the big news of the day is that the Brackett Rockets won their soccer game.  They dug out of a two point hole and won 3-2 to remain undefeated.  Go Rockets!

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.

A pedal-powered Saturday

It was a gorgeous Saturday in the Twin Cities and a great day to be pedaling around.  We made the most of the day with some gardening, a trip to the Midtown Farmer's Market, and a side bike trip to check out a beautiful street mural done by a friend.  Here are a few pics.

 

To make way for a new ironwood tree in our yard, we moved Theo's beloved white currant bush to a another spot.  Here he is pedaling it across the yard in his tractor wagon.  That rig comes in handy!

With the currant transplanted we caught the tail-end of the Midtown Farmer's Market.  We saw this super figure puppet show by two guys from Open Eye Figure Theater.  They have this fun, whimsical stage built on the base of a Burley kid bike trailer! 

 

Here are the artists riding away on their tandem with the theater trailing behind. They said it is especially good for promoting Open Eye Theater at large festivals...and for lunch money.

With both kids needing a nap, we extended our route to check out this beautiful street mural.  This shows a part of it at 19th Ave. S. and 34th Street, right next to the Corcoran Park building in south Minneapolis.  Henry was asleep in no time, but Theo was up long enough for the mural and to spot the ice cream truck ahead of us.  After three blocks in hot pursuit we caught up to it. Mmm... popsicles.

The middle of a long nap for both boys in the Kangaroo.  I guess we should have kept Theo strapped in!

Busing and Triking it to Church

A few years ago, like many parents with young children, we started attending church. While not in our neighborhood, we were drawn to Plymouth Congregational Church on the edge of downtown Minneapolis. It offers probing, progressive preaching, a deeply engaged congregation, wonderful music and youth programs and much more.  Theo and Henry really like to go to church school and Hillary and I get a peaceful, reflective hour together in the service. 

So how does a car-free family get to a church that is 4+ miles away?  Usually by bus. Two buses actually.  We can hop on the #21 heading west and pick-up the #18 heading north up Nicollet Ave.  If we are lucky it is a 30 minute trip.  If not it can be 40 minutes.  Sundays aren't great bus days, with lower frequency even on busy routes. Luckily, if the bus connection is bad, we can usually find a taxi waiting in the K-Mart parking lot and get a $5 ride the last mile, a convenience that's especially helpful in the winter.

And as of yesterday, we added a door-to-door taxi ride to the mix.  Yes, we are usually pushing the bus schedule.  Yesterday was the day we completely missed it.  In frustration Hillary suggested we just go home.  But Theo's tears over missing church school, as well as our own desire to go, led to Plan B.  So we called a taxi and $14 later ended up getting there earlier than if we had caught our bus.

Here are some images from a recent Sunday when we took the bus.  And then an earlier Sunday when we biked.

Train-obsessed Henry checked out The Polar Express from the church library to read on the ride home. The library is a favorite stop for the kids.

One advantage of a bus and kids- no car seats!  They love looking out the windows and always want to sit "up high" for better views. Sometimes one or both fall asleep on the way home.  The bench seats can be an advantage in this situation. Another perk of the bus, Hillary and I can take turns reading the Sunday paper.

On mild spring and fall Sundays we will occasionally bike to church.   We can cruise westwards on our nearby bike highway, the Midtown Greenway, and then do the last mile or less on Nicollet Ave.  A few weeks ago when Hillary had to work, I did my first solo trip to church with Theo and Henry in the Kangaroo. 

Theo looking ahead on the Midtown Greenway.

"Stop it with the camera" he is probably thinking.  Soon he was blocking my camera view with a book.  This was a beautiful day to do this ride. 

A favorite destination after church school- the church courtyard with its fountain.  Theo and Henry love chasing each other through the bushes and jumping off walls.

Ok, solo church dad looking a little disgruntled, but all in all this was a great church outing with T and H via the Kangaroo.

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.

Celebrating our Veloduct - the Midtown Greenway

As a car free family we are blessed to live within 3 blocks of the Midtown Greenway. This former rail corridor provides a 5.5 mile bike-pedestrian path through the heart of south of Minneapolis. It is our "veloduct" to the Mississippi River to the east and the Minneapolis Chain-of-Lakes to the west. Along this route we frequent the Midtown Global Market and, before kids, the nightlife and shopping buzz of Uptown.

Tonight we celebrated the Greenway and the Midtown Greenway Coalition by attending the Coalition's Progressive Dinner Fundraiser. Here are some pics of us and some of the other celebrants.

I caught up with Hillary, Theo, and Henry riding the "Roo". Hillary and Theo donned their sprout helmets and pinwheels from the May Day parade. Note the pinwheels on the Roo.


We encountered Coalition staff members in their super hero duds...

And Executive Director Tim in his cowboy duds.


First stop, appetizers on the west side of the Greenway.


Check these two out - they dressed as the Greenway!

This fellow seemed like a great contender for the best dressed costume, but he actually came directly from his office in his work clothes. (He's Danish.)


Hillary on her way from appetizers to the main course at the Midtown Exchange.


With the pinwheels and the matching helmet, Hillary won the best decorated bike prize. Henry was there to collect the gift card which Theo obsessively guarded. (I think he went to sleep with it!)


Eastward to the final stop - dessert. Stopped to photograph the awesome bike-pedestrian bridge that threads the Greenway over Hiawatha Avenue and the Light Rail Line.


Thanks to the Greenway Coalition and all of its supporters for all they do!

We got a mini-van(!)...bike style that is

The addition of a second kid to an American family frequently leads to the addition of a larger car. Indeed we wondered how we could continue using bicycles as our primary mode of transportation with the addition of Henry to our family. With Theo, once his neck could handle it, we strapped a car seat into a Burley trailer to get him around with us. Although a Burley can carry two kids, it can't carry two kids and a car seat, let alone groceries. Like so many American bike things, it is designed more for recreation than transportation.

Traveling to Copenhagen in 2005 to visit Hillary's sister, Polly, and her husband Camron, opened our eyes to a city alive with bikes being used for transportation. It was absolutely amazing. Mamas and papas biking their kids everywhere on cool trikes of various designs, postal carriers on custom bikes, electric bikes, "posterbikes", etc. Check out the slide show to the right for pictures of bikes from our trip. If I remember correctly, about 80% of the population in Copenhagen uses a bike. Bikes are for transportation - no Spandex - people ride to work in their work clothes. One of my favorite shots is the woman in the business suit and high heels waiting at the red light.

With the birth of Polly and Camron's first daughter they bought a Nihola transport bike to get around during their year in Copenhagen. In the slideshow there is a picture of Hillary riding it. Interested in bringing these great bikes back to America, they also bought a Winther Kangaroo. Not needing two Danish transport bikes, they generously offered our expanded family the Kangaroo, which we affectionately call "Roo".

The Roo has been a wonderful addition to the family. Hillary felt liberated as she could take both kids with her wherever she went. Henry's car seat straps in securely leaving plenty of space for Theo. Theo can climb right in and sit down on his own. He loves looking out of his own zip-down window. With the kids up front, a strong metal frame supporting the pod, and a heavy molded plastic base it feels much safer than riding with kids in a trailer. You can also easily see the kids and hold a conversation. There is plenty of head room for years of growth. We look forward to sharing more Roo adventures! For another family's Kangaroo adventures in hilly Scotland check out Musings from a Stonehead.