Fantastic February

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.

Idle Hands are the Devil's Playground

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.

Red Hot Summer Nights

Sarah and I went to our first bike-in movie last night at The Red Hot. It was a blast! About 30 people showed for a screening of "Breaking Away", and at least 20 of them biked-in on bikes of all kinds, shapes, and sizes. New Belgium Brewing was on-hand with tasty beer (mmm..1554...) and plenty of swag to go around. At the end of the movie, a bike was raffled off as part of The Red Hot's reCYCLE the Bike project. (They fix up bikes from the community and give them away!) The winner, who happened to be in need of a bike, was so excited that she did a few victory laps around the audience. It doesn't get much better than that!

Transportation Options

Sometimes, there are too many options. Last week, I had made a date to walk with a friend at the park 1.5 miles away. I was taking the three little ones, so I'd planned to take the van. However, the wife had to work over that morning and the van was not available to haul me and my precious cargo to the park for a walk. (I know, driving somewhere for a walk, it's not something we often do either.) What to do?

A) Reschedule. (But I hate being flaky like that.)
B) Infant in a front-pack and toddlers in the double stroller/trailer. (Lots of exercise for me!)
C) Hitch the trailer to the Xtracycle and clip on the Bobike seat. (Not yet attempted by me with three kids.)

D) Take the bus. (A stop for the 16 is five houses away.)

I chose D.

We keep a stash of bus tickets for these occasions and kids 5 and under ride free with an accompanying adult. My kids have ridden the bus before, but I learned later that this was Kyler's first trip on public transit. He sat with Gwen on one of the jump seats at the front of the bus and when we started moving, he looked at me and said, "Woah! This is coool!" The ride took less than 5 minutes, but the kids had a blast.

We were prepaired to bus it home from the park (and my transfer was still good), but Sarah was heading home from the hospital (next door to the park) at just the right time, so we hitched a lift. Easy as pie.

That afternoon, Sarah walked our youngest to the hospital for a checkup, so I hitched up the trailer and took the toddlers to the store for pizza toppings. (We had whole wheat pizza dough churning in the bread machine.) I followed the back roads to get there since it's more uphill. Kyler decided to wear his helmet through two stores, which I do, too, sometimes when I'm in a hurry. Despite the drive-time traffic, I stayed on the main arterial for the trip home since I can keep decent speed on the slight downhill and the road isn't pocked with potholes like so many of Tacoma's residential lanes. I made it home without incident and felt invigorated. It couldn't have been too scary, because both kids slept the whole way home.


Explore your transportation options, but don't feel like you need to use any of them exclusively. You may find yourself enjoying the variety as much as we do.

Bike Dates...

After dropping the kids with the in-laws, we planned to start the evening at the Tacoma Art Museum. It was on the way home so, rather than backtrack with bikes, we parked at the Tacoma Dome P&R and took the Link Light Rail downtown. They were closing in five minutes, so we decided on cocktails and dinner at Indochine instead. We hadn't been there before; it's far more hip and swanky than the one in Federal Way that I was raised on. After dinner, we walked along the Thea Foss Waterway and then back to the P&R over the new D Street overpass, which neither of us had ever used. It's a very pedestrian-friendly area with some nice views of the marina and the 21st Street Bridge. Sarah wished she'd brought her camera.

After running the dogs and catching up on some chores, we were ready to head out for Part II of the evening by bicycle. The 6th Avenue District is full of restaurants and bars, so we have plenty of options for nightlife. Sarah picked E-9 as our first stop, since they were still serving food from the kitchen at that hour.

From bike date 1

We spent a considerable amount of time trying to lock our bikes to the gate around their courtyard. Once inside, the bouncer immediately asked for ID.

Bouncer: Did you know that your license is expired?
Sarah: WHAT?! Oh no, I can't beleive I missed that!
Bouncer: I'm sorry, but [I'm a jerk and] I can't let you in.
Sarah: Are you kidding? I'm almost 30!
Bouncer: I'm sorry [but I'm a jerk.]

So, we left E-9, unlocked the bikes, and rolled across 6th Ave to The Red Hot (which is really where I wanted to go anyway.) The owner asked me about my Xtracycle on one of my first visits and I've been hooked ever since. Tap selection is second to The Parkway, but still top notch. Plus, the bike rack is right outside the front door!

From bike date 1

Sarah is not a huge fan of their food menu, but I think it rules. It's all hot dogs and nachos served up steam tray style from behind the bar. No pretty kitchen and no fancy tableware. Some nice patron has even donated a hot dog mosaic stepping stone and a paper-mache effigy hotdog from the dia los muertos celebration on the Ave. I asked my server if he though a Rainier beer can hat would be worth anything and he recommended that I come back and talk with the owner next Saturday. How I would love to have my wares on display at such a fine, upstanding establishment.

From bike date 1

Hales Kolsch and Elysian IPA washed down the Nacho Cheese nachos and a vanilla Moon Pie. We also entered to win a bike in the "Recycle a Bike" raffle that is now being held monthly. This one is a hand-me-down from the owner's brother.

From bike date 1

I decided that it was too warm (32°F) and I was too full of bar food to call it a night, so I took Sarah on a tour of my frequent night-ride loops. Once around the UPS campus...

From bike date 1

Then down to my favorite lookout point. It was so much fun to ride around cracking jokes and ringing our bells at the cars and pedestrians. A great night to be a Tacoman.

From bike date 1