Young Bikers Spreading their Wings at Chautauqua

The second week of August took us back to the long-time Holdsworth summer vacation spot, the Chautauqua Institution in western New York State.  It was my 40th year there (I missed one while doing research in the Brazilian Amazon). After many years of flying from Minnesota to Cleveland, and then driving with Hillary's family to Chautauqua, the recent jump in airfares (and the need to purchase a 4th for the first time) made us rethink our plans.  We decided to rent a car and drive the 900 miles (~16 hours) there and back.  In my humble opinion, I think the trip went well. Henry, however, exclaimed many times on the way there that "this trip is taking too long!"  The trip home was easier and we'll likely do it again.  Driving to Chautauqua again brought back vivid memories of my family packing the family station wagon (and a large trailer in some years) and driving the 8 hours from eastern Pennsylvania to Chautauqua.

Three years ago I wrote a Riding Phrius post in which I reminisced about biking as a kid at Chautauqua.  I also looked forward to the time when our kids would experience that freedom.  Well, this year's trip was the beginning of that time!  Last year Theo rented a bike and began to master using his brakes as he navigated the hills of Chautauqua. But this year I saw the beginning of Chautauqua biking freedom in him.  One of his 7 year old cousins led him and his other cousin the ~3/4 of a mile to Boys and Girls Club on their bikes. No parents involved.  He tested himself on the hills.  He comfortably biked ahead of us in the quiet streets mostly minding the rules of the road. Meanwhile, Henry finally mastered peddling a tricycle. What a great week of daily riding for the kids. Here are a few biking pics from the trip.

Henry, Theo and their cousin Louisa rev their engines in preparation for Children's School.

Theo showing off his rental bike. Louisa sporting her Papa's childhood bike. Theo wishes he had one like it.

Heading along the lake to the afternoon session at Boys and Girls Club.

Parking amongst the mob of bikes.

Theo running into the Girls Club where his Group 1 started their afternoon session.

T rolls his first car into a pond.

Worse yet his three year old brother's stick collection got wet. Beware the dangers of kids from car-free families!

A beautiful morning on the Midtown Greenway

You could tell it had been an exceptionally hot eight days in Minneapolis from the sight of the many bikers, joggers, and walkers on the Midtown Greenway this morning. Yes, finally the temperatures had cooled down to a reasonable mid 60s by morning. As I walked our dog Moxie, I was wishing I was on my bike headed to the lakes or beyond. But I did have the chance to stop and appreciate the beautiful native plantings along our section of the Greenway near the Anne Sullivan ramp.

I want to thank all who have worked so hard to restore this little patch, especially my wife, Hillary. I love walking through this section, the "Shasta site," throughout the seasons, always thinking of what so many have done to make it such a wonderful spot along the Greenway.

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!

30 Days of Biking at Last!

All of our family members above the age of 3 signed up for 30 Days of Biking this year.  That is me, Theo, and Hillary who have taken the pledge along with 3000+ other folks all over the world.  The 30 Days of Biking pledge is simple: "Ride somewhere every day for 30 days, then share your adventures online". 

We are lucky enough to be spending the first week with Hil's family during spring break on Sanibel Island, Florida.  (Check out it's excellent 22 mile bicycle trail network (and incredible amount of green space/conservation areas) here.)  We were having so much fun on the beach and such that we didn't rally to line-up rental bikes for Theo until yesterday (Day 2 of 30 Days of Biking) and then managed to miss our daily ride yet again.  But finally we all made it out this evening, with the addition of T's cousins.  With all rented/borrowed bikes, it was more of a test ride to adjust everybody's bikes.  Here are some pics from our first 30 Days of Biking 2012 ride.  For us make it 28 days of biking.  Oh, well.

Finally,  a fine excerpt from the 30 Days of Biking story. 
"...We want you to remember how riding around your neighborhood felt when you were a kid, when a bike was your only transportation and you loved it. We want you to remember the freedom bicycling offers. The happiness, the independence. These things aren't lost to the ages or the past. They're still available, as nearby as your saddle. And, ultimately, they lead to a healthier life."

Thanks to the Readers of Riding Phrius!

I must admit that blogging can be a rather lonely endeavor.  How much are people reading my posts?  Yes, I can look at the page view statistics.  Some posts have topped one hundred views.  Woohoo. Many have less than ten.  But what value are people really getting from Riding Phrius? 

Henry and I enjoying a moment together on the bus to church. 

In early January I sent an email to friends and family with year-end highlights from Riding Phrius. Here’s a big shout out to all of you who read Riding Phrius and those who comment online or in person.  It means a tremendous amount to me and helps me keep writing about our family’s experience of “Riding Phrius.” Writing droughts there may be, but I am always thinking of new posts, a few percent of which happen. 


Here are the posts that I highlighted to my friends and family:

The Annual Christmas tree pick-up by bike

Theo, our eager cyclist:  Theo joins me in 30 Days of Biking

Car-free through a serious Minnesota winter: Taxi Time and the Siberian Express

    (this winter seems far away after the crazy mild winter we just finished.)

Fun video as Theo bikes 7.5 miles: Open Streets - Ciclovia Minneapolis 2011

Yes, we have our doubts: Confessions from Riding Phrius 

          What do we mean by car-free?: Car-free by the Numbers 

Here are some messages I got from readers: 


Jim G. "...As someone who still does drive a car (though sparingly when in the city — I’m a subway/streetcar/bus freak), I can tell you that my occasional and always rewarding drop-in on your blog makes me question continuing to have a car — you’re a great example of “how-to” in this crazy mechanized world."  
 Thanks Jim!


Anne-Marie: "...I was thinking about your blog - have you ever considered making it a kind of "how-to?" You and Hil must have learned so much about how to use your bikes to do almost everything. For example, how do you get groceries? What do you keep an eye on when you're commuting in traffic? How do you see when it's unexpectedly pouring rain?"  Good idea, Anne-Marie.  I will try to weave in more how-to when possible.  I have always thought that there is a lot of how-to resources out there.  But it is easy to take that for granted.  And we often lean more on what we hear from friends and contacts.  


My grad school office mate Mitch wrote: " At one point this year Valerie and I owned 5 cars, but being good Americans we reduced it to 3."  That is classic, Mitch.


My college professor (now emeritus) Doug M. wrote: "You'd be happy to know that we both continue our bike-riding ways, so that I may not use the disgusting car more often than once every several weeks, and Else sometimes may not more than one or twice a week. I plan to ride through the entire winter, only falling on average once every other year or so when there is such glare ice that one can't get traction. My (now) much younger colleagues delight in calling me a wimp if I don't ride in."  Doug, you are an inspiration!


Thanks to these folks and many more for their comments, inspiration, and ideas for Riding Phrius!
What do you like about Riding Phrius?  What types of posts do you enjoy reading the most?  What questions to you have about our car-free life? I value your comments and appreciate that you take the time to check in with Riding Phrius. Thanks!