These Boots Are Made For Walkin'

Since the first real snow event of 2012, Parker and I have been walking to and from school instead of cycling. Rob would cycle with Parker (and a friend or two) to school and I would cycle home with him/them. Then the snow fell and Parker wisely decided it might be safer and more fun to walk. We get just enough snow in this area for people to not know how to drive in it, but think they do. Now Parker and I enjoy our one one one time so much that Parker isn't interested in cycling at all yet. When we bike to school he doesn't get much of a chance to chat. I love getting a couple miles of walking in before I start my homeschooling day with the two younger kids. It gets me out of the house when it is 10 degrees out so then the rest of the day I don't dread the cold. Rob has completely lost his winter groove and will sometimes go days without leaving the house. He is too soft from spending last winter in North Carolina. He used to be such a hard man cycling seven miles to work in sub-zero weather even when we had a car. Now he spends all day in his attic office with a space heater so it is the warmest room in the house. Luckily, this winter hasn't been too bad yet and we've already made it through the first month.

I bought a pair of Bogs boots from Champaign Surplus before Christmas and I used them a couple times, but it was almost too warm, but once the snow fell and real winter kicked in I found the Bogs to be a joy. My seven year old is our middle child and rarely gets new anything so I bought  him a pair this year too. He never complains about his toes getting cold and he was able to play in the snow all day without getting his feet wet. He can easily put his boots on himself since they have the handles. I predict the entire family will end up with a pair of Bogs as they grow out/wear out their current boots. Thanks to Loretta and Susan for recommending Bogs boots.

I walked over a dozen miles in my boots last week before the snow melted and they were not tough on my feet. I was happy to get back into my walking shoes since they are a little less bulky, but really the boots were very comfortable. I debated about buying a shorter pair because I think I could wear them all the time, even when cycling. I'll let you know how they well they wear as time goes on.

The younger kids and I walked to the bus station this week to buy new bus passes. I'm going to try to keep a running tally of how often we ride the bus. I'm curious with two bus passes (one for me and one for Parker) and soon to be three (Dema is about the height to need one now, but they said he was still okay to ride without) if we really use them enough of if we should just pay a dollar each time. It is certainly convenient to have the passes instead of tokens or cash, but we're trying to be more fiscally responsible.

After we walked to the bus station, we took the bus to the co-op and back so we have 2 rides for one pass holder so far this year. I was able to get Parker's pass too since his photo was on record, but he doesn't ride the bus as much anymore and he was supposed to be issued a bus pass through the school, but never received one. I'm hoping he uses the bus more independently this year. We'll see.

I wish I had a picture of Josie on the bike of the Xtracycle on the way to ballet this week. In some ways walking is more comfortable in the cold than cycling because walking expends more energy and doesn't create as much wind. Yet Josie was insistent on going by bike. I had to bundle her up with her toutou on. Only her ankles and cheeks were cold. We have several masks and balaclavas, but she refused to wear them since they really are too big for her. I need to look into smaller options of headwear for under her helmet or over perhaps. The ride is only a mile or so and she didn't complain.

Last night we all walked the mile downtown to watch a movie and it was single digits for our walk home. The little ones were snuggled in the Chariot bike trailer and the rest of us kept warm by walking fast.

Staying Warm

It is that time of year again when we opt for the bus more than our bikes. Here is Josie (four) waiting patiently and warm for the bus. We still ride to school and home with our 11 year old son. With all of us expending energy we can keep pretty warm. Josie starts to get cold for long trips on my Xtracycle even when she is pretty bundled up because she gets the breeze from riding, but none of the warmth producing exercise.

She does ride her own pedal bike now (she was loving her balance bike so much she wasn't interested until Thanksgiving weekend). Yet, she is slow close to the ground and not super visible (even with her bright orange bike) that she still rides on my Xtracycle for longer rides.

Skull caps are key to cycling in the winter, in my opinion. They are thin enough to fit under your helmet, but warm. Add a neck gator and you are toasty. Good gloves are also nice. Lobster gloves in sub-zero temps are great, but any quality gloves work most of the winter. Especially for the kids, make sure the gloves still allow for good bike control and breaking. Don't forget, the shorter days mean you need a light with you at all times. Be careful and be seen!

Dress for Car Free Success

What to wear, what to wear? It is that time of year in lovely C-U when the temps start to fall and so does the rain.

Yesterday I walked Josie to ballet for her comfort and mine. I stayed warmer and dryer walking with her in the Chariot trailer than if I'd hooked it up to my bike. I was completely comfortable in my Mountain Hard Wear jacket there and back in low to mid-40's temps and steady rain. I didn't even need gloves and walking/pushing Josie kept me almost too warm (I had a short sleeve shirt and thin hoodie underneath). Layers is the name of the game, I suppose. My only complaint is my shoes. The puddles were unavoidable on the walk home and I definitely day dreamed about rain boots by the time my cold toes were home since they didn't come into a nice warm house. We don't have the heat on and our sweet old home is in the 50's from now until next spring.

The bike ride to pick up Parker from school (need to cover same cycling to school soon) was not as pleasant. My Mountain Hard Wear jacket is not a good color for cycling in the dark gray rain and it was still quite soaked from my late morning walk. I grabbed my brighter colored old North Face jacket. It is really a bit to big for me. I bought it about 15 years ago on sale, but it is a men's small and really never fit right. I can bring the hood over my helmet a bit, which was nice. I'm thinking of getting a non-traditional helmet. They seem to have good coverage and be warmer. Anyway, Parker's helmet was soaked and both our seats were too by the time he was out at the bike rack. I need to remember to keep a towel in my Xtracycle for rainy days. I had fingerless cycling gloves on and my hands were cold. Parker had full cotton gloves and he was fine.  I need to find him some better fall/winter cycling gear. His Marmot coat is getting snug and really isn't waterproof. It has held up great to a lot of use and abuse for two years and will be handed down to Dema so no complaints.

I was checking out options online before Champaign Surplus has their sale this weekend. I am eyeing the Portland Jacket at Shower's Pass since it is on sale. Only smalls and XL left. I bought Rob a medium a while back and he loves it, but his is definitely too big for me. I wonder if a small will work and it really wouldn't be warm enough in winter.

 Rob wears his a lot, but usually just spring and fall (or ice skating). Is there such a thing as rain/winter cycling wear that I could use for all seasons? I also like Nau's Sussinct Trench, on sale, but can't tell if it will be warm enough and after a closer look it is actually out of stock. I was in Evanston a couple weekends ago and found a jacket I would love to have at Athleta, but I don't see it online and it wasn't a top layer for winter.

The one thing I am sure I'll be wearing from now until April is my Title Nine Pants. I bought them several years ago and the only thing I see on their website similar is this. I practically live in these pants in cooler weather. I never feel cold below the waist with these babies on, but be warned they are super warm and don't try to workout inside in them unless you want to pass out from heatstroke.

What are you wearing?

Driving a Car is Big Responsibility, Don't Take it Lightly

To the woman in the SUV with plate REC 6, driving in downtown Urbana this morning. You might have been able to avoid the elderly man walking across the street near the UFL easier if you hadn't been texting and driving. You had a passenger, let them text, or pull over and text. Drive when you have the time and attention to drive. Thank you.

I have seen an unprecedented number of drivers in the last week not taking driving seriously. It is shocking. When you drive a car, you have an awesome responsibility. The car is a very heavy object, often being used at high speeds...it can easily kill. Yes, there are cyclists and pedestrians who make poor choices, but usually those choices hurt them and not others. When my father taught me to drive, he paid special attention to those not in cars...they are not as predictable because they are dealing with debris in the street or they may be in the street or on sidewalks in places you would not expect a car. It is my responsibility as a driver to be aware of what is around me; cars, pedestrians, cyclists, a stray trash can, the neighbor's dog/cat, etc. It really just takes one text or other distraction to take your life or the life of someone else.

Please drive responsibly.

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!"

I Have My Thumb Back!

Two weeks ago today, I rode to the gym, worked out, dropped my beloved Xtracycle off at Champaign Cycle (our fave bike shop in town), and walked the couple miles home.  Today I finally walked to the shop and picked my bike up.  I still had my LeMond road bike to use while my Xtracycle was in the shop, but it was like having my thumb cut off, I could still do everything I could before, but not as easily.  Things have been crazy busy and Rob worked a lot of hours so we never were able to take the trailer hitch off his bike and didn't think to take it off mine before I dropped it off at Champaign Cycle .  Thus, the kids and I did more walking in the beautiful weather and even hopped on the bus, which we rarely do this time of year.  Here they are patiently waiting at the bus stop at the beginning of our very busy Thursday (lunch at Common Ground Co-op, shopping at the Art Coop, picking up a yoga mat at Amara Yoga, Parker's yoga class in Urbana (not Amara), shipping a package for my business, three visits to the Urbana Free Library, retracing our steps for a temporarily lost bus pass, two different banks, and soccer practice in SW Champaign).

Rob pulled more than his weight for our Saturday Market at the Square/Common Ground Co-op shopping, the last two Saturdays.  

Here he is pulling Josie in the Chariot with groceries packed in the trailer and his Freeloaders with Dema on the snap deck (well, Dema had just hopped off).  Parker was on his own bike with his soccer gear in the pannier.  I just had my backpack/purse so everyone kept asking me to slow down.  It feels strange to be back in the saddle of my Xtracylce, but I'm so happy to have my SUV back.  It will be easier to take the kids to the gym with me and we won't have a half hour walk to Josie's dance class.

I Love the Smell of Sweat in the Morning

I finally got off my buttum (as my three year old would say) and biked to the gym for a 5:30 class this morning.  I was a little nervous about my LeMond because I rode over some glass Monday morning and my skinny tires aren't very forgiving.  I really did not want to experience a flat in the dark while my family slept and carry my bike to the gym or home.  Luckily, my tire held out and I forgot how glorious it feels to ride early in the morning with so few motorized vehicles on the road.  The chill of the wind, the freedom, the feeling I could ride on forever...bliss.

I did stop, however, instead of just riding on and worked out for a hour.  The ride home was beautiful with the sun coming up, but the cars that were now on the road were clueless.  At least half a dozen didn't give me close to the legal requirement of three feet passing space (a future post on this, I promise, but suffice it to say, if I can reach out and touch your car with my short little arms - you are waayyy too close).  I mean seri-ass-ly!  It wasn't rush hour, I was going at a pretty fast clip (the speed sign set up near one of the school I pass said I was going 21 mph uphill) and I wasn't taking the entire lane except at the stop light or when turning.  So why or why crowd me?

Deep breath.

I still enjoyed myself and look forward to more early morning rides to the gym.

Hauling Solo

I can't believe it is Thursday and I'm just now posting about Saturday, but that is how it goes sometimes.  Our grocery day was lovely, as usual.  I wish all the construction was done so we could take our normal route to Urbana, but I'm sure things will be finished eventually.  The kids had a birthday party at Sholem pool to attend after our shopping so Rob went one way with the three kids/pool necessities/snacks in tow (Parker on his own bike, Dema on the Xtracycle snapdeck, and Josie in the Chariot trailer) and I took the grocery haul home alone on my Xtracycle.  I can not tell you how happy having an SUB (sport's utility bike) makes me.  I love that we can rearrange things and split off without much effort.  Josie is old enough to ride on the snapdeck now if she had to so even without the Chariot we could get things done.

As you can see above, I made use of Josie's seat.  I didn't want to smash the produce so the last bag was strapped into the Peapod.  I don't think Josie was too happy about this, but she soon cheered up as she was on the way to the pool.

My wide load parked at home ready to be unloaded.

This week's haul.  I know you never tire of looking at our food since this is a car free blog.  Teehee.  It is what fuels the bike.  I found that laying it all out before putting it away makes for a much more organized refrigerator.  Some people ask me about perishables.  We do have a few items which need to stay cool.  Unless it is a really hot day, I find things are fine just in the bags, but we do have a couple coolers just the right size for the FreeLoaders (see Xtracycle info here).  I'll show the coolers in action in another post.

I barely had all the groceries put away when I received a call from Rob.  Bathing suit emergency.  In our rush to get out the door, the bottoms to Josie's bathing suit (which in her defense she kept saying we didn't pack) were not packed, and Parker had grabbed a suit which was too big for his cut little cycling self.  Sigh, I was more than a little disappointed.  I had already planned everything I was going to get done while the house was quite and now I had to run out again.  It was only a little over four miles round trip, but I was put out with myself for not being more together.  Once I was a couple blocks from home, I was happy to be on my "fast bike" (LeMond road bike).  We homeschool so the kids (or at least a subset of the kids) are with me 95% of the time 24/7.  I realized after I dropped off the swimming essentials that I could run a couple errands in that part of town.  I picked up some much needed (and on sale) goggles and joined a gym (I have been debating about the gym for a while, I rather get my fitness from everyday life, but I figured it would be nice to get some cardio work in which is hard to do with the kids).  We tend to be more organized since going car free, but there are times when we leave things behind.  So far, it has never really been a big deal.

So Far So Good?

After whining about Parker's soccer practices being in pretty much the most inconvenient park in town (seriously, it would be easier to sign him up for Urbana soccer), I have decided to embrase the location (somewhat) for Parker's sake.  Both Rob and I had our say and it is clear that Champaign Park District is not interested in listening.  I will say that I'm disappointed with CPD and think they should be supporting neighborhood communities by creating teams and locating practices at neighborhood parks.  How cool would that be?  Kids playing soccer with other children from their neighborhood.  Talk about team building.  It could also help some of our underused parks and give older kids a productive purpose for being there.  Alas, even our schools are not neighborhood schools anymore so this is a hard sell.  We have created neighborhoods (such as the one Parker has to go to for practice) which are so economically and in some cases racially homogeneous, that equality is not found in our schools and I'm sure some would call foul at the idea of neighborhood soccer teams.  Would the "rich" kids from SW Champaign always win?  Is winning the point?  Would money make a difference?  Soccer is supposed to be the universal sport of the every(wo)man.  Income shouldn't be an issue.

We intentionally live in a diverse part of town, but unfortunately, neighborhoods like ours are harder and harder to come by.  It isn't just our twin cities, this is an issue all over the country.  This trend makes life for everyone more motor vehicle centered.  When we move everything out of our neighborhoods, we end up with neighborhoods which aren't bike/pedestrian friendly.  It isn't a priority.  No one bikes/walks anyway because everything they need is farther away.  Restaurants, stores, etc. then become located across busy four-lane roads and the idea of using anything besides a car seems ridiculous.  The more we drive, the less connected to our neighbors, we tend to be.  We drive all over town, drive into our garage attached to our house, and are safely inside before we see anyone outside our secure little bubble.  Sigh.  I have hopes this trend might be ending, but it literally makes me sick to my stomach to cycling in the neighborhood with its wide streets which encourage cars to drive faster so they have to make the streets winding and circle drives so it is like a rat maze to find the park.  On these big wide streets, I have cars zipping me closer than they do in town.

The worst part of my cycling trip to SW soccerville is Windsor Rd.  I find the bike lane quite scary on this section (near The Crossing), especially with children.  The bike lane is narrow with a pretty deep ditch to the right and cars buzzing on the left.  It is quite busy, cars go far faster than the speed limit and taking the lane to turn left is terrifying.  Even with the bike lane, it is clear people don't expect to see cyclists there.  Okay, so I guess I still have a ways to go as far as embracing the location.  On the plus side, I see more visits to my father's house since we go through his neighborhood.  Parker is definitely tired after the ride there, soccer practice, ride home.  He has a congenital heart defect, but doesn't have any physical restrictions, but I still worry a bit on 90 degree days.

Lazy Sunday

We just hung out most of the day and played (the kids and I), or worked from home (Rob) . I leisurely biked to my radio show and back (a little under 3 miles round trip). It is a pleasant easy ride where I can think of what I'm going to talk about and get centered. Downtown is pretty slow traffic-wise Sunday mid-afternoons and it is one of my favorite trips of the week.

Tonight I will make some food for tomorrow's dinner/snacks. Since we are cycling to soccer practice (4.5 miles one way) around dinner time, I need to take snacks for the younger two, a light dinner for Parker since he'll be hungry after cycling, but won't want anything heavy before practice, and a snack for him after practice before he bikes home. The weather will be mid-80s so I need to think of things which travel easily and don't need to be kept cool.

Weekly Grocery Run

I am going to try to post more often on this blog since I've had a lot of interest from people to "see" how we (especially me with the three kids) live car free on a day to day basis.  I haven't really posted pictures on this blog before.  I'm not sure why I avoided it so long, but I think they might be helpful to some.  So here goes.

Saturdays, during the Illinois growing season, often start with at least part of our family cycling to the Market at the Square in downtown Urbana.  About 4 miles one way.  We don't have speedometers or odometers (my husband, Rob, used them years ago when he raced/trained and I had one for a time) on our bikes anymore for various reasons.  There is a lot of construction along our "normal" route to that part of Urbana so it is probably longer than the 3.5 miles google maps comes up with by bike and more like the 4 miles it displays by car.  We rarely just go straight anywhere, either way.  Today we dropped some items off at the Champaign Public Library and stopped at the bank for cash.  Thus, four miles is probably the most accurate even without construction if mileage matters to you.

Some Saturdays include classes for the kids (usually at a location on the way home) in the morning or afternoon, others include soccer games (around 2 more miles after we pass our house).  We are often on a schedule to get the shopping done and get back for something or we split up and one adult goes with a child or two to the market as the other does the classes/games.  Today was a rare Saturday, we all went together and had no pressing engagements.  We took three bikes (Rob and I both rode our Xtracycles with a child each on the back and Parker - 10 years old - rode his own bike).  Some weeks grocery shopping includes the market, Common Ground Co-op, Strawberry Fields (for sandwich bread and other items we didn't find at the market and co-op), El Charro (for avocados or makings for tamales), World Harvest (for olives and specialty items), and Mirsung (for ingredients for Indian food).  Today was just the first two stops which are conveniently located next to each other. Very nice since the cool off from last night's rain was a distant memory by mid-morning and the heat and humidity were back, not quite as fierce as earlier in the week, but we were all dripping with sweat on the ride home.

Here you see my Xtracycle with our almost 3 year old, Josie in the Pea Pod.  Dema, our six year old, is helping unload the Freeloaders (cargo bags) and he rode on Rob's Xtracycle (also pictured) on the snapdeck.  For more information about Xtracycle and a glossary of terms, check out the links.  We bought our Xtracycles (a blanket term I am using for the kits we purchased from the company) several years ago prior to going car free while we still lived in Savoy.  I sold their products through my business at the time, but now, understandably,  Xtracycle deals only with bike shops with mechanics on staff.  They have so many cool new products, I drool when I go to their website.  There are also more and more cargo bikes on the market all the time, but our Xtracycles have served us quite well over the years and will for many years to come.  Parker's bike is not shown, he is meticulous about taking care of and storing his bike.  It is safely in the garage by this point.

Here is our grocery haul (sans a bunch of bananas I found left in my Freeloader after taking this picture, just like a car, our cargo bikes have a way of swallowing up our belongings):  Two pints of blueberries, a broccoli bunch, 4lb. package of tofu, large bag of peaches, a dozen ears of sweet corn, bag of grapes, loaf of bread, bag of okra, reusable grocery bag full of kale bunches, 1lbs. bag of mushrooms, bag of salad mix, two bags of frozen pizza dough, 3lb. bag of carrots, large watermelon, five summer squash, two onions, banana bunch, reusable bag full of nectarines/plums/and more peaches, bag of apples, and a container of miso.  A pretty normal size weekly purchase for us (check out my vegan blog if you are interested in the food).  Last week I went with just Josie and I was able to bring it all home on my Xtracycle.  Several weeks Rob took Josie while I kept the boys.  He doesn't have a Pea Pod so he takes the Chariot.  He will use the back of the Chariot then to haul some of the load.  The main reason we need both Xtracycles on the market trips is to carry the two kids and because one never knows what else we may need to pick up.  It is nice to be prepared.  We could also carry Parker home if something were to happen to his bike or bring a friend back with is.  You might see in the first photo, Rob has a Timbuk2 Bag.  He carries this everywhere.  It is quite heavily laden with I don't know what all (sometimes the awesome rain gear I bought for his birthday this year).  He often just puts groceries in his bag.  He has hauled an amazing amount of beer and all sorts of other things in his bag.  One does not have to have a cargo bike to run errands without a car, but we do love them.

Just Keep Riding

Most of the time, not owning a car is really quite freeing. Once in a while, I let it stress me out. We just heard from the soccer coach for our ten year old. Practice is twice a week in the most inconvenient part of town. This means trekking all three kids during "rush half hour" to suburbia twice a week. This means the younger two kids can't take the classes they planned to take. I hate sprawl!

I know it will all work out and I'm whining for nothing. Last season I thought it would be tough because the boys both had soccer practice at the same day/time at different parts of town, but we made it work. Sigh.

National Bike Month

Yep, we are still car free and loving it. I just haven't been able to update this blog lately, but I plan on making it a priority.

Happy C-U Bike to Work Day!

Celebrate National Bike Month by getting out there on your bikes!

One Way

I want to write an entire post about safety, but I don't have the time and I usually put the blog post together in my mind, as I ride, but when I get home the rest of life gets in the way.

So, instead I'll do mini posts with my pet peeve of the day, oh wait, I mean safety tip of the day.

ONE WAY

Cyclists: Please, please do not bike in the street on a one-way street going the wrong way. You put yourself in peril, other cyclists, and you tick off motorists. Please, please pay attention!!!! It is not that tough people and it is not that far out of your way to go to the next block. You are not above the signage. It doesn't mean one-way for everyone except you!

Motorists: Please, please do not drive down a one-way street going the wrong way. I live on the corner of two one-way streets. One of which goes around a cute little neighborhood park with KIDS. I see people going the wrong way in their cars at least a few times a week, including police officers which really, really gets me going. Please, please pay attention!!!! It is not that tough people and it is not that far out of your way to go to the next block. You are not above the signage. It doesn't mean one-way for everyone except you!

If you want to go down a one-way street going the wrong way as a cyclist (I live on a one-way street going the opposite direction than I usually travel and I understand the draw to go the quickest way between two points), get on the sidewalk. I am not usually a sidewalk cycling advocate, but there are times when it is safer or if not safer more prudent than riding in the street. One benefit of riding on the sidewalk on a one way street is some of what makes cycling on the sidewalk unsafe is avoided. When I ride on the sidewalk and the majority of the vehicle traffic is coming toward me, I can see when people are turning to drive into a driveway or travel down a side street so I can stop for them since I assume no one can see me on the sidewalk. One of the reasons sidewalks can be unsafe is that motorists do not look at sidewalks because they are busy looking at the road. (Hopefully!!! There are those who are not looking at the road, nor the sidewalk, but that is for another post.) Thus, when I ride on the sidewalk, I assume I am invisible and ride even more defensively. Please be courteous so pedestrian traffic on the sidewalk. They have the right of way and when we cycle on the sidewalk, we need to make sure to be extra kind to those walking.

If you are on your bike, walking, or driving a motor vehicle today, remember to look out for other around you and be safe out there!

Stolen!

My nine year old had his Trek MT 60 (with new front and back light and helmet) stolen Sunday afternoon from Spalding Pool in Champaign. Anguish!

Tour de Champaign

Don't miss the Tour de Champaign this weekend! Lots of fun for the entire family. Check out the races and enjoy downtown Champaign. Don't forget to tell the local businesses how much you enjoy having events like this in our town. Hopefully, the rain will miss us and we can enjoy the beautiful 80's temps. I hope to see you all there!

CU Car Free Plus Two

Today we took care of two little friends; E (6 years old) and L (2 year old) so we were car free with five kids (ours are 9, 5, and 21 months). Fun! Even when we had a car, we could barely fit our three kids in the Subaru let alone any friends. I understand why people with cars go for the minivan. Luckily, we didn't have to worry about car seats and smooshing kids into a vehicle.

We were ready to hit the road for the farmer's market by 8:30am. Our eldest was on his bike, E was on his (he and his family just got back from the Netherlands where they biked everywhere so biking to the farmer's market would be a snap for him), L in the Chariot, and my youngest two on the Xtracycle. All set....except, wait...hubby has a flat. No biggie. We'll just ride around the park while he fixes it and be on our way. Bang!!! The new inner tube explodes. Annoying, a little frightening to the little ones and exciting for the middle ones, but not a deal breaker. Bang!!! The second and last inner tube explodes. What the heck? We look at hubby's wheel and it is split. Did the first inner tube explosion break his wheel frame? Wow! The wheel is pretty dented so who knows what came first, but the wheel is shot. Grumble.

I'm starting to think biking four miles (one way) with five kids is not in the cards. I'm so glad I didn't go with my first thought and head out with the kids and let hubby catch up to us. My husband's Xtracycle still needs some repairs so that isn't going to help. Hmmm. As we are trying to figure out what to do (send me to the bike shop? take a zero on the farmer's market?) our sweet and cycling neighbor comes by. Aviva to the rescue! She came by to ask for an Ergo baby carrier for a trip to Chicago and we told her our wheel woes. She offers us one of her wheels. Excellent! Problem solved. Thank you!!!

Off we go, a little later than we like, but still in plenty of time to buy some local produce at the farmer's market. We definitely had some comments (all good), looks, and one person even took a picture (okay, that was a little much) about our cycling train. When we cycle with kids, especially younger children, we put an adult in front and an adult in back. This seems to be the safest and most efficient way to ride. In Illinois, you can ride two abreast, but I find that children, especially younger children, have very little "line awareness" and the adult riding next to them spends a lot of the time just making sure the child doesn't run into them. Our eldest is nine and rides often and knows our style and also takes responsibility for his own riding. He keeps pace with us, knows the drill, and has a great line, but we still often ride with him between us. E was a trooper and did great, but he is also six and is slower and less aware on the road. He was so cute looking around at all the houses and buildings, but I had to remind him to stay to the right. Most of our journey is on very low traffic side roads so things were smooth. I just always worry a bit when I have a child with us who I'm not used to riding with. I would have felt better with him on my Xtracycle, but he wanted to ride his own bike and he did fine.

On the ride home we stopped at Zyggyz Grill (more about this on my other blog) on Green St. for some lunch. I took the lead this time which was much more relaxing. I took us onto the sidewalk bike path (we don't usually use it because it is on and off the street and starts and ends so it can be more hazardous than riding in the street) since we were a long line of bikes and harder for vehicles to pass and we were riding pretty slow.

When we arrived home with L asleep in the Chariot and my youngest asleep in the Peapod, Rob and I felt like taking a nap, but we didn't.

All in all, it went very well. The traveling was definitely the easy part of having five children. I think if I ever end up having five kids (not gonna happen), I will just stay in perpetual motion.

Keep Your Bike Safe

On the Champaign County Bikes email list, there has been chatter about bike parking as of late and it reminded me of a couple things. There are some great new bike racks around town(s).

Downtown Champaign has enhanced bike parking on N. Neil St. near Aroma and Pekara (or if you are a townie like me, near the old Lox, Stock, and Bagel building). There is also covered bike parking in the new car parking garage downtown (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to get out more since it is huge...well, huge for Champaign). The car parking garage is also very well lit, if that is what you are looking for. I have yet to use this facility since I prefer to park my bike right outside the businesses I'm visiting. That is one of the many benefits of riding your bike after all, but if it was raining or something or if I worked downtown, I could see using this new rack in the parking garage.

The Market at the Square has added more bike racks in the Lincoln Square Village parking lot. A few of them are in the shape of produce and the market's mascot, the rooster. Over the last several years that we've been biking to the farmer's market, we have seen an increase in bike traffic. It is wonderful! New racks seem to be added every year to help with the bike parking issue, but these new racks are pretty cute and added just recently so check them out.

Of course, the best bike racks will not help if you don't lock your bike properly to them. We were biking to campus for a bite to eat after the farmer's market Saturday and saw a wheel locked securely to a bike rack on Green St. Too bad it was just the wheel. The rest of the bike was long gone. Most bikes built in the last decade have quick release front wheels so you need to lock the frame and the front wheel to the rack. I know this seems simple, but apparently there are still people not locking their frames.

Here are some tips on how to keep your bike secure.

What's a Mile Among Friends?

This evening we had a graduation party to go to (Congratulations Kurt!!!) in Savoy. The party was next door to our old house in Savoy. We were debating about our eldest riding his own bike or not and how far the ride was going to be. When we first moved into our current house, we would ride our bikes back and forth between the Savoy house and the Champaign house quite a bit. Our ownership of the two houses overlapped by nine months so we would bring stuff from the house on our bikes a little bit at a time before we rented a moving truck for the big furniture. Now we rarely have a reason to head out to Savoy so it sounded like a long ride compared to what we do daily around town and my husband wasn't sure if our eldest would be up for it. He's nine and very comfortable on his bike and street savvy. He rides at least once or twice a week to the co-op/farmer's market which is close to 4 miles one way and I figured the house in Savoy was around the same mileage. In the end, we decided he would ride on my Xtracycle because we were in a hurry. I came home and checked the mileage and it is over 5 miles one way. What is an extra mile? Nothing! I'm sure he would have been fine, but I love having him on the bike with me so we can chat easier.

We had a great time at the party, but it reminded me how much farther I had bike when we lived in Savoy. I didn't think much about it at the time, but it is nice to be closer to the places we go on a regular basis. My husband's commute to work is about the same, but my daily errands are much easier living in Champaign. We also had to walk almost a mile to the bus stop when we lived there....not at all convenient. I will NEVER understand why Savoy is against the MTD. Craziness...I could call it more things, but I'll stop there today. I hope they come to their senses at some point.

We miss our neighbors and some things about our old house, but our place in Champaign is definitely home sweet home.

Keep the Light On

I went to a meeting this week maybe a mile away. I was late getting out of the house so I was in a little hurry. I grabbed my LeMond road bike since I was cycling sans kids. I love the feeling of being fast and light once in a while. I wish I had a chance to ride more by myself because it really is a great bike. However, I completely forgot that my LeMond has no light (front nor back) right now. I remembered about the time I arrived at my meeting. Too late to go back. I hoped the meeting would end quicker than normal and I could ride home while it was still light out, but no luck. It is dangerous to ride at night without a light. It is a pet peeve of mine to see cyclists without lights at night. I basically walked my bike home (I did cross the busiest street in the saddle because it was safer to get across quicker) which is no fun. When I did ride, I kept in mind that I was invisible and rode on the sidewalks which is not my favorite place to ride and has its own dangers, but it was night and slow traffic time on the side streets.

Note to self: Always, always, always be prepared and have a light on your bike.