Bike to Work Day 2010 and 2011

I just realized as I sat down to post about this year's Bike to Work Day that I never covered last year's. Tsk, tsk.

Bike to Work Day 2010. We went out on our errands early so we could stop by the downtown station, get our tires pumped up, register our bikes (Parker rode his red bike and I took the two younger ones on my Xtracycle). It was fun for the kids and we even ended up on the news that year (not interviewed, just footage of us at the BtWD station). After we chatted with a few fellow cyclists, we had a quick bite to eat Aroma (a downtown cafe). This just goes to show, how cycling can help local businesses. If we had been in a car, we would not have stopped.

Josie is covering her ears because it is 10:00AM on the first Tuesday of the month and the tornado sirens are sounding (test). PB and J on whole wheat with grapes, potato chips (big treat!) and a fruit cup.

Dema looking so young a year ago outside Aroma.

Next we went to the Champaign Public Library to check out some books. The kids are looking into the sun and it was such a nice warm spring day. This year, it was cold and blustery.

Bike to Work Day 2011 started early for Rob. Since he is now working at home (yes, he works from home and we homeschool so we really didn't have to leave the house to commute to work), he decided to volunteer at the downtown Champaign station bright and early. Rob saw at least half a dozen neighbors come through his station. He also received the cute "I Bike to Work" sticker above to sport on his Shower's Pass Portland Jacket, I bought for him last fall (best investment for cycling in the cold/rain). He was sure to warm up his hands on all of us since we were still snuggling in our pjs reading books when he arrived home. The kids and I didn't get out until the afternoon to run our errands so we missed the Bike to Work festivities, but still participated in spirit (it was tempting to hop on a bus, but we biked since it was Bike to Work Day).

Parker was on his bike and I took the younger ones (now seven and three) on my Xtracycle again. We trekked to Urbana for our errands; Strawberry Fields, Urbana Free Library, a local bank, Common Ground Co-op, and a surprise stop at Brownfield Sports. It was warmish when we left our house early afternoon, but by the time we were heading home, around five, it was downright cold and we were cycling into the wind. I knew we could not make the trip in our short sleeve shirts so I made a quick b-line into Brownfield Sports for some sweatshirts. I have never been in the store before and again if we had been in a car or even on the bus, I would probably not stopped in, but it saved us from freezing our buttums off. Cycling supports local businesses! See Josie above as we arrived home with our haul. She is eating goodies from Common Ground Co-op and sporting her new pink Illinois t-shirt (adult size, but it kept her warm).

Here is our haul for the day; a dozen library books (including Sugar Changed the World, a book that caught my eye and I decided to assign to Parker for a homeschooling project), bag of pink lady apples, three apples Josie had to pick out for herself, unsweetened chocolate soymilk (another Josie pick), three loaves of Strawberry Fields Veggie Seed bread, a Common Ground breakfast burrito (Parker's pick paid for with money he earned picking up sticks so I could use the reel mower on our overgrown lawn), three bulbs of garlic, a couple onions, three ears of corn (Josie again, she burned through her stick money), several bunches of kale, guacamole, bag of salad mix, three bunches of collards, romaine hearts, Just Coffee, recycled plastic duster, tea seed oil, and my newish vegan purse (red). Pretty much all the food is organic. The soy yogurt container had over $50 in change (hence the stop at the bank), but came home empty. A three year old and seven year old are not pictured. It feels good to do our weekly shopping on my bike instead of the bus again, even if the ride home was brutal. Josie quote from the back of the Xtracycle as we rode into the frigid wind, "Wind, I know you love me, but I need some space!"