Tacoma Bike Ranch

2nd Cycle: A New Location for Tacoma's Bicycle Co-op

2012-02-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

Tacoma's non-profit bicycle co-op 2nd Cycle opened it's doors last Saturday in their new location at 1312 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. A few friends and I cycled over to check out the new space.

The new shop is cavernous compared to the old space! They now have plenty of room for their vast collection of used parts, frames, and complete bikes. Customers can spread out as they tune bikes in the stand, search for parts, and share tools. Our kids were literally running around without bothering any one.

The steady stream of customers that came in during their first hour was evidence to me that 2nd Cycle is providing a useful and much needed service to the community. Stop by and check it out.

DIY Studded Bike Tires

2012-01-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

For the last three years I've wanted to make a set of studded bike tires, but the bad weather always comes and goes before I have a chance to act. Not this year. I loosely followed the advice and instructions from this video and used this video as a reference for how long the project would really take (try counting how many beers he drinks!)

I used 26" mtb tires that were salvaged from a bike project year ago, placing screws in every other knob, 52 screws per side. Since I only bought 200 #8-1/2" panhead screws, I had to rummage for the other 8.

I used a variable speed hand drill with a 5/64" bit to put a pilot hole in each knob from the outside. I started all of the screws from the inside with a screwdriver, then finished driving them flush with the drill at low speed. You don't want to over tighten the screws as they can strip out the knob or tangle the tire casing fabric. Don't forget: once you're done you'll need an old tube to use as a liner between the screw heads and the tube you're inflating.

It took me $7 cash and three solid hours for 208 screws. If this seems like too much work, plan ahead of the bad weather and order some studded tires from your local bike shop. I'll give you a ride report if we get more snow and ice. That might be this week or it might be next winter!

Fresh Start

2012-01-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

I've published my annual cycling goal list here for the last few years. I need to set cycling goals for myself because I don't always take enough time to do enough cycling even though I know it's a cornerstone of my life and improves my physical and mental health. So I keep a spreadsheet and track my progress. It works for me.

Here's how 2011 turned out:

Rode 2,137 miles, exceeding the 2,011 mile goal.
Raised $2,000 for Courage Classic, missing my $3K goal.
Remodeled guest room on schedule, subsequently had more time to ride.
Spent less time on the internet? Maybe. I deleted my FB account in December to clean the slate for 2012.

So, not a bad year, but I had some hiccoughs. My injury on Day 3 of the Courage Classic kept me from riding my first cyclocross season. But after some physical therapy and a fitting at Tacoma Bike, I'm ready to properly ride into the New Year.

Out with the old...

In with the new.

Here are my 2012 goals:

Ride 2,012 miles.
Run 100 miles.
Race cross with Team Tacoma Cyclocross.
Volunteer at 2nd Cycle.

Good Luck with your 2012 goals and Happy New Year from TBR!

From the Rubbish Bin

2011-11-30T22:04:00.001-08:00

My dad noticed this bike in a recycling dumpster and, having every right to take it out, he did. It's a Hawthorne 3-spd ("333" hub) from who-knows-when. The brand was sold at Montgomery-Ward department stores at one time. Dad thought it looked pretty good.

This is the second bike I've prettied-up with a 333 hub, so I was somewhat familiar with this level of quality (i.e. low.) While the bike may not be suitable for someone of my size and willingness to sprint and jump curbs, this bicycle seems to have some life left as a quiet grocery hauler or a guest bike for my little sister. After some adjustment, the hub still works fine (the entire right grip is the the shifter between L-N-H), but the brakes need newer pads, cables, and housing. For less than $10 at 2nd Cycle, I should be able to put this bike safely back on the road. That's my meager shopping list taped to the stem.

I think my little sister is going to enjoy the narrow handlebars and sparkle vinyl saddle (not to mention the fact that the previous owner was likely a Muppet.)

Turkicanus Bicyclette in Tacoma

2011-11-16T08:30:00.001-08:00

via LordRocktober

Podiumed

2011-11-14T14:01:00.001-08:00

The Bone Collector Alley Cat race was awesome. I squeaked out a 3rd Place finish by 12 seconds. First time I've been on the podium EVER.

The Starting Line

Choose-Your-Own Course: my route was ~16 miles.

There was a race official at every stop to punch your card and track your progress.

The Finish!

The Time Keeper

The Battle for Third!

I actually thought I had a good chance at winning, but the McKinley Hill at the end kicked my ass. I wore Cho-Pat straps on both knees as this was the first time since I injured myself this summer where I was riding hard. I'm happy to report that I had no pain afterward. Woot! More to follow on the injury recovery process...

Alley Cat Race This Saturday...in Tacoma!

2011-10-11T13:44:00.000-07:00

Here is the good word from Lord Rocktober:

THE BONE COLLECTOR

ALLEY CAT RACE 2011

Saturday, October 15th

3:00pm - Registration

4:00pm - Race Starts

$5 - entry fee

Meet up at: THE ACME GRUB CAGE TAVERN :: Tacoma, WA

The race will be the stuff of legend...the winners elevated as immortals...uh....yeah...pretty much. Up for grabs is a badass trophy for 1st placed guy and girl! Prizes for top 3 finishers as well. Plus all the the street cred you can shovel into your little ego. Ready to throw it down? Strategy could be the winning ingredient over brut strength, plus there will be opportunities for time bonuses at many of the race checkpoints! Rain or dry we race – (We’re riding bikes...how crazy cool is that?!) 21+ and biking is at your own risk...so don't fall down yo! Spread the word!

TACOMA MOB RIDERS — We Own the Streets!!!

Fender Weather

2011-09-26T10:00:00.000-07:00

It's pouring in Tacoma this morning, the first heavy rainfall of the new school year. If you're trying to figure out a way to keep your kids dry on their ride to school, look no further than an old campaign sign. It's made from coroplast, a corrugated plastic, and it works great for making waterproof things like fenders. I had to re-reuse the coroplast fender from our trail-a-bike to hack a front and rear fender for Gwen's 16" Schwinn. Not my best ziptie creation, but it will do for now. She was actually pretty stoked to have her bike look more like the grown-up bikes in our stable and asked that we also add a spokecard. Anything to keep you riding, Kid!

Check out Kent's Bike Blog to witness a true coroplast master at work.

CC'11 -Day 3

2011-09-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

[This year's Courage Classic was so awesome, it's gonna take three posts to tell you all about it! Part 3 of 3. - Matt]

I don't remember waking up during the night. Instead, I slept hard and awoke a few minutes before the alarm clock was set, feeling refreshed and ready to ride. Gordon, thank you for sharing your condo!

After an early breakfast and a very impromptu team photo, I ran into Tim, rider of the singlespeed Sekai. It sounds like there were maybe four singlespeeds this year, though we only had visual confirmation of three. I was geared the lowest by at least a few teeth.

The Chumstick Highway quickly takes you out of Leavenworth and into the country. It's shady and chilly in the morning as we pass farms and homesteads in this narrow valley. The pace is generally relaxed on this section, although there was one bullet train of seven guys that blew by me, led by Tony from Tacoma Bike. That guy could give Superman a run for his money if Superman rode a bike. I was glad to see Gene in that paceline though: Gene rode the Courage Classic last year on a 8-speed internally-geared bike while wearing slacks, shirt and tie for all 3 days. He's a cool guy.

Jaarvis fell in love with my road bike

Neighbors: Me, Steve and Gary live within 2 blocks of each other

Prepare for climb! Remove a layer!

Switchback descent

A few of us regrouped at the first rest stop, everyone still pretty full from the pancake breakfast served up by the Leavenworth Lions Club. So, back on the road.

Sisters!

Once reconnected with Hwy 2, the main line over Steven Pass, there's another rest stop with rootbeer floats, massage tables, and a hula contest. I was a reigning champ from last year (with the tshirt to prove it!), but I lost this contest early to Terry and the 10 year old in the middle. The kid won, making us both look like fools. It was fun and funny. (BTW - any of the action shots with me in them were taken by the Courage Classic photographer.)

The real climbing starts after the Hawaiian rest stop. Unlike the other two passes which are both really just one long climb with two grades (steep and steeper), the climb up Stevens is more like five separate climbs each with its own grade and little mini descent afterwards. My teammate Joel rode the first of these main climbs with me, his pacing was perfect and we were really moving. I was out of the saddle for much of the climb, but felt good. Joel moved ahead on that first mini-descent as I coasted down behind him.

The next 2 parts of the climb were very much the same. Most of the riders that I'd passed on the climb would pass me on the following downhill section, then I'd catch them on the next climb. I pulled over to stretch and eat a snack a few times as the miles started to add up. My knees were starting to stiffen a bit, but I was still hammering away with a smile on my face as I approached the final water stop just four miles from the summit.

I stopped for water and stayed only long enough to stretch, maybe two minutes. I must have had an adrenaline rush or something, because I really didn't want to stop. All I could think about was getting to the summit.

I left a few teammates at the water stop who were waiting to regroup and headed into the home stretch. The grade of the last four miles always seems significantly steeper than the other climbs, though I've always wondered if this is just because it's Day 3 and I'm getting tired. Today it didn't really matter how steep it was because about one mile into this final climb, my knees really started to bug me.

This is where the ride started to be less fun. I pulled over to stretch and take a long drink. Other than muscle fatigue and burning lungs after a hard sprint, I'd never hurt like this on a bike. Something wasn't right and I was now struggling. I tried to mentally refocus on my technique, thinking that I should try to pull instead of push the pedals, anything for some relief.

Lori and Brian, who had been waiting at the water stop, caught up with me after my second road-side stretch session. I gingerly got back on the bike and rode with them for a half mile or so, then feeling like the pace wasn't working for the pace I needed to pedal, I picked it up a little and climbed out of the saddle. Not long after, I had to pull over again. This time I just sat on the jersey barrier and massaged my knees, trying to look cool, trying to convince myself that I wasn't on the verge of some major injury.

Lori caught me again and I got back on the bike. All I could think about was my knees and how much I wanted the summit to be around the next bend. It wasn't.

I don't remember who passed us (Katie?), but I recall Lori pointing out my signlespeededness, boosting my spirits a bit. Katie was riding a little faster, more the pace I needed to ride, and Lori wanted to slow for Brian. I took Katie's wheel and tried to stay focused on something other than the pain. "GO MATT, GO!! YOU CAN DO IT!!" yelled Lori from about 100 yards back. I almost cried. Instead I smiled and pedaled on. It hurt.

That last half mile from the summit was the longest 2600 feet of my life. I had fallen off Katie's wheel. Why didn't I just stop and take the SAG wagon to the top? Was I too proud, too stubborn, or just too distracted? Maybe all of those things. I know that at this point, I wanted to reach the summit on my own power in a bad way. Besides, it was all downhill after that, right?

I barely made it. That last 200 feet, I could hardly turn the crank even while standing. I was emotionally overwhelmed as I started thinking about my friends and how they had encouraged me and supported me so much, thinking about how I was finally to the top and how hard it had been, and thinking about how this might be my last Courage Classic - maybe not ever, but at least for a while. I was emotionally overwhelmed by all of these thoughts, right there at the summit. Even this last part of the ride had been awesome in its own way.

I choked it all back, not wanting anyone to see my watery eyes, not wanting my teammates to know how hard it was. If someone had hugged me, I probably would have lost it. I was limping quite a bit, my left knee feeling worse than the right. I called Sarah to let her know that I'd made it and that I was going to be at the summit for a while.

We ate lunch and relaxed for close to an hour. Several teammates had hauled tallboys the whole way up Stevens so they could celebrate the weekend (this is becoming a tradition.) Hanging out with them made me feel better. That's what friends do. I've listed many of them in these posts, but have left out twice as many (or more). Camaraderie is the best reason to ride Courage Classic.

The summit lunch would be a great ending to the ride, but there's an intense descent down the west side of Stevens that can't be missed. Before we departed, I had to limp down to the summit sign for a photo. I wasn't feeling much better, but I was surely feeling proud. Regardless of how stupid this whole singlespeed thing may seem, I had done it.

The descent was faster than Blewitt, but still slow for me. I had a head start on our group, but pulled over to get out of their way as they caught up. My camera processor simply wasn't quick enough to catch them all as they passed at 40+mph.

Wait for it...

Zoom!

I coasted all the way to the entrance to the Iron Goat Trail, the most beautiful section of the ride. I found myself riding the brakes on the trail, just to make it last a little longer. The last few miles to the finish in Skykomish were very slow for me. I took it as easy as possible.

One of the biggest highlights was seeing my family at the finish line, cheering me on. My kids have only heard about the ride and never seen any part of it, so this was a uniquely special ending to the weekend. Maybe more than anyone else, these kids understand how much I love riding bikes!

On the way home, I tell Sarah and the girls about my day as Terry nods to sleep in the backseat. Gwen talks about how she wants to ride the Courage Classic soon, maybe on her trail-a-bike with me. And it's going to be awesome.

CC'11 - Day 2

2011-09-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

[This year's Courage Classic was so awesome, it's gonna take three posts to tell you all about it! Part 2 of 3. - Matt]

I didn't sleep very well on Saturday night because my giant 3-man tent catches ALL of the wind that rips through the Suncadia Lodge field. I woke broke camp quickly, anxious to ride into Cle Elum for breakfast and coffee.

When we arrived at the Sunset Cafe, many bikes were piled outside, including this Sekai single speed! I didn't find the owner, but noticed that the gearing was slightly taller than mine, and the build was likely much lighter.

I also spotted this trail-a-bike rig, which left me wondering how long it's going to be before my oldest daughter will be willing and ready to ride her first Courage Classic. She's only 6 and riding her own bike to school, but she also helped me raise $25 in loose change for Courage Classic that she personally donated. I'm thinking she'll be chomping at the bit to ride with me by 2014!

Terry and Jaarvis and I rolled out of Cle Elum with the sun rising and a cool morning breeze blowing. Blissful...

The course tracks through flat countryside, passing fields of horses and crops, old barns and homesteads. As you turn onto WA-970, the grade quickly steepens. My breakfast had kicked in and I charged up the hill, knowing that the guys would catch me on the descent to the WA-97 interchange. The Day 2 climb up Blewitt Pass over WA-97 is my favorite part of the ride and I planned to show it.

We regrouped at the North Tacoma Rotary Rest Stop, which was rather cool in the shade. They make the best coffee of any rest stop on the tour and I had my fair share! We left as a pack of 8 or 9 riders, just like last year.

Rick, Terry, Nate, Rich

The shoulder is wide enough to ride two abreast most of the way. We struggled to form a paceline and find a good rhythm, with many of us taking turns at the front but no one really finding that perfect pace.

Charging Blewitt!

At some point Nate and I pushed off the front. We stayed together until the last mile or so, when Nate finally backed off.

I won! I didn't ever tell them we were racing, but, you know, I was still first. I think I did the climb in 40 or 41 minutes, compared to 47 or 48 minutes last year on my road bike. I was sucking some serious wind at the top, but feeling like I owned that mountain.

Champions.

Most of the core TNR Crew at the summit

After a bowl of delicious tomato bisque and a big sandwich, we rolled down Blewitt Pass. This was a part of the weekend I had been dreading. The headwind coming up the pass creates a challenging descent that requires you to pedal most of the way down in order to keep any real speed. Most folks with road bikes can keep a solid 25mph pace (or faster) and paceline their way to the bottom. The headwind compensated for the grade and I found myself coasting at a speed just higher than I could pedal. Whenever I approached a wide turn-out on the shoulder, I would look back for bikes. If anyone was visible behind me, I'd just pull over and let them safely pass. I did this three or four times. The descent felt like an eternity.

Once at the bottom and refreshed with a few sno-cones, we headed for Leavenworth. I had packed an apple in my back pocket and it seemed like a good time to eat it, riding through the apple and pear orchards.

Some of us stopped at a road-side lemonade stand where this girl had smartly setup shop with an assortment of ice-cold drinks. That was the best $1 of pink lemonade I've ever tasted! She said her mom made it, so she couldn't reveal the recipe.

Once I reached town, there was some confusion about where I was staying. This was the first time that I wouldn't be camping for the night; instead sharing a condo with a friend. I didn't know where the condo was and couldn't reach him on his cell, so there was a bit of back and forth around town until I figured it all out. Since check-in wasn't until 4, the Worldmark Leavenworth staff let me get my bag, gave me a towel and access to the pool shower, then stored my stuff so I could rejoin my friends. I was really impressed with the hospitality and the facilities.

Gordon and I are the only two original HBC riders that have ridden all four years that our team has participated! (No, we didn't plan the matching jersey photo shoot.)

I met Terry down at the Icicle River to soak my knees in the frigid water for a while before we headed to dinner. Afterwards, we all went to the beer garden.

Our Tuesday Night Rides always ended with beers at the Harmon Tap Room, so our team felt right at home!

I had a solid 8 hours of sleep that night; another Courage Classic first for me. That condo was worth it!

CC'11 - Day 1

2011-09-07T14:55:00.000-07:00

[This year's Courage Classic was so awesome, it's gonna take three posts to tell you all about it! Part 1 of 3. - Matt]

I had spent Friday night getting all of my gear prepped and packed. UPS handles our overnight bags, so it wasn't a big deal that I was bringing an enormous 3-man tent just for myself. And even though the on-road SAG support is unparalleled and Old Town Bicycle has mechanics stationed at every stop, I was bringing a lot of tools and gear with me on the bike.

Terry and I had decided to forgo the shuttle at the top of Snoqualmie Pass and instead ride around the section of I-90 that was closed to bicycles. This seemed easy enough via the John Wayne Trail, but since we would be deviating from the course and on our own, I was planning for the worst. Two tubes, do-it-all multitool, spare bit of chain, etc. A small handlebar bag and a saddle bag were quite full. I was ready for anything.

Blaine and his family were in town for a wedding, so he volunteered to drive me up to the start line at oh-dark-thirty. We stopped for coffee on the way (breve latte!) but only after I'd had some pre-ride breakfast:

Matt's Most Awesome Oatmeal

-Cook a handfull of unsalted oats in the microwave

with just enough water to cover. 3min maybe.

-Stir in 1tsp natural peanut butter and 1tsp Nutella.

-Add a splash of half-n-half.

I was fed and caffeinated and ready to hit the road. Really ready, in fact, because this was the first year that the Courage Classic hosted a pre-ride packet pick-up. Prior to the event, I visited the Child Abuse Intervention Department at Mary Bridge Children's hospital where I not only picked up my ride packet, but also received a personal tour of the facility by one of the staff. It was humbling to see the examination room first-hand. Very humbling. The children who have the strength to tell their story and to confront the abuse they've endured; they are the courage in Courage Classic.

We arrived at Snoqualmie around 7am and I was on the road quickly by 7:15. I figured that I'd be riding pretty slowly on the flat sections, so I wanted to get an early start. It was overcast and a little misty, my favorite riding conditions. I took my time and rode solo at a comfortable pace, maybe 12-14 mph. Remember, I had geared the bike pretty low, 36x18, so I'd be able to do the climbs.

I was heading up the on-ramp to I-90 at 8am, and that first blast of 70mph traffic was a little disorienting after rolling through sleepy North Bend. The clouds hung low on the mountains and the air was damp. I had been passed by a number of riders on road bikes, but as the road steepened I passed many of them as I found myself getting out of the saddle and sprinting a bit to stay on top of the gear. It was the first time I'd let my breathing dictate my speed and it felt great to be riding hard.

I reached the first rest stop around 8:20, just an hour after I'd started.

I've never been out front like this!

I stretched and ate, drank a little coffee. I chatted with a Rotarian volunteer about the compostable cups they were using and the efforts the Courage Classic has taken over last few years to "green up" the ride. The Green Team is onsite at all stops to help sort your trash into compostable, recyclable, and garbage bins. It's something that I'm used to doing at home and I'm excited to see it being done on a big ride. Tacoma's last landfill is scheduled to close next year and all of my household garbage will be trucked to a suburb about 15 miles away. I don't really want to burden that community with my waste (nor pay the economic and environmental price to have it hauled there), but I digress. The volunteers were also very excited about these new racks which replaced their old homemade PVC models.

I packed up my fleece and headed back on course. It wasn't long before I snagged my first bungee. The interstate is littered with them, but most are broken or missing a hook. I've salvaged a few each year. This year I brought home three.

I taped a little mantra onto the stem: Slow, Stretch, H2O, Smile! I figured if I did those four things then I'd probably have a fun weekend.

The clouds continued to lift as I gained elevation. There still were few riders on the road and I hadn't seen any of my teammates yet when I exited I-90 for the main summit climb.

When I reached Denny Creek Campground, I decided to pull over and flip my wheel around to the lower fixed gear. This is when I realized that my 15mm wrench/tire lever tool was not on board, which meant two things: 1) I couldn't flip the wheel to the lower gear, and 2) I couldn't remove the wheel to change a flat. I could still patch a tube with the wheel in-place, but I figured the better plan would be to just not get a flat. I'm easy.

Denny Creek is a steep, switchback road that climbs quickly up the mountainside. As you look up you can see riders zigzagging on levels above.

You can also look back down and see how far up you've climbed. It's a lung-buster, but I always find myself smiling and laughing on this section. The funny bit is that near the top of all these switchbacks is a team of Rotarians blasting Jimmy Buffet's Cheeseburger in Paradise through a giant PA system. The song echos down the valley on permanent repeat. Hilarious.

I reached the summit at 10am, just as the clouds began to part.

Phew!

I had an early lunch of spaghetti and fruit, and waited for my teammates to arrive. I was ready to leave when Terry reached the summit, and since I didn't feel like waiting and didn't have my wrench, we decided to take the shuttle. It took about 1 hour from the time I got in line to load my bike to when I was back on my bike heading out of the Price Creek rest area.

Near the end of the descent to Lake Easton, just after the fast section, I realized that my rear tire was slowly losing air. When it got too low, I pulled over and pumped it back up with my hand-pump, then road away as fast as I could. I was only a few miles from the mechanical tent at this point, so I repeated this strategy of pump and ride about 5 more times before finally walking the last bit. Jason from Old Town Bicycle changed the flat for me, in spite of my efforts to do it myself, and also loaned me a 15mm wrench from his personal toolbox to use on the rest of the ride. I love that guy.

Many of our Tuesday Night Ride crew rolled out from Lake Easton together.

Rick and Chris

Jeff

Rich and Nathan

As we rolled back onto I-90, the geared riders took off and I was left mostly on my own to enjoy the warm, dry breeze of Eastern Washington. It was blowing hard enough at my back that I was probably coasting along at 17-18mph with out pedaling much. It was glorious. As I finished up the course at the Suncadia finish line, I still felt like riding. A few of us rode a few miles further up the road to Rosalyn, a sleepy town where Northern Exposure was filmed. (I can't believe that we thought this was Alaska.) I stopped at the local hardware store and bought a 15mm wrench.

Rosalyn's main drag

Back at Suncadia, I setup my tent and had a few Red Hook beers from the beer garden before hitting the chow line. It was great to spend the evening hanging out with friends.

My road bike! Loaned to Jaarvis this year.

HBC Bike Pile

At left, Bud, Rotarian and 18yr CC rider

Chow line.

Rick's plate. Mine looked similar.

MOB Ride: Pedal to Peril

2011-08-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

Courage Classic 2011

2011-08-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I rode my fourth Courage Classic Bicycle Tour. I rode the whole 173 mile course on my single-speed city bike, just as I said I would. For the most part, the three day event was beautiful and fun and awesome. But for two crucial miles, it was strained and painful and emotional.

I'm still piecing together photos and memories, but will give you the full story soon.

Bike Racing in Tacoma

2011-07-31T15:19:00.000-07:00

We cycled downtown for the 2nd Annual Tacoma Twilight Criterium bicycle race yesterday. It was awesome.

Gwen awaits the Juniors

Womens Cat 4/5

Tacoma Mobility giving out maps and directions

This is how we tailgate

A family of racers

Mens Cat 3 start

Mens Cat 3 race was excellent

Art Bike Parade

Kid race!

Distractions

In Tacoma: Bike-In Movie

2011-07-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

via LordRocktober

Final Preparations and More Donation Matching

2011-07-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm one week away from riding 173 miles of mountains on my single-speed city bike, all in the name of Child Abuse Intervention. The Courage Classic is a ride I've done three times before, but always with derailleurs. I made the single-speed commitment as a challenge to myself, but also as a challenge to you, the donor.

I've revised my fundraising goal to $2000 and will be matching any donation made between now and August 8 by 10%. Even if you can only contribute $10, I'll donate $1 more and all $11 will go directly to supporting services that help to Stop the Cycle of Child Abuse in Pierce County. You can donate here.

Meanwhile, I've been training with the Harmon Bike Club, leading 20-25 mile rides around Tacoma on my single-speed. In an effort to find a more comfortable riding position, I've tried several different handlebars over the last few weeks, including a flat bar with bar-ends and even a bmx bar. They all had their pros and cons. Ultimately, I'm back where I started. So the bike looks like this:

The rear rack is gone, but it doesn't feel any lighter! It's geared 36x18 (54 gear inches) on the freewheel side of the flipflop hub, but my "bail-out" gear on the fixed side is 36x22 (44 gear inches). If it simply gets too steep, I can flip the wheel around and ride the low-geared fixed side to the top. I've tested it out on Carr Hill, one of the steepest climbs in town, and it worked well.

If you've read along this far and haven't donated, head over here and contribute what you can. It will only take a minute.

Many thanks! Full ride report to follow!

Gearing Down for Courage Classic

2011-07-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

With the Courage Classic just a month away, I've started wrapping my mind around the fact that I'm going to ride 170 miles, over the mountains, on one gear. For my training rides around Tacoma, I've been riding 36x18, which is about 54 gear inches.

Depending on how you ride, this gear might seem too small,

or too big.

I think this gear will give me the best range for climbing the hills, cruising the flats, and pedaling into the headwinds on the descents.

As a back-up plan, I will likely thread a 20T freewheel on the other side of my fixed/free flip-flop hub. That way I can just flip the wheel around and have an easier gear for the climbs if I simply cannot turn the cranks. The rear brake may have to be left open for this to work, but I can then flip the wheel back to the 18T side when I reach the summits. I hope to do the whole ride without flipping the wheel, but I'm just not sure which one gear I need.

Any thoughts? Have you done a mountainous road ride with one gear?

Tulsa Townies: An Un-Review

2011-07-01T09:37:00.000-07:00

During a visit to Tulsa last week, my sister and I checked out the Tulsa Townies bike share program. The program was started by one of the local hospitals and allows users to check-out a cruiser bike for free from any of four stations along the River Parks Trail. Bicycling Magazine has even listed Tulsa as one of their top-50 bike friendly cities because they have this program.

We started at the southern-most station, which happens to be located next to a Trek bike shop. There were no bikes in the rack and no signs telling us that there were supposed to be any bikes. It was a sunny, hot day and, thinking that the bikes must be in use, we DROVE five miles to the next station along the trail to find some more. The trail is fully visible from Riverside Drive, and while we did see a handfull of bronzed recreational cyclists and a family of bikes along the way, there were no pink townies.

The second station looked like this:

There were 13 empty locks on these racks. For a city of half a million people, there are (were?) maybe 50 townies floating around the city. Knowing this and craving a bike ride, we pressed on to the third station...

Success! There were two bikes in the rack, perfectly sized for me and my sister.

Here's where the frustration set in. Bike #1 could not be removed because of "Card Error". We tried two different credit cards and received the same message. And Bike #2? "Bike Not In Inventory." Apparently there is a system upgrade coming soon to the Tulsa Townies program. It obviously needs it.

Looking to cut our losses, we drove in to the ghost-town that is downtown Tulsa on a Sunday, in search of something to make this car journey worthwhile. We stumbled upon Dwelling Spaces, an oasis with a decent coffee bar and gift shop with bike-Tulsa themed T's and stuff, as well as left-over jerseys and cowbells from the recent Tulsa Tough bike races. After talking with the baristas, is sounds like there certainly some enthusiasm for bikes in Tulsa. Hopefully it will be more apparent to us on our next trip.

Training With Kids

2011-05-30T11:22:00.001-07:00

Gwen and I went for a relaxing 5-mile ride today. Her trail-a-bike hitch is mounted on my single-speed city bike, the same bike that I'll be riding over three mountain passes later this summer for Courage Classic.

I took her to my secret spot, an amazing viewpoint of Commencement Bay and the Port of Tacoma, especially at night. It's also just a few miles from home and makes a nice place to turn around when I need to get out and cruise the neighborhood a bit.

I've been riding a weekly 20-miler with the Harmon Bike Club to get ready for my big ride over the mountains, but I don't anticipate doing any training rides longer than that. In fact, about half of my bike miles are short trips on our Xtracycle with the kids on the back deck. The Courage Classic route has a rest stop every 15 miles or so. I simply plan on riding four 15-mile rides each of the three days. Doesn't sound too bad, eh? These short rides with Gwen are great for training, even though they are mostly for fun.

Commitments and Progress

2011-05-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

When I committed to match donations made in April with 10% of my own money, I didn't expect to have so many of you take me up on the offer! You donated $1,400 so I kicked in $140, bringing our total to $1,595 so far! (Some off-line donations are not yet listed.)

I still have a long way to go to reach my goal of $5,000. It's going to take as many $5 and $10 commitments as we can muster. Extra thanks to those of you who have sent around the donation link and raised awareness for Courage Classic and the Child Abuse Intervention Department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital.

Meanwhile, I've been training on my city bike with the Harmon Bike Club on their Tuesday Night Rides around Tacoma. Tacoma is most certainly not a flat city, so only having one gear means getting out of the saddle often. I'm starting to realize that I may be spending many miles on the Courage Classic route standing up, rocking the bike back and forth to reach the pass summits. It will be tough, but it will be worth it.

If you're ready to help push me over the mountains this August with a donation, the button is at the top, on the right. Every dollar counts.

Keep on Pedaling!

-Matt

Wazygoose

2011-04-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, the girls and I rode down to King's Books to check out the Wazygoose letterpress and book arts fair. We met some local artists, tried our hand at a few antique printing presses, and watched giant posters get pressed by a steamroller. Jeff's Ice Cream was also there selling delicious made in Washington ice cream bars and spreading the good word about his ice cream bike mini-franchises. A detour to the playground on the way home earned 100% kid approval.

Taking My Pro-Bicycle Agenda to Frost Park

2011-04-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

The Frost Park Chalk-Off, held weekly during the Friday lunch hour in downtown Tacoma, seemed like a good place to ride on Earth Day. Tula and I took the Xtracycle to Proctor for errands, then stopped by Defiance Bicycles, Tacoma's newest bike shop, on the way to Frost Park.

It is a perfect day to be a riding a bicycle anywhere in Tacoma. I'm looking forward to getting out again tonight for some 21+ biking action on the MOB Ride.

Do you like to ride bikes on Friday nights?

2011-04-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

via LordRocktober

I bet you've been sitting around saying, "Man, those MOB Rides are always on Saturday nights. I'm always busy with [insert lame excuse] on Saturdays."

We'll see you on Friday.

For Sale: Our Beloved Bucket Bike

2011-04-19T08:45:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: SOLD!!

There comes a time when you have to thin the herd. It's as Nature intended. And so, we are selling our Madsen Cycles kg271 Bucket Bike.

- 2005 Madsen Cycles kg271 with 8-speed gearing
- Bucket features 2 bench seats, seat buckles for 4 passengers
- Modular DIY rain cover with vinyl windows, Sunbrella fabric
- Upgraded front disc brake (Avid BB5)
- Velo Orange sprung leather saddle
- Schwalbe tires: Marathon front, Big Apple rear
- $800 for the whole kit and caboodle

Between the adjustable handlebar stem and the long seatpost, the bike can accommodate riders of nearly any height. I'm 5'11" and it fits me well with plenty of seatpost to spare. The whole bike is weight rated to 600 pounds of payload (rider + cargo/passengers.)

We purchased the bike two years ago and are the original owners. You can see more pictures of the bike in action here. The bike is currently located in Tacoma, but delivery to the Seattle area can be arranged.

Email your inquiries to matt[d0t]newport at gmail or post in the comments. Thanks!

UPDATE: SOLD!!

My Commitment to Courage Classic

2011-04-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

I recently committed to riding the 20th Annual Courage Classic Bicycle Tour, a fundraising bike ride covering three mountain passes over three days. I've done this ride three time before, always with at least 18 gears to help me comfortably climb to the top of each pass then cruise down the other side at top speed.

This year, I am also committing, here and now, to ride the whole 173 mile course on my single-speed city bike.

Why am I making this commitment? Because the more I think about the staff at the Mary Bridge Child Abuse Intervention Department, and the commitment that they make every day to help children that have been sexually abused, maltreated, or neglected, the more I feel a responsibility to step-up my effort to raise money for this great cause.

Basically, I am now committed to making this ride tougher for me so that you will commit a few more dollars to support the kids that need our help. Together, we're making a commitment to Stop the Cycle of Child Abuse.

My fundraising goal this year is $5,000. And since April is Child Abuse Awareness Month, I will also personally match each donation made this month by 10% (e.g. you donate $100, I donate $10), until I reach my goal.

Please make a commitment, too. DONATE HERE.

Many thanks,

Matt Newport

#30DaysofBiking

2011-04-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Kent and Melanie to participate in #30daysofbiking. I'm off-pace to meet my 2011 miles in 2011 goal, so hopefully this will get me back on track and help me commit to riding bikes on days when I have to drive cars for work.

I'll tweet daily about my rides and maybe share a photo or two. This was from Day 2, an Xtracycle trip to watch the Jr. Daffodil Parade with my kids.

Tis Time for a MOB Ride

2011-03-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

Are you feelin' lucky? Follow the rainbow to the Red Hot this Saturday night for another Tacoma MOB Ride. Costumes and bike decorations are encouraged. Having a good time is optional, but practically unavoidable.

Until Warmer Days

2011-02-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

Our van has been voluntarily parked for over 3 days. We've had 3-7" of snow and daytime temps between 25°F and 34°F. To my surprise, we've managed to do ~25mi of errands and commuting by foot or bike during that time. We haven't avoided any trips; getting to school and work on time and even picking up a 40# bag of dogfood when we ran out. While this isn't a big deal for many local-living families, even I am impressed to keep this streak alive in the coldest, nastiest part of winter.

Perhaps the best part about this little bout of undriving is that the kids see it as completely normal. Tula's been riding in the Madsen since she was one, and the rain cover is now on it's second winter. Gwen has adapted to riding the Xtracycle deck in it's many configurations and she expects to see a bike parked outside of the school everyday when I pick her up.

That bucket cover has been key to winter riding with the kids, because of windchills. Once the temp falls below freezing, one can subtract another degree for each mph of wind. I stay warm trying to keep a cargobike at 10mph, but the kids just turn into popsicles without the windbreak. This was the result of a fast descent in an uncovered bucket:

Keep everyone safe and warm until spring, but remember, that doesn't always mean you have to take the car!

Snow Ride

2011-02-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

We walked to school this morning in a light flurry, after playing in the snow for a while before the late start. By afternoon the roads were bare, but a heavy snow shower that rolled in just as we were heading out made the ride back to the school a memorable one. According to Gwen, as she checked out our fat-tire tracks from the snapdeck: "This is the best day ever."

MOB RIDE! TONIGHT! TACOMA!

2011-01-29T15:15:00.000-08:00

C'mon CyclePunx!

Resolved

2011-01-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

It's time to get it together. Let's start today.

My 2011 Goals:

#1. Ride 2,011 miles on the bikes. Fewer long charity rides and a new part-time job will likely keep me from riding as much as I did in 2010, so this goal seems reasonable. My mileage spreadsheet is locked and loaded!

#2. Raise $3,000 for Courage Classic. The event organizers want to raise $1,000,000 this year, a lofty goal, so I need to step up my fundraising efforts. This will be my fourth year riding with the Harmon Bike Club for this worthy cause and I will need your help to come up with the funds! I'll update TBR with a donation link as soon as available, but you can give me a jumpstart by mailing a check to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, PO Box 5296, Tacoma, WA 98415-0296 (Memo: Courage Classic - Matt Newport). Thanks in advance!

#3. Finish remodeling the guest room by the end of February. This may seem like an odd goal to post on TBR, but I'll have more time to ride in the warmer months if I knock it out during the winter. This goal comes with a strong endorsement from Mrs. TBR.

#4. Spend less time on the internet. This will equate to more time to working on the goals above. We probably all need to work on this one. I haven't decided yet how to quantify this one, but I think FB is pretty much out and Twitter will be very limited. Future posts will be sparse. Call or email (or post a comment) if you need to get my attention.

Besides the day-to-day stuff, I think these goals will keep me plenty busy. Are you setting big goals for 2011? Where will you be focusing your time and energy?

Troll Crank II

2010-12-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

via Lordrocktober

Nothing says the holidays like staying out late riding bikes with friends. Who's with me?

Daily Bread

2010-12-05T13:54:00.000-08:00

Several folks have asked, so I'm posting my bread recipe and method here. I've been baking our family's daily bread for almost two years and over time the recipe has changed a bit. This is how I made it today.

I use a KitchenAid stand mixer and dough hook. With the mixer off, add in this order:

3 tbsp honey
2-3 Tbsp Oil (I prefer canola or olive)
0.5 tsp salt
1.5 cups warm/hot water (I microwave it for 2 min on high)
1/4 cups quick oats or whole grains (Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal works great)
1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3.75 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tsp dry yeast

Drop the hook and turn the mixer on the lowest setting for about 5 minutes. Once completely combined, the dough should be churning freely as one big piece. If it's sticking to the bottom of the bowl (too wet), add 1/8 cup all-purpose flour until fully incorporated. Repeat if necessary. If it's not sticking to the bowl, but also not sticky enough to stay on the hook (too dry), add 1 Tbsp of water.

When dough has proper consistancy, turn off the mixer and cover the bowl with a tea towel. I let the dough rise in the mixer for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.

Cycle mixer for a few seconds on to lowest setting so all dough gets back on the hook. Remove the hook with the dough. Pull the hook out and place the dough on a pizza stone. Split the dough in half with an ulu, shape the two loaves as desired, then cover with a tea towel. Again, let the dough rise until it has doubled in size.

Convect at 300°F (or bake at 325°F) for 30-40 minutes on a pizza stone, until the crust has reached the desired color. Lighter brown will have a thinner crust, which my young kids prefer. (I've used loaf pans, but found that my two seasoned pizza stones work better.)

Remove from the oven and place loaves on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Keep the bread in a sealed bag and it will keep for several days on the counter. I usually leave one loaf out (sliced) and put the other whole loaf in the fridge.

Let me know if you try it.

Gobble-Gobble, Crank!

2010-11-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

Q: If April Showers bring May Flowers, what do May Flowers bring?

via Lordrocktober

A: Pilgrims, you turkeys! Now c'mon and crank your tail-feathers!

You can reach your goals; I'm living proof

2010-11-14T20:26:00.001-08:00

I usually don't set goals. Maybe something obtuse like, "Read more books!" But last December I realized that after a full year of stay-at-home-dadding, I had become overweight. I kept thinking that the trips to the playground with a bucket bike fully of pre-schoolers would do the trick, but it apparently did not.

When I started riding bikes (again) in 2005, I was training for STP and bike commuting, so I started a mileage log which I continued diligently as my bike commuting habit grew stronger. During that time, my body hit a sweet spot and stayed the same size and shape most of the year. Yay cycling! 2009 marked the first year where I wasn't counting every mile, which is probably why I was surprised when I got on the scale after Christmas and saw a much larger number than normal. It was resolution time, and figuring that I had only ridden about 1200 miles in 2009, I set out to ride 2010 miles in 2010.

I don't own any cyclometers, but wanted my data to be relatively accurate. Most of my bike trips are to/from home, so I made a reference table with distances to places I frequently ride. The occasional long ride usually gets googlemapped post-ride. I broke everything out by bike, taking care to separate cargo vs. solo miles. Cargo miles are almost always transportational, while solo miles are often recreational, but not always.

This method of data logging is helpful when I'm trying to justify why I keep certain bikes or why I should be willing to spend money on maintenance. My Xtracycle has a ridiculous number of miles on it, but I haven't so much as changed the chain. Even if I have to replace the entire inexpensively equipped drivetrain for $150 at mile 3000, I'll know that was money well spent since all those miles replaced car trips.

I did so many charity rides this summer, and led enough short weekly training rides, that I met my 2010 goal in early September. I never reached my weight-loss goal, but I did figure out about how many miles per month it takes for me to break even with my nutella toast and beer consumption habits. And that's the key folks: finding balance.

The really interesting thing about these stats is that I've racked up 800 miles on cargo bikes alone. These are the short day-to-day trips that most purely recreational cyclists would probably ignore, or just simply drive a car.

Xtracycle: 335 miles (average trip length: 4.3 miles)

Madsen: 425 miles (average trip length: 3.7 miles)

The best part is that the year isn't over! There are still plenty of opportunities to pedal to my destination and burn off all of those holiday goodies.

Do you track your cycling miles? Do you find it motivates you to ride more? What kind of cycling goals do you have?

TCBF 2010

2010-11-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

I promised a full review of the 2010 Tacoma Craft Beer Festival, which happened back in October. This second annual event was bigger than last year, featuring more brewers, more firkins, more food, and more days. It also seemed to feature shorter lines and a excellent shuttle system, which made getting in the door easier. Overall, an even better event than last year.

I biked to the Foss Waterway Seaport on Friday night to volunteer pouring samples. I had a blast talking to locals about beer, meeting many interesting folks, including quite a few local restaurant and bar owners who were on the prowl for tasty local brews to put on tap. I wore a Tacoma Public Libraries hat, thinking that librarians probably like to drink beer, too. Turns out, they do.

I took my wife to the festival on Saturday so that I could see things from the other side of the booth. We had a fun time, ran into lots of friends, made some new friends, and tasted some good beer. There was live music most of the afternoon. Some guys were making a batch of homebrew out on the dock. Lots going on. If you didn't go, pay attention next year and plan to attend.

We only had Sarah's camera phone, but here's what I told her to take pictures of:

Anniversary MOB Ride Comin' Up!

2010-10-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

Via Lordrocktober Himself...

REAPER RIDE - 2010

1st Anniversary of the Ride that started it all!

Costume (its Halloween!) - Bicycle Booze Cruz

Saturday, October 23rd, 7:00pm

Meet up at: THE ACME GRUB CAGE

We'll be stopping at various watering holes throughout the night.
We'll be there wet stuff or dry and clear.
21+ and biking is at your own risk so don't fall down

Spread the word! - We Own the Streets!!!

TCBF Tips

2010-10-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

The Tacoma Craft Beer Festival starts in just three hours! Now would be a good time to make sure you're ready.

Step 1. Get There and Get Home: Safely

If you're planning to have a great time drinking beer at a beer festival, plan also on not driving home. There's a shuttle service running from the Tacoma Dome Station, which links to local and regional buses and the LINK Rail. And the railing around the dock is basically a giant bike rack, so why not ride there? (Last year I arrived early and they let me lock up indoors to a boat trailer. I understand that boat has now been removed to make room for more brewers. YES!)

If possible, you may want to ride a bike with a back seat. You never know who else may need a safe ride home after last call. (Yes, that's my bike. No, that's not me.)

Step 2: Bring a Snack

The standard for beer festivals is the pretzel necklace. It's cheap, effective, and virtually hands-free. However, there's still time to whip up a batch of Matt's Favorite Cookies.

Hint: Tape the recipe card inside your cabinet by the oven.

These pair well with most ales and are quite tasty. I always recommend making a double batch to share with your friends. Or to trade them for beer tasting tokens.

Step 3. Show Your Colors

C'mon,it's a beer festival! We're celebrating one of the most amazing inventions of all time, so put on some lederhosen or a toga or a funny hat...

This ancient form of haberdashery dates back nearly four decades. I had Grandma train me in the Ways of the Can Hat and now it is time to unleash their awesome power! Expect to see a few of these in the Canned Beer Garden at TCBF on Saturday. BTW, if you haven't tried craft beer in a can, now is the time. There are some great beers available now in cans, including those made by our local boys 7 Seas Brewing from Gig Harbor.

I'll be posting more pictures and a full review after the festival. Any other tips to share?

On Bucket Bikes

2010-09-15T12:25:00.000-07:00

The new Madsen bucket bikes debuted today! It's worth checking out. There are many improvements and new features, some of which I've hacked or wanted to hack onto my own bucket bike. One of my biggest issues with our original model has been the kickstand. Here's my final fix using a piece of 5/16" all-thread and some nylon lock nuts.

The solid rod not only fixed the kickstand so that it stays in place when deployed, but it also keeps it from bouncing around as much on bumpy terrain. And Madsen has confirmed via Twitter that their new model kickstand is "upgraded and improved, [with] new factory, bolted-on rubber feet, [and a] solid rod stop pin." Along with the new parking brake feature, this sounds like a rock solid way to load rambunctious cargo.

In other news, TBR fabricated rain cover v2.0 for a neighbor to the north. Brynnen Ford and her kids use their e-assist Madsen year-round on the hills of Seattle. (Thanks for sending these photos, Brynnen!)

This one is a bit taller than our original and incorporates hi-viz fabric and a Scotchlite-trimmed porthole on the back. The passengers love it!

Any other thoughts on the new Madsen model and accessories? I'd like to see that rear rack in my stocking at Christmas!

Support the Troops

2010-09-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today's Frost Park Chalk-Off theme, "Support the Troops", warranted a bicycle and a big 'ol flag.

Kyler and I used it to get there and also as a shadow template for our drawing.

We rewarded ourselves with a Made-in-Washington ice cream bar from Jeff's Ice Cream:

Here are a few other drawings that we saw:

You can view more photos from the event and vote for your favorite at Feed Tacoma.

Fiets of Parenthood - Seattle Style!

2010-08-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to one of the many community bike events in Seattle! The good folks at Car Free Days and Totcycle organized Fiets of Parenthood, a huge gathering of family cyclists of every age who rode in on nearly every kind of bike and bike-combo you could imagine. The Xtracycle went in the minivan for the first time and we still had plenty of room for my sister and her borrowed Peugeot folder.

FoP was nothing short of awesome! There was something for everyone and we stayed busy for a solid three hours with the bicycle decoration station, a huge walk-thru/bike-thru sprinkler, slow bike race, family bike obstacle course, helmet fitters, and the kids' favorite: a Madsen bucket bike full of free gelato. The playground was a cargo bike explosion of Xtracycles, Big Dummies, tandems, trail-a-bikes, kick bikes, trailers, bakfietsen, a tall bike and even a Larry vs. Harry Bullitt. One lucky attendee won a Globe Haul 1 through a raffle benefitting Bike Works.

Not only were there tons of cool bikes, but there were many enthusiastic parents and kids, eager to show off their cycling skills and talk about how they use these bikes in their daily lives. Many thanks to Julian, Tim, Anne, Chris and everyone else who helped to make this event a fun time for the rest of us.

If you'd like to see more, there's another write-up here, a great video here, a bit of press here, and a Flickr group here. The wheels are already in motion for a TBR Family Fiets event in Tacoma next summer. Who wants to help?!

MOB Ride: Pedal to Peril

2010-08-23T14:19:00.000-07:00

Via lordrocktober

PEDAL TO PERIL 2010

Bicycle Booze Cruz

Saturday, August 28th
7:00pm

Meet up at: THE RED HOT

We'll be stopping at various watering holes throughout the night.

We'll be there wet stuff or dry and clear.

21+ and biking is at your own risk so don't fall down

Spread the word! - We Own the Streets!!!

Free Bike Parking in Downtown Tacoma!

2010-08-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today I saw this advertisement for the soon-to-be-installed parking meters in downtown Tacoma.

It compelled me to ride down to the Frost Park Chalk Challenge and draw this response:

If you like it, you can vote for Matt and I might win something!

I'm actually a supporter of metered street parking in downtown. As it is, most street parking is free, but limited to one hour. I don't find this enough time to get lunch or shop, especially when I have kids in tow. We often park at the T-Dome P&R and take the Link Rail, or ride a bike. Either way, the parking is free. And for those times when I need to feed the meter, I'm happy to pay for the right-of-way for my vehicle.

More info at http://downtowntacomaparking.com

Courage Classic Weekend Redux

2010-08-13T19:56:00.000-07:00

My Courage Classic weekend actually started on Friday when I took the whole family to the weekly Frost Park Chalk-Off to do a little shameless self-promotion. It took the rest of the day to ready the van and assemble my gear. Getting three guys, their bikes, their camping gear and their driver into one minivan required some planning, but worked well.

DAY 1

Ready to Roll!

We rendezvoused early Saturday morning in the town of Snoqualmie, WA, with some other friends from the Harmon Bike Club. After loading our overnight gear on the UPS delivery trucks bound for the campsite at the Suncadia Resort, we hit the road. Just a few miles later, John had what would be the only flat of the 3-day ride.

We gradually broke up into smaller groups as we climbed through the Denny Creek area and approached the summit of Snoqualmie Pass, where the temperature was a balmy 54°F. Gig Harbor Rotary put on an excellent spaghetti feed for lunch, then we were shuttled by coach bus and moving truck (riders and bikes, respectively) through the I-90 construction around Lake Kaches which is currently off-limits to bicycle traffic.

Denny Creek Switchback Panda

For me, the biggest change this year was that I rode a road bike instead of my 50 pound Xtracycle, which allowed me to complete each day's course about two hours faster than in previous years. We finished Day 1 in Cle Elum around 1:30pm, giving us plenty of time to setup tents, clean-up in the mobile shower trailer, and enjoy a few cold-ones in the Redhook beer garden. A huge buffet dinner was held later in a light rain, but those of us who weathered the heat of last year's event knew better than to complain.

DAY 2

Rotarians at Work!

After riding this event three times, I can positively say that the ride from Suncadia to the Blewitt Pass summit is my favorite part. You break camp and ride a few miles into Cle Elum, eat a great breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe, then traverse the countryside with the sun coming up over the mountains. It's a quiet and breathtakingly beautiful ride with very little traffic, other than your fellow riders. I always linger at the Tacoma North Rotary rest stop because it seems everyone is always there. I spend time catching up with riders and volunteers I've met in years past, and meeting plenty of new folks as well. It's great to see so many people having fun together.

The Blewitt Paceline Crew

As a group of us left the rest stop, someone shouted out "9:03!" and we soon realized that there was a friendly time-trial taking place en route to the summit. We charged our five-man pace-line up the mountain at a strong clip and stayed together for most of the 7 mile climb, each finishing about 1 minute apart. It was awesome! I enjoyed a light brunch of tomato basil soup, a turkey sandwich, and fresh fruit. The food stops are great, especially when you consider that these Rotarians are feeding nearly 800 riders and volunteers every meal and snack.

Once camped in Leavenworth, we headed for the Icicle River to soak our legs before a bbq dinner in the park. Too much fun was had in Redhook beer garden, where DJ Shelda played some great tunes and we all enjoyed each others company.

DAY 3

Are we having fun yet?
Photo courtesy of Kimi. Taken by one
of the many enthusiastic Rotarians.

Monday brings the longest climbing route of the weekend. After a brisk ride along the Chumstick Highway to the first rest stop in Plain, WA, the route hooks up with WA-2 and heads up Stevens Pass. There are actually 4 or 5 separate climbs on the way to the summit, each with its own small descent, necessitating that the dessert stop (that is reserved for after lunch on Days 1 and 2) needs to be located pre-lunch. It's Hawaiian themed and features root beer floats, Oreos, fig bars, beef jerkey, organic bunny grahams, and a hula hoop competition. I bested three others with the hoop and won a sweet "Rotary Rest-Stop Survivor" t-shirt that I'm sporting as I type.

Iron Goat Trail

All of this food and fun prepares you mentally and physically for the last 10-15 challenging miles of climbing. Even so, the potato bar at the summit was exactly what I needed to perk me back up for the descent down the west side of Stevens. The low clouds and damp wind combined for a fast and freezing run down the mountain. The main highway portion of the descent is a nailbiter at high speed and lots of crosswinds, but near the bottom is the turn-off for the Iron Goat Trail, a refurbished section of the Old Stevens Highway that is smooth, lively, stunning, and magical. My friend Mike, a Courage Classic rookie, said that "it might be the best 15 minutes I've ever spent on a bike."

The finish line was busy, but still full of all the amenities we'd seen along the way: snacks, showers, massage tables, smiling Rotarians, and even a piece of commemorative hardware. I've heard many folks joke about how it's very possible to gain weight on this ride, despite all of the miles and elevation. After my fourth or fifth slice of bread pudding at the Day 1 dinner, I can understand why some would think that. This year, I weighed myself before and after. The result: -1 pound. Maybe I didn't drink my fair share of ESB? I promise to try harder next year!

There simply aren't many supported rides out there that leave you feeling like you've been on a vacation rather than just a bike ride. If you're thinking about doing your first organized tour, I'd certainly recommend that you start with this one. Helping a great cause while having a great time? It's hard to top that.

Thanks again to everyone who sponsored me and my ride to Stop the Cycle of Child Abuse!

I'm keeping this swag!

We Have a Courage Classic Swag Giveaway Winner!

2010-08-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Firstly, to everyone who supported my Courage Classic fundraising campaign: Thank you. Your combined efforts are helping to stop the cycle of child abuse and neglect in Pierce County. This year I was 1 of 698 riders in theCourage Classic who together raised nearly $750,000 for the Rotary Endowment that supports the Child Abuse Intervention Department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. The Courage Classic is the largest, single source of funding for this program. Every donor and dollar is important.

As promised, one of my generous donors is going to win this Three Reasons Swag Bag Prize Package!

And, because I scored some more swag, I'm going to draw a second winner for this stuff:

Each donor has been allocated one raffle ticket for every $5 that they donated. Ticket numbers were allocated sequentially in the order that donations were received (e.g. donor #1 gave $25 and holds tickets 1-5.) My Little Sister from Church of the Granny Bike flew in all the way from Philly to draw a winner (and boy are her arms tired!) She gave the tickets a good swirl and chose the lucky winner:

Congrats to Heather, our Grand Prize Winner! I'll be contacting you so I can deliver all of your premium swag. Our runner up is Anonymous, who is actually an old friend that enjoys cycling near her Seattle home. Congrats to our winners and thanks again to everyone for supporting this important cause.

I'll have a full ride report post coming soon.

Cheers!

-Matt in Tacoma

Pedal For the Kids (and then with the kids!)

2010-08-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

The end of my Three Reasons summer is in sight! I'm finally getting everything packed and loaded today for my Courage Classic ride this weekend. With over 1,600 cycling miles on my legs this year, I feel ready. I'm still second guessing my lack of fenders and my choice to ride a road bike instead of my Xtracycle, but I know that once I get on course everything will work itself out.

The Road Cone!

Thanks to the generosity of others, I've earned the chance to take this 3-day cycling vacation. I'll be riding with many friends from the Harmon Bike Club and Pierce County Rotary clubs, and taking in some beautiful Cascade mountain scenery. There's even going to be an outdoor movie screening and Red Hook beer gardens in the evenings.

And, it's not too late to contribute to my effort to Stop the Cycle of Child Abuse and be entered to win a sweet Swag Bag from TBR. You can donate here through Monday evening and we'll announce a winner on Tuesday. Just $5 gets your name in the hat. Good luck!

TBR will be offline until then, but meanwhile you should be making plans to attend Fiets of Parenthood in Seattle August 15. For me, the biggest challenge will be getting my kids and cargo bike up north, but we're hoping to represent Tacoma in this super fun event.

Now go ride your bike!

Hills, Glorious Hills

2010-08-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

There's an article in The News Tribune today about the benefits of training on hills. I found the article interesting because I absolutely love riding hilly routes.

One of my favorite hills to climb in Tacoma is North Carr Street. The view from the top looks like this:

View Larger Map

It's a short climb, but quite steep. (Turn sideways with streetview above and you can get an idea of the pitch.) The road surface has a brick pattern which gives it an Old World feel. It's a total lung-buster on any bike, especially this one:

Yes, I really did it and I had a witness. This is a recently-acquired Worksman Cycles Industrial Newsboy that's maybe a few decades old. You can stand up and pump the pedals really well with those tall bars. Admittedly, it's not the best bike for climbing hills, but the feeling of accomplishment when you reach the top on a simple machine like this is one comparable to climbing Everest (I'm guessing.)

[I might have been on my way home from a Tacoma MOB Ride when I did this and I might have Yahoo!'d loud enough at the top to wake a few neighbors. Beer is a very powerful bicycle fuel.]

Speaking of conquering mountains, I'm riding the Courage Classic Bicycle Tour this weekend to raise money for child abuse intervention. You can DONATE HERE and be entered to win some sweet Tacoma swag. Just a $5 donation gets your name in the hat.

Next Booz Cruz

2010-07-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here come the Tacoma MOB Riders!

On an unrelated topic, don't forget that TBR is raffling some cool swag to raise money for child abuse intervention. Make a donation HERE to enter the drawing. Thanks!

T-Town Throwdown

2010-07-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

The T-Town Throwdown Bike Trials Competition is happening this Saturday along the Ruston waterfront in Tacoma. I took the kids to this event last year and witnessed some amazing riding skills in action. It's free to watch.

Bike to the Ballpark AND More Swag!

2010-07-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

We took the whole family to the Harmon Bike Club's Bike to Ballpark event over the weekend. About 25 people biked with us and enjoyed a great game by the Tacoma Rainiers.

In honor of the event, I'm adding this brand new, limited edition Tacoma Rainiers jersey to my Courage Classic Swag Bag Prize Pack which you can enter to win by donating just $5 here* and help the Child Abuse Intervention Department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital. I need your help if I'm going to reach my $1000 fundraising goal! Who's with me? Donate today!

*Raffle Rules:
1. For every $5 that you donate to my online Courage Classic fund-raising effort, you will have your name entered one time into a drawing to win. (Example: You make one online donation of $25, and I place five separate entries into the hat, each bearing your name.) If you've already donated, you are already entered.

2. For the purpose of this raffle, all donations must be made by 4 pm PDT on August 9. My daughter will randomly draw one winning entry from the hat that evening and I will announce the winner on August 10 here on TBR. I will contact the winner by email, so make sure you enter a valid email address when you donate.

3. I will pay to ship the hat and swag to the winner via USPS Priority mail to anywhere in the US.

4. DONATE HERE! Online donations through firstgiving.com are easy and secure. Plus, the hospital is a registered 501c(3) non-profit organization, for you tax-deduction seekers.

Bike to the Ballpark

2010-07-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

We'll be bringing the whole family to this awesome event. It's another fundraiser for Courage Classic. Ride there if you can, but even if you drive, walk, or bus, this is a great deal and helps a great cause.

I'll be leading a slow ride from the 6th and Skyline P&R to Cheney Stadium at 11am. We'll take the Scott Pierson Trail to the ballpark and go slow enough to keep the group together. The Rainiers are arranging a special bike coral just for us!

Stop Child Abuse and Win TBR Swag!

2010-07-07T18:48:00.000-07:00

If you've been paying attention, you know that I found three great reasons to ride this summer, and that there's only one reason left: COURAGE CLASSIC!

The Courage Classic Bicycle Tour is a fundraising ride that benefits the Rotary Endowment for the Intervention and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. This endowment is the largest single source of funding for the Child Abuse Intervention Department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma. For the third consecutive year, I will be riding my tiny bicycle over three large mountain passes in an effort to raise money for this cause and to Stop the Cycle of Abuse.

We need to do this together. I'll be riding the bike, so that means I need you to donate a few dollars. And since online raffles are so fun, I've decided to do it again with an emphasis on the things we love at TBR: bikes, beer, Tacoma, and free stuff.

You could win all of this!

The TBR 3-Reasons SWAG BAG PRIZE PACKAGE includes:

A combination bandana/bike map of Tacoma!
A LiveSTRONG Hat and matching yellow wristband!
Bikey blinkies, stickers, and decals!
Tacoma MOB Ride Spokecards so you can booze cruz like the pros!
Even more free stuff that I've saved just for this purpose!

and of course, it wouldn't be a TBR raffle unless you could also win:

A 100% genuine, upcycled-in-Tacoma, Rainier Beer Tall-boy Can Hat!

Don't delay. DONATE HERE to enter the raffle for this awesome prize package and to help stop the cycle of child abuse. I'll likely keep adding swag to the bag over the next month, especially stuff from the Courage Classic.

Many thanks in advance for your continued support!

-Matt in Tacoma

UPDATE: I'm adding this brand new, limited edition Tacoma Rainiers jersey to the Swag Bag! This was a giveaway to the Rainiers' tweeps around St. Patrick's Day. Goes great with the hat!

Chehalis Western Trail

2010-07-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

After completing a 35 mile loop on the Chehalis Western Trail over the Independence Day weekend, I saw an awesome orange bike pull into the parking lot.

Chainguard, basket, flat pedals, step through frame, fat tires. I commented to the owner about how much I liked this setup, and Susan, the owner, was very excited to find someone who could appreciate it. She has 7 fused discs in her back, and this bike gives her the correct riding position to continue riding comfortably. Although it looks like an Electra Townie, it's a Fuji that she bought as a 3-speed for just over $200. She swapped out the rear hub for an 8-speed for another $200 and created a very affordable dream bike. Happy Trails, Susan!

The trail mostly cuts through wooded rural residential areas, staying relatively flat and straight. We started at Woodard Bay and rode to the Monarch Sculpture Park, a free outdoor art gallery. We didn't have time for a full exploration, but I'm already planning to bring my kids down here for a visit.

Show Your Colors

2010-07-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

Few activities in life can embody a feeling of independence, freedom, and liberty like cycling. Even though its popularity has come and gone repeatedly over the last twelve decades, the bicycle has remained a revolutionary vehicle for generations of dreamers. I'm not usually a flag waver, but riding around with the Stars and Stripes blazing on the back of my bike overwhelms me with patriotism and a sense of hope for the future.

Our nation's flag is not only a reminder of battles fought and lives sacrificed, but also of a great land full of natural beauty and a bounty of resources that should be shared, respected, and enjoyed. While celebrating our nation's independence, remember to respect the freedoms of others. Happy Independence Day from TBR!

Strength in Numbers

2010-07-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by more than a few friends who participated in the LiveStrong Seattle Challenge last year. I decided to do the ride myself this summer to help raise money and awareness for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Like many people, I have close friends and family who have battled and survived cancer. More people need to know that cancer is no longer the death sentence that it once was. You can fight it, and you don't have to fight it alone.

I registered for the ride last winter and just a few months later, my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. He was ready to fight it, despite it's advanced stage, however other complications with his health were compounded by the cancer and he lost his battle before it ever really began. His death just two months later was a huge loss to my family.

My friend Blaine, who visited from Colorado for the Courage Classic last summer, ended up at our house on vacation over the LiveSTRONG weekend in June. Rather than hang out while I rode the course, Blaine signed up for the ride, too, and raised over twice as much money as me. It was a dreary, rainy day (in fact, the darkest June day in Seattle in 15 years) and we opted for the 45 mile course. We rode along with John, another friend who signed up at the last minute and who's family has had it's share of losses to cancer over the years. It was humbling to ride behind riders decorated with "Survivor" tags and certainly motivated us to overcome the small discomfort that the weather provided.

Many thanks to everyone who donated to my fundraising effort and who rode or supported the ride.

Kickstand Fail + DIY Fix

2010-06-29T14:50:00.000-07:00

Just a few days after the pre-school year ended, I found this little doodad on the floor of my garage:

It took me a few minutes to figure out that it was formerly attached to the kickstand of the bucket bike, and that it played the important role of "kickstand deployment keeper". [World Cup jargon, in the parlance of our times. -Ed.]

note the hole on the right

I didn't trust the remaining keeper to hold the bike steady for child loading/unloading, so the whole bike was out of commission until I found a fix. At least the kickstand still held the bike upright and parked in the garage. However, several days later an unsuspecting houseguest used the Madsen for quick errand to pick up bags of ice and when he returned, the other keeper had also gone AWOL. The kickstand would simply continue forward until the feet faced the front wheel.

I notified Madsen Cycles of the issue, but haven't heard back from them yet.** Meanwhile, I came up with my own DIY fix.

I purchased a 5/16" bolt and washer for each side and tapped the keeper holes in the kickstand to accept the bolts. I threaded the bolts in the holes nearly all the way, then added thread-locking compound on the last few threads before tightening the bolts in place. It seems to be holding up ok, though I'm still cautious about allowing too much weight to be placed on the kickstand while loading and unloading kids. In fact, I'm making my 50-lb passenger climb out on her own before I put the stand down.

This is the first non-maintenance issue we've had on the bike after 14 months of regular use. I figure the bike has nearly 1000 miles on it. Since the bucket is meant for passengers, it's obvious that this failure is a safety issue. You may want to take a look at those keepers and make sure that they still appear welded in place.

**UPDATE: As Jared Madsen commented, their official fix was very similar except they use one long bolt to go all the way across. After they realized this was an issue, Madsen Cycles started pre-installing such a bolt on their bikes before they were shipped to customers. If you still have the keepers on your kickstand and not a long bolt, you may want to consider doing this to avoid the failure. Contact Madsen Cycles for hardware, etc.

The Freedom to Ride

2010-06-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

The Tacoma MOB Riders took over the streets once again last night for the Freedom Ride. Mrs. TBR and I could only stick around for a few stops, but we had a blast!

If you haven't been on a MOB ride yet, there will certainly be more to follow. Anyone and any bike is always welcome. I've heard that custom t-shirts are in the works, too!

Freedom Ride

2010-06-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

The Tacoma MOB Riders are taking over the Tacoma streets once again...

via lordrocktober

Fighting Hunger from the Saddle

2010-06-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

Today I rode the 5th Annual Wheels to Meals ride that benefits St LEO Food Connection (one of my three reasons to ride this summer). Thanks to the generosity of others, I raised $225 for this great organization.

The ride started on the edge of Puyallup, WA at the WSU campus. It was raining lightly when I started on the 56 mile course a little before 8am. I chatted with the only two other riders I encountered, a couple that lived nearby and who had ridden Wheels to Meals before. We sauntered together along the Foothills Trail for a while, until I decided I needed a faster pace.

Mt. Rainier is hiding here somewhere

The trail roughly follows the Carbon River through Orting and South Prairie. There were rest stops every 12 miles or so, and I found myself stopping to grab a little something at each one and to thank the volunteers for supporting the event. Although over 200 riders pre-registered for the event, I saw very few of them on the course.

In Buckley

Lake Tapps

The descent into Sumner

The director of Food Connection, Kevin Glacken-Coley, said a few words of thanks to the riders and volunteers. Kevin explained how Food Connections Backpack Program feeds nearly 350 students during the school year and that during the summer they will be operating over 20 food distribution locations throughout Pierce County so that many of those same children will have access to the food they otherwise wouldn't have.

Kevin also likes to point out that you shouldn't have a ride against hunger and be hungry yourself! So there was a very tasty taco bar at the finish, complimentary Harmon Ale and Washington wine, and root beer floats. This was after the five (six?) rest-stops that were well stocked with fruit, home-made granola bars, chocolate-covered rice crispie treats...I was stuffed.

According to my records, this was my longest ride for me since last year's Courage Classic, and I was feeling it. Between the lack of training and a lingering cough, every mile after about 30 was a struggle. Hopefully I'll have a chance to get a few more long rides under my belt before the Seattle LIVESTRONG ride on June 20. I'm really looking forward to it.

Now go find your own reason to ride!

Crit Racing Comes to Tacoma

2010-05-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

As if you needed more reasons to check out the bike-scene in Tacoma, here's a good one:

Tacoma Twilight Criterium

supported by Michelob Ultra

Saturday June 12th

3pm - 11pm

www.tacomatwilight.com

Night Time Bicycle Racing comes to Downtown Tacoma!

With Special appearance by Olympic Speedskating Medalist, JR Celski.

A party in Downtown Tacoma like you’ve never seen before. Bring the kids, bring a chair, settle in for the night!

Another Tacoma MOB Ride!

2010-05-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Watch out! These Tacoma MOB Riders are getting organized...

Zeit-Bike Tacoma

2010-05-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

Mrs. TBR and I went downtown to see the locally-made Zeit-Bike bicycle sculptures on display at the Tacoma Art Museum. Our timing was perfect and we found the artists riding their artistic contraptions around Tollefson Plaza during a break in the drenching rain showers we've been having all day.

Two of the three artists even offered test-rides to the by-standers. I rode one with a trailer wheel-powered fan that inflated the large plastic wind sock on the back. Brilliant.

There's still plenty of Bike Month left. More Tacoma events here.

Bobike Revisited

2010-05-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

I removed the Bobike kid seat from my Xtracycle a while back because I was usually hauling multiple kids with the Madsen when I needed to carry a Bobike-sized passenger. Tonight I decided to give it another shot. My youngest (2yo) loves that she has her own handlebars now and my oldest (4.5yo) loves that she can climb on the back by herself and doesn't have to wear a seatbuckle, like in the Madsen. I like it because this is the most comfortable bike I own and it holds a 20 pound weight advantage over the Madsen. It feels like I'm riding a group hug with my family, and I love that feeling.

New PDZA Racks

2010-05-16T20:55:00.000-07:00

I was quite excited to see this sign drawing my attention to a new set of bike racks at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, our local menagerie. The whole thing is built on a hillside with the car park at the top, requiring a hike up and down a lengthy set of ramps or stairs to get to the boxoffice and then to see the critters. The new racks are right by the entrance, just far enough away from any pesky kids.

I've biked to this zoo once before on my Xtracycle. The five mile trip was rather pleasant with just one toddler in the Bobike seat and an umbrella stroller in the freeloaders. I recall my passenger sleeping the whole way home.

Meetin' at the Swap

2010-05-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

The 2nd Annual Tacoma Bike Swap happened yesterday on the UPS campus, one of the first events celebrating Bike Month in Tacoma/Pierce County. The kids and I arrived a little late, but there was still a good crowd and plenty of deals on bikes and parts of every kind. One vendor had a matching pair of folding Raleigh Twentys and some awesome Moultons. Another vendor with a 46cm Surly Cross Check frameset caught my attention, because I didn't know they'd ever been made that small. After chatting with the seller, I eventually spotted my only purchase of the day among his wares:

I plan to retrofit this beauty on to my own green Cross Check, a project which will likely require numerous trips to the hardware store. I can't wait!

The local paper covered the Bike Swap, too. You can read the full article here (TBR is quoted and linked - woot!) If you stopped at the Swap, what caught your eye?

Our First Madsenversary

2010-04-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

One year ago today, our Madsen Cycles kg271 "Bucket Bike" showed up in an enormous box.

We quickly realized that this bike was going to do everything we had hoped, and more. I was looking for a bicycle that would help this a stay-at-home dad get out of the house more often, carrying three small children on errands and outings around the neighborhood. We already had an Xtracycle, but this would be a back-up for when our minivan wasn't available and we needed to mobilize the whole gang.

It may sound funny, but the bike gives me a physical outlet that is key to my parental sanity. I went from bike commuting 100 miles/week to my old office job with hauling 100 lbs of precious cargo between neighborhoods, and those seem to be comparable challenges. For me, it's far more mentally stimulating to ride a bike than drive a car and the kids certainly keep things interesting. Plus the they have had a chance to interact more with their neighborhood since we're moving at slower speed. We play I Spy or wave and say hi to people that we pass by.

In the summer we took the bike to the parks and the library and the farmers market and a wedding. We took great-grandma and her great-granddaughter for a spin (at the same time.) We tricked it out with leather and cork and rubber. We used the drive-thru windows at the bank and the donut shop.

When fall rolled around, we rolled the Madsen to pre-school and play-dates and tea parties. A friend borrowed it to move house.
By winter, we were scheming ideas for a bucket cover, so that we could just keep on riding through the rainy months. We're doing that now, over 250 miles of Tacoma in 2010 so far. It's been a wonderful ride.

We bought a "scratched" model direct from Madsen at a discounted price and also took advantage of a free shipping offer. Over time, I made a few changes to the stock setup:

-Avid BB5 mechanical disc brake caliper up front
-VO Tourist Bar and cork grips (amber shellacked)
-VO Saddle Model 8
-Schwalbe Marathon 1.75" front tire
-Schwalbe Big Apple 2.0" rear tire
-DIY Rain Cover

I've appreciated the simplicity of the 1x8 drivetrain and mostly use the lowest five gears. The 42T chainring is welded to the crank, and I always figured that I'd swap it out for a nicer crankset with a 36T ring. However, I kept putting that off and simply became a stronger rider instead. I've been able to make the climb up St. Helens from downtown Tacoma with two kids in the bucket, my litmus test for cargo hauling. Remember that the rear wheel is 20", so a gear calculator is helpful to compare gearing options.

For the kind of work it does, the bike and components are holding up well. I estimate that we've put 700+ miles on it (I only started keeping track of mileage in September.) It's frequently been ridden in the rain, though the fenders keep it relatively clean. The full length cable housing has kept everything smooth. I've just replaced the rear v-brake pads. It still shifts great - no adjustment ever that I can recall. The kickstand tension has also never needed adjustment, though I've had to re-allign the kickstand when it has occasionally twisted in it's clamp. Though it has always been garaged, a few bits have a slight tinge of rust. I've tightened and trued the rear wheel twice, but had no flat tires. It's been semi-dropped only once when it tipped hard onto a brick planter box while loading a queen-sized mattress on the bucket. The dented head-badge is now a badge of honor.

Overall, I've been very happy with the bike. It's a purchase I would make again. However, I've already got one...so to celebrate our Madsenversary, I would like to share with you...

A SPECIAL OFFER!

Yeah, I'm pretty excited about this. A while back, Madsen Cycles sent me a $400 coupon towards the purchase of another Madsen bike, a coupon that we could give to a friend. To date, I'm still the only Madsen owner in Tacoma. :( So, in order to share the love, Jared Madsen has agreed to apply my coupon to the next person who calls to order a kg271 directly from Madsen Cycles and mentions "Tacoma Bike Ranch". Here are the details:

The coupon cannot be applied towards any already discounted bike (i.e. the "scratched" ones) and cannot be used in combination with any other coupons or discounts. So a $1299 bucket bike would only be $899. That's less than I paid for ours! At that point, you could add the "Classic Dutch Upgrade" and an extra seat bench and still come out ahead. Call Madsen Cycles at 1.800.206.0941 and tell them Tacoma Bike Ranch sent you!

Only one person gets to use this special offer, so don't delay. I'll post an update here once the coupon has been used.

[UPDATE: The coupon has been claimed! Another bucket bike is on the road!]

Cheers to another fun year of family cycling!

Cabin Fever Grindout - April 24

2010-04-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

A cryptic message was received on the wires today:

CABIN FEVER GRINDOUT

Bicycle Booze Cruz

Saturday, April 24th

7:00pm

Meet up at: MAGOO’S

Spread the word!

We Own the Streets!!!

I think by now you all know what to do...Get Thy Velosteeds Ready! Meanwhile...

A PDX/TAC Connection

2010-04-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

I'd like to give a HUGE shout-out to my friends behind A Most Civilized Conveyance. Katie, Dave and their son Jasper are a car-free family living in Portland, OR. They recently adventured to Tacoma with their bikes via Amtrak and have an inspiring story to tell about the joys and perils of traveling.

I could say "traveling with small children" or "traveling by bicycle" or "traveling in the Pacific Northwest in March," but travel under any circumstances involves planning, flexibility, and a bit of blind faith. In then end it's not always about where you go, but how you get there, and even how you got back from where you went.

I'm certainly inspired to attempt a similar trip with my own family thanks to Katie and Dave.

Murray Morgan Lives

2010-03-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

I just returned from the reopening ceremony of Tacoma's Murray Morgan Bridge. It's currently only open for cyclists and pedestrian use, but an RFQ will be issued soon to complete the restoration for vehicular traffic. The fully restored bridge should be reopened in time to celebrate it's 100th anniversary in 2013.

There were 40 or 50 people on hand to hear from former Tacoma mayor Bill Baarsma explain briefly why the bridge is so important to business development and safety. Mayor Marilyn Strickland wore a bridge replica tiara from Le Roy Jewelers, which, she said, had an operating center span that gets stuck sometimes, just like the real bridge. I also spotted one of Beautiful Angle's "Save Me" posters that a citizen brought to sneak into the ceremonial ribbon-cutting photos. Nice touch!

I was one of four cyclists that turned up on a bike and we were the first across the bridge deck, along with a local solar enthusiast who rode a Goped electric scooter. The deck hasn't yet been resurfaced, but it has been swept of crumbling concrete and pigeon carcasses.

Someone pointed out a rainbow in the sky between the downtown buildings as we looked up 11th Street. It was a beautiful morning to reconnect with my favorite Tacoma landmark.

Tacoma Trains

2010-03-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Waiting on the platform for friends and their bikes on a crisp, spring evening in Tacoma.

Pump the Pool

2010-03-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Former Tacoma resident Karl, booze-croozin-bike-wrenchin-frame-builder extraordinaire, sends this update of his new life back east:

"The Church of Higher Flow was in session last Sunday at 8 AM as usual. This time the pump was not the location. Check the commitment on Dan's face. That pool is at least 10' deep and we got the speed daemon on the vert!"

Glad to see things are going swimmingly for you, Karl! Gives new meaning to "ridden hard, put-away wet." (ok ok, that's enough of that...)

Not knowing of this correspondence, my wife walked in this morning and asked if I knew where a tandem could be rented in Tacoma. WOW...the stars are aligned today, my friends. Harness your opportunities and pedal hard.

Playdates

2010-03-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

I think this is the first time we've ever had four people in the bucket. Playdates are easy with the Madsen because you don't have to worry about carseat swapping; just bring your helmet! There was much laughter and potty jokes coming from under the rain cover on the ride to our house...ah, kids.

We've kept the rain cover on pretty much every day since we made it. It hasn't seen much rain, but works great when it does.

Bike'n'trike derbys on the patio are becoming part of the daily routine, rain or shine. I memorialized the occasion with a chalk drawing. Long live the Bucket Bike!

Three More Reasons to Ride

2010-02-19T22:46:00.000-08:00

There are many great reasons to ride bikes, but I need to tell you about three of them.

This summer I will ride in three fundraising events for causes that I am personally committed to supporting with my time, sweat, voice, and pocket book. If you feel compelled to support these causes with your own pocket book, the buttons to the right make donating online easy. I've already paid the registration fees, so 100% of your donation will directly support the cause. All of my fundraising goals are set at twice the required minimum for participants. This is no small task and I would greatly appreciate your support on any of these challenging rides. Many thanks.

Courage Classic - Cascade Mountains - 174 miles, 3 days (donate here)
The ride supports a Rotary Club endowment for the Child Abuse Intervention Department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma. The endowment is the single largest source of funding for this department and without it, many abused children in Pierce County would not have anyone advocating for their safety and well-being. This will be the third year that I've participated in this event. In previous years I've ridden my Xtracycle, but if you'd like to make a huge pledge in exchange for me doing an insanely stupid human trick (like riding my bucket bike over three mountain passes), email me with your proposal! (matt dot newport gmail)

LiveStrong Challenge - Seattle - 100 miles, 1 day (donate here)
We've all been affected by cancer somehow, if not personally than through people we know and love. My sister-in-law survived Hodgkin's lymphoma in her twenties. My grandfather survived prostate cancer. I ride bikes with a breast cancer survivor. These battles for survival are tough, but they do not need to be fought alone. The Lance Armstrong Foundation provides cancer resources and support to help more people survive cancer. This is what the yellow bracelets are all about - helping people to fight cancer and win.

Wheels to Meals - Puyallup Valley - 75 miles, 1 day (donate here)
This ride supports the largest food bank in Pierce County, St. Leo Food Connection. Food Connection also runs other programs in the area to help fight hunger, notably their Backpack Program that gives weekend meals to elementary school students during the school year. Recently they've started a fruit orchard so that they can provide locally produced food for their clients. I will personally donate $5 for every person that makes a donation through my site before June 6!

Again, thanks for reading and for your support!

-Matt

Fantastic February

2010-02-16T17:06:00.000-08:00

While folks back east were getting pummeled with difficult weather, the Tacoma area experienced an uncharacteristically warm and dry spell that is still going strong. I've been biking a ton, with and without kids along for the ride. Between miles and events, February is shaping up to be a busy bike month. Who knew? Here's a recap and a few upcoming events - it's not to late to get a piece of this action!

Mobility Master Plan:
The City of Tacoma issued a draft plan that details how they will address nonmotorized transportation issues in the coming years. I attended one of the public meetings and it felt great to be in a room full of people that share the same level of enthusiasm about these projects as I do. The public comment period ends March 12, after which there will be several opportunities to speak publicly to show your support. Tacoma can be a bike town!

Caspar Babypants
"Caspar" is actually Chris Ballew, front man of The Presidents of the United States, who now plays in a children's music duet. We took a Madsen bucket full of kids to their show at our local library and it rocked! The kids enjoyed it too as they romped around and sang along. It's not a bike event per se, but you could certainly bike or walk there. Two more library shows this month, February 20 and 26. [PS. Our rain cover sat outside in the rain for the entire hour-long show and the bucket stayed completely dry inside - yes!]

TWBC Monday Ride
I took our 4.5 year-old for her first group ride with the Tacoma Wheelmen this week via trail-a-bike. She wrote her own name on the ride roster, hassled me about not keeping us closer to the front of the pack, and played tough-kid despite the fog and <40° temp. We turned around for home after 5 miles (as planned), and made our way back with a stop at the playground and a coffee shop. She's hooked. Maybe we'll see you there one of the next few Mondays (9:30 am start at Proctor Starbucks.)

Community Bike Fair
TWBC and Bicycle Alliance of Washington are hosting this event 7pm, February 24 at The Hub (203 S Tacoma Ave.). Here more about the Mobility Plan, clubs, events, resources, etc.

Road to Roubaix
Local bike shop Tacoma Bike, in conjunction with a few other local businesses, is hosting a screening of the film "Road to Roubaix" on February 27. Me and the Mrs. will be attending. Afterward you can test your prowess with the cobbles on a few of Tacoma's hilly side streets as you bike home.

Laugh at the Weather Ride
What? You haven't been riding your bike this winter?! Well, the TWBC is hosting a FREE cycling event on February 28 to lure you and that dusty bicycle back onto the road. It's a 10 mile ride with FREE pre- and post-ride snacks. Follow the link to sign up in advance so they can plan for the right number of riders. And it's FREE.

Tow Trike

2010-01-29T14:28:00.000-08:00

TBR has featured bikes-on-bikes, but this is the first trike-on-trike that I've ever seen. It was completely his idea, but I was more than happy to make his dream a reality.

This may have been prompted by a four mile tour of errands that Ky did with me via Xtracycle + stoker bar. I ended up using a salvaged drop bar that was chopped just long enough for some bmx grips. It was Ky's first try with the stoker bar; he did well and had a blast.

Dry Run

2010-01-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

Today was the first ride with our new DIY rain cover. It wasn't raining, but 40°F and damp would have to do. The kids were so excited that they practically tripped over one another running out to the garage. There was quite a bit of giggling en route to pre-school while they played with the camera and read books. Compared to our normal ride, I couldn't tell that the cover was on, but the kid noise was slightly muffled. (I'm putting that in the pro column.) It looks big, but it doesn't have a profile much wider than my body, so any added drag was unnoticeable.

The kids arrived warm and dry, I didn't have to spend five minutes pre-ride finding hats, gloves, scarves, etc. for each one, and the van stayed parked in the garage the whole time. Win Win Win.

Madsen Rain Cover

2010-01-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

This is our first attempt at a rain cover for our MADSEN kg271 bucket bike. We wanted something simple, inexpensive, light, and hopefully durable (i.e. kid-proof.) that would keep the kids warm and dry for short trips around town on the rainiest of days.

The support frame is made from two pieces of 1/2" electrical conduit coupled together, so it's modular for summer storage. The frame sits in the bucket on top of the seats. The cover is primarily Sunbrella fabric, a light awning material, with zippered vinyl windows. The nylon strap, sewn into the bottom of the cover and fastened under the lip of the bucket, keeps the whole thing in place.

Conception and production was a group effort. Many thanks to my dad for helping with the pipe bending, and many many thanks to my wife for showing off hew prowess with a sewing machine. Hat tip to Crow for sending us to Seattle Fabrics - they had everything but the conduit!

Unless the weather is too nice, we'll have a full review soon. What do you think?

We Come from France (You Know, for Kids!)

2010-01-14T10:42:00.000-08:00

A friend bought a vintage Peugeot folding bike from a Tacoma bike collector. She owned a pair of these bikes, and sold him the grungier one. The first thing I noticed about this bike was that it appeared completely original, with a Peugoet saddle, Peugeot bell, and even a miniature frame pump. The wheels seemed an odd size and it had some rust colorations.

I brought the bike to my garage for a little TLC. The sidewalls of the old gumwall tires had deteriorated, such that some sort of melted rubber now coated the rims. I ordered new tubes and tires from Harris Cyclery, which seems to be the only place stocking tires of the rare 550A/22" French folder size. After about 10 hours of scouring, polishing, cleaning, and very little adjusting, the bike shines and sparkles.

I think this bike is awesome. Why?
  1. It still runs great, even the generator lights. I don't know how old it is, but I'd wager at least three decades have passed since this thing rolled off the line.
  2. It was Made in France. The whole damn thing. Even the bulb in the front dynamo headlamp is stamped Made in France. Really.
  3. Nearly anyone can ride it. It fits my little sister like a glove, but I can ride it comfortably to the grocery store, or a kid could race it to school.
  4. It's retro-cool and inexpensive. For $160 and some elbow grease, this bike has fenders, lights, rack, foldability, and class.

Many of the bits on this bike are irreplaceable, like the special cable hanger for the rear brake, or the quick-release for the stem. I mean, it was a good thing that I ordered the matching tubes for the new tires, because the bike had previously been cludged together with a 24" tube in the front tire and, to my amazement and amusement, a 26" tube in the rear. It was a little wonky, but it worked well enough for someone.

The point is, even a goofy old French bike has the potential to be an awesome ride.

Stoked

2010-01-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

After watching this Totcycle video showcasing some of the ways other Pacific Northwest families mobilize on bikes, my oldest daughter reminded me that we needed to put some stoker handlebars on the back of our Xtracycle .

Xtracycle sells a stoker bar kit, but I had all of the bits laying around.

Mom photographed our first departure, but I wish I could have recorded the squeal of excitement that Gwen made when hit cruising speed. She loves it!

Early Bicycle Remodeling

2010-01-02T10:06:00.000-08:00

I found this photo somewhere on the web a while back (unknown source.) I find it inspiring. She makes family biking look so easy!

Take It Off!

2009-12-31T01:50:00.000-08:00

Last night I finally found some time to put on the 2.0" Schwalbe Big Apple on the rear of the Madsen. I had trouble seating the tire, so I swapped the rubber rim strip for some cloth rim tape, which seemed to help. Many spokes were very loose, so I tightened them. Attention Madsen owners: I know the bike is awesome, but it should still be serviced periodically.

When I visited Madsen Cycles in SLC, Jared assured me that this tire would fit with the stock fender, but he added that one must clip out the crimped section of the rear fender with tin snips to accomodate all that rubber. Most plastic fenders are missing this section anyway. I was able to hack it without removing the bucket.

However when I took the kids to the library today, I found that the chain now rubbed a bit on the hacked fender when I used the large cog. And the taller tire caused the kickstand to float just a bit too high off the ground, which allowed the bike to roll when parked - not cool. The bucket needed to come off so I could finish what I had started doing half-assed. Typical.

Removing the bucket is easier than I had thought it would be. You must only remove three screws. There are two small nutted screws at the bottom of the bucket that hold the bucket to a cross bracket. Then under the rear seat, there is a screw-type hose clamp that holds the bucket to the round top-tube of the support rack. That's it. I pumped the tire to max pressure (70 psi), adjusted the kickstand down (the kickstand is held in place by what is essentially an upside-down seat post clamp), then reduced the tire pressure a bit to soften the ride. I trimmed my fender hack job, then adjusted the v-brake pads while it was convenient. Note the blue sticker that indicates that this is one of the discounted "scratched" models.

While I had the bucket off, I also took a few measurements. Using the highly accurate "bathroom scale" method, I found that a 2-seat bucket weighs 24 lbs, and the bucketless kg271 (with aftermarket VO saddle and fat Schwalbe tires) weighs 46 lbs. I rode the bucketless bike around the block and found it to be as zippy as my 50 lb Xtracycle. Yes, zippy is relative in this case, but you'd be amazed how well these longtails can lurch out of the gate.

I would also say that the Avid BB5 front brake I put on the Madsen (upgrade from the stock Promax brake caliper) works about as well as the Avid BB7 on my Xtracycle when the bikes are unloaded (160 mm rotors on both.) However, the BB7 allows far better control and stops the loaded Xtracycle much better. Madsen owners, if you are contemplating an upgrade to the brakes, go with the BB7.

It's taken me 8 months, but I finally have the bike dialed in the way I wanted it. I was really pleased with it on Day 1, but a few simple upgrades and comfort modifications have made it one of my favorite bikes to ride. And for the second time this month, I talked to someone outside the library who already knew about Madsen Cycles, but stopped to chat because he was completely shocked to see one in Tacoma. Most of the folks who ask me about the bucket bike think it's a home-made hack and are surprised to find that I bought it fully assembled (without ever seeing one in person!) and ready-to-ride straight out of the box. Hopefully these recent encounters with other bike enthusiasts indicate that the cargo bike wave is finally headed for T-town. Any of you shop owners want to hop on the Madsen dealer train? C'mon!

Bikes To-go

2009-12-22T17:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a little folding-bike-on-cargo-bike action for your Tuesday...

Photo by Atom @ House of Tattoo

Would you, could you, with a bike?

2009-12-17T14:53:00.000-08:00

I've read stories about bike moves in Portland and Minneapolis, where armadas of cargonistas move a family of four and their worldly possessions across town in a day. And Sam in Bozeman proved that even solo bike moves were possible. So when Evan asked to borrow our Madsen and maybe a trailer so that he could move all of his stuff to a new condo, I jumped at the opportunity to help with, what I think may be, Tacoma's first bike move.

He moved everything himself using a 2005 Burley d'Lite trailer (for smaller stuff like boxes and dresser drawers full of clothes) and a Madsen kg271 "Bucket Bike" (for the chest of drawers and a queen-size bed set.)

The most awkward piece was the mattress. I went along to help with loading and traffic flagging, but mostly to rubber-neck. Here we are using the recently-striped S. 12th Street bike lane.

The slow trip was just under three miles. One passing driver honked and gave us the thumbs up. A man on the sidewalk nodded approvingly and said, "Now that's how you do it." I think the entire move was done in sub-freezing temps and it was around 25°F on this particular morning. Unfortunately my mittened hands are not very adept with a camera while riding, so I only have this one photo of us en route.

When I asked Evan what he thought of the Madsen: "It's awesome."

Joy Ride

2009-12-14T21:26:00.000-08:00

This should be fun. Find a sitter.

Hat tip to SPEW for the heads-up.

Idle Hands are the Devil's Playground

2009-12-11T20:47:00.000-08:00

When winter rolls around, I usually find myself out in the garage on cold nights playing bikes. Once the over-due maintenance is done, I start to tinker. Here are some of the project that I've been working on.

Photos
I never seem to have my camera around when I want it, especially when I'm biking, so I'm making a camera mount for my handlebars. That way I can also take decent low-res videos of my epic rides. Instructions are here and the bits cost about $2 from the hardware store. (Note: The Ace Hardware at S. 12th and Sprague carries all of the bike-sized metric bolts that you could ever need.)

Tires
I've wanted to upgrade the rear tire on our Madsen, but no local shop stocks a 20" Marathon. Well last Saturday the Mrs. and I found ourselves in Seattle, volunteering at the Winter Beer Festival. We had parked at a B&B called Inn of Twin Gables*, where we would be staying the night, then walked over the Ballard bridge to Hale's for the event.

About half-way over the bridge, we spotted the Dutch Bicycle Company of Seattle. What luck! We checked out their awesome selection of Dutch bikes and they happened to have just one 20" Big Apple burried up in the rafters. I strapped it to my bag and we continued to the festival where we poured tastes from Schooner EXACT Brewing. They took home the second place people's choice prize for their Hoppy the Woodman barrel-aged winter ale. The beer was great and we had an awesome time.

*I highly recommend the Inn of Twin Gables. Katie, the innkeeper, was an excellent host (a story of her grandmother provided the title of this post.) And she made us a very tasty and healthy breakfast. Possibly the best night I've ever had away from home, and at a very reasonable price.

Rain Cover

The kid's don't mind getting a little cold and wet, but the downpours in November and the sub-freezing temps of December are extremes that I'm not always comfortable biking in with children.

I'd seen pictures of Madsen's prototype rain cover, but have heard it's been shelved for a different design. Being cheap and not wanting to wait for a produciton model, I'm making my own. The frame is made of 1/2" EMT electrical conduit. It's super light and easy to form, plus the frame disassembles into two pieces for summer storage. The cover itself will be made from outdoor canvas and clear plastic. A drawcord at the bottom will go under the lip of the bucket and hold the frame down. This is where I am so far. You'll have to imagine the rest.

This should work fine for low-speed, winter kid hauling. I'll post more photos and a how-to when it's done.

Winter Kid Commuting

2009-12-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

This morning I asked the two pre-schoolers if they thought it was too cold to take the Madsen bucket bike to school. It was 33°F, very dry, and beautifully sunny. After explaining that this temperature was nearly cold enough to make water turn to ice, one kid said Yes! and the other said No!

Well, Mom was out with the van and it was now time to go, so everyone bundle up! Beanies under helmets, mittens and scarves, and glasses for the short-straw who had to sit facing the wind. They shared the fleece blanket that we always leave in the bucket now that it's chilly. An umbrella was deployed to break some of the wind. We're off!

Tula dropped her mitten in the middle of the intersection. The nice driver behind us honked to point this out, so we stopped. We played I Spy. Then another stop to put the umbrella away because it was hampering the visibility for the game. Then it was Jingle Bells (a one-horse open sleigh - ha!) and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. At the stop light, I see that all of the bank tellers are pointing and smiling. Not a single word from anyone about being cold or inconvenienced. Just fun, and lots of it.

On the way home later, we road in the freshly painted bike lane on North 21st Street. The best was when the mom and two kids in the Prius slowed down to check out the bucket action.

There's sunny skies and similar temps in the forecast for the whole week. Tomorrow we're taking some jingle bells with us for musical accompaniment to the caroling.

How much better can this get? What temperature is too cold for a 1.2 mile ride to school?

Gwen Loves Tea Parties

2009-11-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

Today Gwen and I went to a tea party at Mad Hat Tea Company that was organized by Tacoma Bike. We rallied at the bike shop at noon for a short ride around the Thea Foss Waterway. It was a family-friendly event and there four or five kids along for the ride, maybe 17 of us total. At the end of the ride, we enjoyed hot tea, fresh scones, red velvet mini-muffins, and plenty of other tasty treats at Mad Hat. We had fun meeting and chatting with other folks who like riding bikes.

Gwen was in charge of the camera, though the photo of us was taken by one of her new friends. On the way home she managed to snag a photo of the only sharrow in Tacoma (St. Helen's between 9th and Market). I love this street, but wish it were more than a few hundred feet long!

Thanks to Gillian, Tony, and Mike at Tacoma Bike and Maureen and Tobin at Mad Hat for putting on a great event. Let's do it again soon!

Parting Skies and Pumpkin Pies

2009-11-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

Sun! Pies! Fun! And that was just the ride to pre-school...

Thankfully Healthy

2009-11-24T13:09:00.001-08:00

After struggling with the H1N1 flu for twenty days, I finally felt well enough to shuttle the kids to pre-school in the Madsen bucket bike today. To me, this is a health milestone that says, "You're better!" There was a chilly Northwest drizzle falling, but with their legs covered by a light fleece blanket and an umbrella at their backs, the kids stayed completely dry. I was left with damp thighs from my rain jacket run-off, which made me reconsider the value of rain chaps. And while the umbrella is fine for light precipitation, my youngest isn't big enough to hold one up on her own (she stayed home for this test). I need another solution.

The folks at Madsen made a prototype cover, which I heard was scrapped for a different design. I've worked out a basic design of my own for a passenger rain cover which I hope to build and test in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, it won't be done in time for Tacoma Bike's Family Tea Party on Sunday.

I'm not in a huge hurry to build it because the kids don't seem to mind the rain that much. After weeks of drenching downpours, they were more than ready to brave a few showers to get in some laps on the sidewalk the other day - without fenders!

Wishing you all good health this season - Happy Thanksgiving!

Cars

2009-11-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

While I've been getting over the flu (likely the swiney variety), I've been using my car more. By 'more' I mean that I'm using the car for trips that I otherwise would have biked: grocery store, doctor office, pharmacy. I simply do not have the energy to ride more than the four blocks to the mail box. I've done the pre-school run on the Madsen only once in the last two weeks and it was struggle.

I've been glad that we are car-lite and that I have a car to fall back on during this time. No one wants the swine flu guy to sit next to them on the bus. But wouldn't it be better if we were electric car-lite?

Thanks to Sara at Full Hands for the tip on a new They Might Be Giants album for kids, Here Comes Science, which is available with full video. Here's my favorite track. My daughters and I love the whole album though.

Catch Up

2009-11-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

So...when I left off, my family and I were about to embark on a two week road trip to Oklahoma for my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. We chose to drive because it was cheaper, but it also allowed us to see friends and family and countryside along the way, do something new as a family, and keep the trip cost down. For those who care, the carbon footprint for the trip was roughly 60% of a trip by airplane.

The trip was great. Many questioned our sanity for taking a toddler and a pre-schooler on a 4,000+ mile adventure, but we really did have a blast. We visited eight states, two zoos, an aquarium, a solar-powered yurt, and a Mennonite-run Dairy Queen. For those parents considering a similar family outing, I offer two secrets to our success: a portable dvd player and a 2-lb bag of Dum Dum lollipops.

I did go on two bike rides in the Brighton, Colorado area, where a nearby water tower verified with a painted ring that I was indeed riding at the one-mile elevation mark. Pretty cool for someone who lives at 350 feet a.s.l.

The week after we returned home was spent finding our routine. I biked the kids to pre-school in the MADSEN and we prepared for Halloween. By Halloween night, all of the kids were sick. By Tuesday, the pre-school had reported two confirmed cases of H1N1 and my wife and I were starting to feel ill. Yep, TBR has the Swine Flu. On the up side, the whole family had it at the same time, the kids were over the rougher fever part very quickly, and it's been pouring buckets of rain the entire time so we've missed out on very little riding time. ;) On the down side, it's been physically brutal on these two 20-something parents. After seven days of fevers, coughing, and congestion, I'm exhausted.

Don't hesitate to keep your kids home from school if they are symptomatic and do your best to avoid crowded public places. Wash you hands often. We're already planning to do most of our holiday shopping online, which will help keep the fine folks at UPS busy. They've already started doing deliveries by bicycle in my neighborhood, like they did last year.