Commuting "European Style"

I typically ride my 8.5 miles, 40 minute commute in shorts and a t-shirt and then take a shower and change into my work clothes at my office. Today, the last day of fall, with the coolness in the air and the fact that I was about to miss the last bus, I decided to bike commute "European style". I have always envied those who could just hop on their bike in their work clothes and walk right into the office. Today was my trial day. It worked great. For reference, here were the conditions at the time I reached my office: sunny, 66 degrees F, SE wind 9 mph (this was a refreshing, cooling headwind), 65% humidity. I am hoping for many more commutes like this this fall!

"Rooing" into a Picnic at Minnehaha Falls State Park

One of our favorite summer evening dinner trips is biking 4.5 miles along the Mississippi River to Minnehaha Falls State Park. Often we eat at Sea Salt, an awesome, casual seafood restaurant next to the falls. Wanting to save some money, yet catch what might be the last warm summer weekend evening at the park, we packed a picnic with Henry and Theo in the Roo. The beauty of biking to a picnic with the Roo is that you can roll the kids and gear right to where you want to be, unroll your blanket and food, and pull out the baseball mitts and balls to feed Theo's insatiable desire to hit the ball. You can also roll within earshot of the live music at Sea Salt and within "sipshot" of their fine Surly beer :).

Batting the ball to live music at Sea Salt. Baseball has been a major highlight for Theo this summer. He is quite a good hitter and took pointers from the Twins game we saw in July.

Ice cream is also a big attraction at Sea Salt. While Theo has worked on his batting, Henry has developed quite a swipe, especially for Sebastian Joe's chocolate-peanut butter ice cream.
Oh how fast the late summer days end. Where just weeks ago we could ride home in the light, night falls as we leave the Park and head home to another summer-late bedtime. Thanks Sea Salt and Minnehaha Falls for all the great visits this summer. Until next year...

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!

Facing the rain

When it comes to avoiding the worst weather during my commute, I have it made. If it is raining or snowing I can always take the bus. Walk 4 blocks, hop on the 53 and get dropped off 35 minutes later in front of my office at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Today I chose the rainy route. I woke up psyched to ride to work. But it started to rain during breakfast. I decided to just go for it. The rain was moderate at times but then eased as I reached the State Capital (above). I lucked out and avoided the possible thunderstorms. My feet and shorts were wet, but it was so worth the ride. I looked at drivers imagining myself in their seat saying, "that poor biker, what a miserable day to be riding." But my feeling was just the opposite.

Chautauqua, NY - a bike-friendly community embedded in my knees

From the scar on my knee a memory emerges. I was about ten-years old with my family on our annual vacation at Chautauqua Institution. I was biking along on my banana seat Schwinn when I spotted my sister, lifted my left hand from the handlebars to wave to her, and flashed a goofy grin. She waved back. I waved more exuberantly, until my front-wheel hit a bump launching me head-over-heels and grinding my knee into the gravelly road. Twenty-eight years later the scar persists as a reminder of the place where I first experienced the freedom of a bike.

Where I grew up there was no biking to the candy store. But for two weeks every summer my family brought our bikes to Chautauqua and my parents let us ride everywhere whenever we wanted. We biked to Bestor Plaza to get candy at the bookstore, to the lake to swim, to art class, and to Boys and Girls Club. Best of all, we biked across Thunder Bridge, named for the sound made by bikes crossing it. This 135 year old community is so safe and bike-friendly that mom and dad comfortably let us go wherever we wanted, as did all other parents. And it continues today. As I write looking over Chautauqua Lake, Chautauquans of all ages cruise by on bike and foot. Mom and dad now save themselves the walk and catch the bus that passes in front of the house. Lecture and concert-goers crowd their bikes around the Amphitheater.

I look forward to the year when Theo and Henry and their cousins are roaming freely on their bikes with the Chautauqua breeze in their hair. As the roads are much improved, with any luck their knees will fare better than mine.

P.S. To find out more about the photo I used for this post, check it out here.

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.

Feeling Phrius in Spring

Like any good Minnesota spring, this one has been sheepish. In all of March I biked the 17 mile round trip to work only 5 times. I was finally able to shed the studded tires of my winter bike, "I.N.D.Y." (It's Not Dead Yet), and mount my summer commuter ride, the "Italian Stallion". Last week provided three fantastic days for the bike commute. The conditions were perfect: ~30 degrees for the morning ride, cool enough to spare me the need to shower at work -- and 50+ degrees for the ride home, allowing me to soak in the spring sun that is pulling at those tree buds. In fact the conditions were so fine that I did my first trip home along the Mississippi River for 2009. This is a 15 mile route that quickly leaves the bustle of downtown St. Paul streets and takes you to the quiet of the Mississippi River Gorge. Granted, another sign of spring was the occasional section of trail that was under 4 inches of water (as pictured above). The Italian Stallion did not flinch.

Earlier last week I was finally able to take a day off from work to hang out with Theo, Henry, and Hillary. Thirsting for spring we put Henry in the Moby Wrap (a fantastic baby carrier for busing and walking) and caught a bus to Macy's in downtown Minneapolis to see their annual spring flower show. Theo had a blast spotting big buildings, excavators, and Bobcats from the bus and pigeons on Nicollet Mall. Henry snoozed away, his brief appearance outside the Moby earning as much attention as the blooming flowers on display. Now all we need are some Minnesota spring wildflowers to complete the picture!