What a Weekend: Bicycle Highlights

We had a bustling adventure of a weekend in Tacoma. We biked almost everywhere we needed or wanted to go and never went more than about 3 miles from home. Living in the city has its perks!


Friday: First, another round of the weekly Frost Park Chalk Off. We like to bike there with a picnic lunch. Super T decided we would draw kitty whales, something she created on our kitchen chalkboard earlier in the week.

Much later that night...

MOB RIDE!

If you missed it, watch for posters like this around town (note the MOB logo).

Saturday: Up early so that my little fairy could march in the Junior Daffodil Parade with her pre-school pals.  We biked to this neighborhood like we always do, but driving would have been especially inconvenient since many roads around the parade route were closed to vehicles.

After the parade, we visited the Proctor Farmers Market. (I recommend the spring rolls from the Two Sisters sauce booth.) We also browsed the new Playback Sports shop, which we hadn't been to since they moved. They sell used sporting goods on consignment, including bikes and bike accessories. Tacoma parents should know about this place: spread the word.

Sunday: Wayzgoose! It's a print arts extravaganza hosted by our local independent book store, King's Books.  We biked there with another family. Eight people: four bikes.

The main attraction is the steamroller printing press. RAWR.

Local artists hand carve these sheets of linoleum then print a few very limited edition posters which can only be won through a raffle drawing. There were eight designs, including these two that included bikes.

 TA-DA!

We also brought shirts to take advantage of the free screen-printing booth run by some University of Puget Sound students. And I picked up some cool prints from an artist who also makes records with a vintage record lathe. This one is cut from a plastic pie plate.

A friend from the chalk-off was running the bicycle ice cream trailer for Jeff's Ice Cream. Made in Washington ice cream bars and cookie sandwiches FTW!

 We finished off the day with a Harmon Hub pizza picnic at Wright Park. It was a beautiful day in Tacoma.

Monday: Back to School!

Fin.

Everyone's Riding Bikes

Yesterday I received a call from one of my wife's college friends. She lives in Tacoma and was exploring the interwebs for a how-to on biking with little ones. Totcycle was very helpful, she said, but they didn't have a Madsen kg271 available in her neighborhood for test-rides. Tacoma Bike Ranch did! She walked down to the ranch and took the Bucket Bike for a spin with her 2 year old. Small world, eh?

Then my cousin calls at the eleventh hour, saying he wants to join me for the Harmon Bike Club's Tuesday Night Ride*. Except I have his bike hanging in my garage and he will have to meet me at the Hub, or risk being late. No worries, says I.


Four blokes showed up for the ride, and the five of us went on a barn-stormer down through 5-Mile Drive in Point Defiance Park, then over towards the Narrows Bridge. The rabbit of the bunch opted for the 6th Ave hill instead of a lap over the bridge. Pints of porter and sweet potato fries helped speed us towards recovery back at the Hub.


Most of the folks on the Tuesday Night Ride are training for the Courage Classic, which I'm riding this summer for the second time. It's a fund-raising ride for the Child Abuse Intervention department at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma. Every dollar goes directly to helping these kids, and it only take a minute to donate online.

Now get out there and ride your bike!


*Tuesday Night Rides start at 5:30pm from The Hub at 203 Tacoma Ave S in Tacoma. 20-25 miles around town and anyone is welcome to tag along.

May is Bike to Work Month

(photo courtesy of Carla Gramlich)

Last year I pushed to get my office motivated to participate in Bike to Work Month. We formed a team for the Group Health Commute Challenge and individually tracked our bike miles with Pierce Trips. There weren't many activities going on in Tacoma that we could participate in since our office was in King County, so three of us made the trek to REI HQ in Kent on Bike to Work Day so that we could be counted and recognized with those folks.

I was excited to hear that my co-workers were keeping the tradition alive this year by forming a team. This motivated me to get out and participate in some of the cycling activities that were happening in Tacoma/Pierce County this year.

Sarah and I biked to the Hub on May 13 in a soaking rain, along with 30 or 40 other dedicated cyclists, for the Bike to a Better Tacoma event where we had free pizza and a chance to chat with the City's cycle transportation staff members. We also met many of the hard-working folks from Tacoma Wheelmen's Bicycle Club, the main advocacy voice for cyclists in Tacoma.

The following Friday was Bike to Work Day. I loaded up my kids in the Madsen Bucket Bike and headed downtown with my sister for free coffee at Black Water Cafe. I met Lauren Walker, one of my city council members, who was pouring coffee and chatting with bike commuters. We also saw Carla Gramlich, Touring Captain and ride leader for TWBC, who has done an amazing job of photographing all of the Bike to Work Month events in Tacoma. We're in there a few times - check it out!

Things seem to be shaping up for cyclists in Tacoma. Let's keep the progress moving forward - get out there and ride your bike!

Good Times in My Neighborhood

Despite my child-minding duties, I made arrangements to attend the 1st Anniversary Party for The Hub, since I sort of named the joint. The timing of our evening was such that Sarah suggested I ride with her to work on my way to the party. I suggested that I take her to work on my Xtracycle instead.



Sarah has only ridden on the back of the Xtracycle once before, but she seemed comfortable. A VERY low rear tire made the bike wobble a bit more than I would have liked, but we had a super fun time.


The Hub was packed and Steve Stephanowitz was doing a great job of keeping the place hopping.

I found a seat in the bar and chatted with two ladies for about an hour. We snagged a few free water bottles and talked about bikes, Portland, Urban Iditarod, Tacoma, and teaching kindergarten.

When Steve's set was over, Pat raffled off the grand prize, a sweet Giant Simple Single, which was won by the kindergarten teacher-to-be that I had been chatting with all this time. She was very excited about her new bike.


I sprinted home on the Xtracycle, dynamo lights blazing, knowing that there was one more bike owner in Tacoma ready to hit the streets. It was a great night to be out on two wheels in Tacoma. Cheers to Pat and Carole at The Hub for creating such a great hang-out!