Kids Bike Tacoma: Tacoma's First Kidical Mass

Over 55 riders joined the inaugural Kidical Mass Tacoma ride. Families, kids, friends, co-workers, neighbors, infants, and toddlers all took to the streets together as we rolled through North Tacoma to Jefferson Park.

We decorated bikes, installed some bike bells, blew some bubbles and generally reveled in a little bicycle chaos before departing the Proctor Farmers Market. Everyone was so excited that we shrugged off concerns about exactly how this was going to work. I'm pretty sure we were all first-time Kidical Mass riders.

Kris and Terry, our volunteer crossing guards, were indispensable on this first ride. At each of the main arterial crossings, we regrouped, they blocked traffic, then the whole Mass rolled across the street. Everyone would ring-ring bells as they crossed the streets, many of the kids thanking Kris and Terry every time. One young rider was awed and impressed to find out that our crossing guards are year-round bike commuters. 

Taking the lane (and then some...)

The Jefferson Park sprayground was turned on for the first time this year, which gave us a chance to cool off on an exceptionally warm May day. (I think it was near 80°F when we finished the ride!)

Parents had a chance to talk bikes at the park, too. Finding safe, comfortable ways to haul your precious cargo is important. There was a little bit of everything: trailers, trail-a-bikes, (trail-a-bikes with trailers!), box bikes, longtail cargo bikes, recumbent tandems, and folding bikes that fit kids and adults.

@JeffsIceCream

Metrofiets and another EdgeRunner!

Thankfully we had Jeff of Jeff's Ice Cream along for the ride. The prospect of a cold treat at the finish was the only way we convinced some of the kids to hop back in the saddle and ride back to Proctor.  Jeff donated the ice cream for the event and we're looking into ways to sponsor him and other treats on future rides. (Contact Matt if you are interested in sponsoring a ride.)

Thanks also to the City of Tacoma and the Tacoma Wheelmen's Bicycle Club for sponsoring and promoting this event for Bike Month. The ride prompted some helpful on-road discussion with kids about how to ride in traffic, which is exactly what I was hoping for. We'll continue to make the routes accessible for most young riders, with a little more riding on bike lanes or low-traffic lane-divided streets (I'm thinking S. 15th St. as an example.) We were moving at 4-5mph, a good pace for our 16" and 20" wheeled riders, but challenging for our lone training-wheeled rider. Our youngest rider, on a push bike, used every ounce of determination to scoot the 2.5 miles to the finish. (Thank you, ice cream incentive!)

Our next ride will be June 8 starting at People's Park in Hilltop. More details will be posted here soon. Please leave a comment if you have questions or feedback about the rides. I don't know if we're doing this right, but I think it's working.

Training With Kids

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.

Fiets of Parenthood - Seattle Style!

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?!

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.

Winter Kid Commuting

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?

Just Biking Around

Well, we've been biking to pre-school in the MADSEN for two weeks now and it still hasn't rained on us. The kids are anxiously awaiting a chance to get the umbrella out. There was some wishful thinking this morning with the raincoats. The rides are pretty uneventful, though they do enjoy it when other cyclists ride by, like yesterday when a UPS student rode behind us for a few blocks. The new bike lane on 21st St still hasn't been painted, but that hasn't kept me from using it on the way home. I'm hopeful that the city will complete the job before all of the temporary lane tags come loose.

On Tuesday I led the Tuesday Night Ride for the Harmon Bike Club (join us, 5:30pm at The Hub.) While we were queuing up, a gentleman came out and reminded us that the Ride4US is taking place at Point Defiance Park on Saturday. This "all-volunteer charity raises funds to purchase ultrasound machines for pregnancy centers who provide entirely free services for as long as care is needed." I'm going to take the girls in the trailer for the 5-mile ride, free pancake breakfast, and bouncy toys. We were told that the longest route (62 miles) is the toughest metric century in the South Sound. There's also a walk and a motorcycle rally - talk about covering all of the bases!

I made it home from the ride with just enough daylight left for Gwen's maiden voyage on the trail-a-bike. We traded someone two panniers for it (Chris, I think we both got a good deal!) and it works great. I can't tell you how excited she was to be pedaling with me. She was very chatty as we did a short loop around the neighborhood.

The next night we started a little earlier and went for a 3 mile ride in our matching reflective vests. She takes being "a real bike rider" very seriously, we even had to stop so she could stretch. However, for someone who used to yell at me for going more than about 10 mph on our Xtracycle, she now loves going fast on the down-hills.


The positive experience with the trail-a-bike gives me hope that we may one day go on an epic family bike tour, like this family that was featured in today's News Tribune. They took their 9-year old son on a 4000+ mile ride from Shelton, WA, to Washington, D.C.

Until then, we'll keep pushing the pedals around town.