Portland With A Bullitt

What with minimalism being the new new thing, and our house starting to feel like an audition for that reality show about hoarders, Kim asked me to take the kids anywhere but here for the weekend so she could spend the weekend putting our house on a radical diet.

So we went to Portland, impromptu style. Which meant driving, as the Amtrak pricing and schedule wasn't looking so hot. Plus, there was that last time ... The drive down was well-timed for naps, and we stopped by a river to run around and get muddy. And there might have been a "Happy" meal. I'm not proud. Overall, with stops and traffic, it took about the same time as the train.

We planned (if you can call day-of requests to borrow a house "planning") to stay at our PDX friends' house, as they were traveling too, but the people with the key were out of town, yadda yadda. Enter Hotwire, and a cheap hotel room near the Convention Center (the Crown Plaza often has killer rates on hotwire). Drew was giddy about her own bed, TV, and pool, and became very conflicted about whether it was OK to turn back the sheets on her bed. And after a prolonged second- and third-wind bedtime, I fell asleep lulled by the sounds of my two kids breathing - a sweet and novel feeling.

I brought the Brompton and trailer, but forgot the front ITchair for Drew, so she elected to surf the main tube in front of me, which worked well on quiet side-streets. Also forgot the bike map, but the thing about Portland is that if you ride a few blocks you'll intersect a bike boulevard (AKA "neighborhood greenway" AKA "what is wrong with SDOT that they don't realize that these are relatively cheap and win-win for cars and bikes") or other bike facility, and their bike route signage is reliable enough to steer you right.

 

On our way to Laurelhurst Park (great playground for 1 and 3yos), we stopped off at Splendid Cycles. They opened in May, and focus exclusively on cargo bikes, serving as a showroom for local Metrofiets and Ahearne Cycle Trucks, as well as the Larry vs. Harry Bullitt and Kona Ute. Luc was asleep in the trailer, and the shop's owner Joel welcomed us inside with sleeping son, and let us stash the napmobile in the back.

Having worked as the buyer at Portland's Bike Gallery, and brought in the first MADSEN's and Bullitt's, Joel knows bikes, and is passionate about cargo bikes. And was relaxed, tolerant, and just plain sweet with my kids, as was his wife Barb, who drew tigers on the sidewalk with Drew the next day. Big warm and fuzzy thank you, Spendid Cycles. Portland - your cup runneth over with family-friendly bike shops.

Tried a Portland-built artisanal (that's a bit redundant; even the kettle korn karts are bike-powered by popcorn artisans in this town) unique dual 24" Metrofiets with Drew, and quite liked the handling. These are some seriously fine-looking, well-built bikes. Joel described the ride as more "Old World" than the Bullitt or MADSEN, and it does indeed ride much like the European bakfietsen (cargo bikes) that inspired it. But it did feel sprightlier somehow, not sure if it was the weight, larger front wheel, or just how dapper it was.

Ogled the new Ahearne Cycle Trucks too. Heard that an xtracycle longtail-standard version of the cycle truck is in the works. Hells yeah. Balanced extra freight. 

And then decided to give the Bullitt another try. I rode one unloaded around the block at the Family Bike Expo this winter and had an embarrassing amount of trouble with the wobbles (like the dynamic bike blogging duo of Dottie and Miss Sarah this week). Worried that it was too "sporty" of a bike for me. But our neighbor Daniel and his righteous blue Bullitt at the recent Tour de Fat and Fiets of Parenthood convinced me to try again.

And we loved it. Lurved it. Review to follow, for those who need their bike lust not to be touching their travelogue on the plate.

In fact, we borrowed it for the weekend! We hit up Laurelhurst Park for play & picnic. Met up with Travis and his sweet, engaging trio of rapscallions at the Alberta Street Fair. Drew was a bit crushed out, although you wouldn't have known it from all the frowning. Kael singing the theme song from Phineas & Ferb (her new show from the hotel) sealed it. Luc caressed the chain of an especially fine xtracycle parked next to a cool Dutch kids' bike. Note the crochet on-street bike parking cozy. Yeah, rub it in, Portland. We couldn't even find a business on Capitol freaking Hill (our epicenter of smug cycling) to accept an on-street bike corral (I'm looking at you, Caffe Vita).

Dinner at Burgerville (of bicycles in the drive-through controversy and fame), the easiest bedtime EVER, and up again for pool, superhero antics at the North Park Blocks, scrumptious baked goods at Pearl Bakery (mmm, tastes ... artisany), and then picnic and free-ranging it at the Sunday Market. Here's Luc hydrating himself in the fountains - who needs a Camelbak? I'm pretty sure that water was portaged from pristine artesian wells by NAHBS bicycles in leather-coddled mason jars. Right?

We (well, I) wanted to demo a ShuttleBug and Clever Cycles' latest import, Christiania trikes. But instead we just mosied back to the car and drove home to an unrecognizably decluttered home. THANK YOU miss Kim and Catherine (our beloved interventionist)! MWAH!!! The effect on our kids was instantaneous. They discovered and engaged in toys and books that had been lost in the thrift-shopped plethora of it all. For some of what inspired us, read the Simplicity Parenting book, and blogs like Rowdy Kittens. It's like a Glade Plug-In full of Ritalin, but without the weight loss and insomnia.

And please, don't get me wrong. We're not exactly trying to live in a hard drive with only a Moleskine notebook for shelter or whatever else the latest NYT style section definition of minimalism is. And I do acknowledge the fact that consumer-culture-conditioned lust for shiny pretty bike objets is part of what motivates me, and trips like these. Or that my stable of bikes could hardly be described as "minimal," even after a Craigslist selling binge. But we had ourselves a grand adventure in Portland on a pretty tight budget, the first time I didn't come home from Portland with a new bike bauble. We'll see how long that lasts. Damn that Bullitt was nice. 

Fiets of Parenthood - The Movie

The Fiets of Parenthood Family Bike Games last weekend were dynomite!

95+ degrees in the hot hot sun, 100+ participants, 140+ servings of most delicious gelato from D'Ambrosio in Ballard, and $800+ raised for Bikeworks thanks to very generous donations from Globe Bikes and our Haul winner!

Our new BFFs Car Free Days wrote it up better than I could right here, and don't miss the Flickr photopool.

Kim and I feel so lucky to have such co-conspirators as Tim, Anne, Clint, Leslie, and their hardworkin' kids, and to be surrounded by so many enthused and hardcore family cyclists here in the Puget Sound. We might even have ourselves a family bike scene going on up here ...

So here it is. Fiets of Parenthood - The Movie:

Fiets of Parenthood Family Bike Games from Totcycle on Vimeo.

Photos from flickr users carfreedays, bikejuju, clintonloper, and unclejojo, with permission.

Gelato Bike!

Our friends Mike & Catherine were married 10 years ago in an igloo on top of Wild Bill Hill in the Scottish Lakes high country, officiated by a friend who'd recently become a pharoah in the Universal Life Church. Just another Pacific Northwest wedding.

As uniquely wonderful as that was, not to mention the tele'ing under the stars down the hill for sphincter-obstructing amounts of fondue and whiskey afterwards, part of them felt they'd missed out on the big-traditional-wedding thing. 

So this month, 10 years later, they got remarried at Golden Gardens beach in front of over a hundred friends and family from all over the globe. The celebration featured all of the things they've loved over the past decade: sailboats, Cuban dancing, pizza, and gelato. And it ended up being pretty much the best night ever - we're all still basking in the afterglow of a singularly wonderful evening. Veraci brought the pizza oven cart from the Farmer's Market. M & C arrived in a home-built Wharram catamaran that also got started 10 years ago, our friend Maiensy led the dancing to Picoso's live show, and me, I rolled up in a custom Gelato Bike. 

Want to build one? It's a day's work, and not hard to do. Get yourself a MADSEN. Buy some 1/2" copper pipe, a pipe cutter, torch & solder kit, and some T-piece and 45-degree bend connectors. Drill with 5/8" bit through the top corners over the bucket but not out through the bottom of the lip. Hack together something like this:

Solder it together (the morning of the wedding). Take measurements from your structure and sew up some appropriately stripey gelato cart fabric with some kitschy ric-rac trim. Hack up some insulation board into a bottom layer that sits where the benches go, mid-layer with slots for gelato trays, and top cover, and cover with contact paper. Add dry ice & gelato & people that like dessert:

3 scoops of helmet

Last two photos by Hauke Gentzkow

We're wicked excited to have this now. In the winter I'll be lowering the canopy and sewing up some waterproof Sunbrella striped awning fabric with 3M reflective piping and clear roll-down sidepanels, for cozy cozy winter riding. And attach the poles more securely, no doubt.

And this weekend we'll be serving up gelato at the Fiets of Parenthood Family Bike Games! Don't miss it. But chances are you'll see the gelato bike again at Kidical Mass. All we need is an xtracycle blender setup and we'll have a fully integrated complete bicicletti treat fleet. 

Why gelato, you may ask? Well, Catherine's half-Italian, and it works with Neapolitan pizza, etc ... but it's also just so tasty. The lower fat content, higher serving temperature, and lower air content make it healthier and tastier (the flavors are "brighter") than ice cream. If you live in Seattle, don't miss our gelato sponsor - D'Ambrosio Gelato, recently opened on Ballard Ave. But feel free to defend your frozen confection of choice in the comments.

Fiets of Parenthood Family Bike Games

 Fiets of Parenthood Seattle!

On Sunday August 15th from 3-6pm, at the John Stanford International School playground in Wallingford (2 blocks from the Burke Gilman Trail), Totcycle, Car Free Days, and friends invite you to Seattle's own Fiets of Parenthood Family Bike Games!

Our aim is simple: to celebrate and inspire families going by bike with kids! 

But what is this "fiets" you speak of?

Fiets is Dutch for bike, and they're way ahead of us in the cycling a la familia department. To wit: this Mama Bakfiets race - one of our models for this event. Another inspiration is the old-timey "constructeur" race format, which tested not just riders, but also various bike designs with real-world load-carrying challenges. 

What with all the ways to carry kids by bike, we thought it'd be fun to get together a bunch of high-occupancy-velos - xtracycles, MADSEN bucket bikes, bakfietsen, family tandems, and front child seats to go with the more-familiar-in-the-US bike trailers, rear seats, and trail-a-bikes.

And pit them head-to-head in a real-world test of family cycling prowess:

Trick mounts and dismounts. The dropped toy. Sacks of groceries. Blackberry picking on the go. Rain shower. Pothole slalom. The "door zone." Diaper change on a bike.

As for kids riding solo, we've got them covered too, with a kids' bike skills challenge packed with features:

Teeter-totter. Joust practice. Cone slalom. Evil Knievel "ring of fire." The skid zone. A stop sign. 

So whether you're already riding with your family, or are just "bike-curious," come on down to our free family cycling extravanganza! It's free. All are welcome to "compete" in this barely competitive fun challenge. Or just to scope out all the ways to go by bike with kids. We'll have a bike decoration station, so bring your bike!

Did I mention we hope to be raffling up a Globe Haul Mixte bike from Globe Bikes? Proceeds to Bikeworks? Or that we'll be serving up frozen treats from our very own custom Gelato Bike? 

Here’s a rough schedule, for those that might not be able to make the whole event:

3pm until it runs out - Gelato Bike
3-6pm - Bike Decoration Station
3:30pm - Kids’ Bike Skills Race and “Slow Races"
4:30pm - Adult/Child Family Cycling Challenge
5:45pm - Raffle Drawing 

Bring food/snacks/water; we’ll have some hydration on hand as well. The event is free, but please bring some cash for the raffle! 

Big big thanks to ...

• Sarah Gilbert and the entire Portland crew for hosting such a fun event in Portland this June.
• Patrick Barber for the graphics and flyer design
• Globe Bikes for a generous offer of sponsorship
• D'Ambrosio Gelato in Ballard for donating the best gelato I've ever had
• John Stanford International School for lending us their playground on the eve of their renovation

Need more inspiration?

• Sarah Gilbert's description of the FoP event earlier this summer in Portland
• The Clever Cycles write-up
• Todd Fahrner's "curated" gallery of photos
• And Shetha's slideshow ...

And don't miss the original Mama Bakfiets race, complete with egg carry slalom and "jousting"!

Kidical Mass in July and August 2010

You will be relieved or dismayed to learn that children are not allowed in the beer garden.On Saturday 7/31/10, Kidical Mass will meet up at Ballard Commons Park just before 9 for an on-time 9am departure to Gasworks for the New Belgium Tour de Fat! See our inaugural KM post for the route.

Bring your freak bikes, your kids, and a fly outfit or costume. The Tour de Fat looks to be a lot of fun, and we'll arrive in time for their 10am bike parade, which is "a costumed celebration of human-powered transportation". Quoth their 3rd Commandment:

3. May every generation come forth:This is a family friendly event. Costumes, bikes and a parade? We were thinking like kids when we created Tour de Fat.

Last year we LOVED the Tour de Fat, and are looking forward to the parade, art bike demo corral, and the vaudevillian performances. The parade last year was a slow fun ride down the Burke Gilman, looping back to Gasworks, with plenty of freak bikes and mobile sound-systems. Update: This year's parade route is shorter - only 3 miles, just in Fremont. and will involve a dance party at the Troll!

Print out their registration form and drop it off before the parade to save time. If their big bike parade isn't your cup of tea, there will be plenty of other bikey entertainment (schedule TBA).

As for August ... SAVE THE DATE of AUGUST 15th! Fiets of Parenthood details to follow (here they are!), but that's the weekend you don't want to miss. Seriously. Cancel those flights. Respondez "Non" to RSVP (sorry Cascade distance ride people ... there was no other weekend that worked, and it seems like you're riding somewhere in the gol-dang PNW every weekend this summer). You won't need high viscosity chamois cream on our ride. But then again, a different kind of paste may come in handy on the diaper change challenge.

Bobiked Up Beyond Belief

After a year of trolling Craigslist for a used Bobike Maxi rear child seat, I happened across a trade-in/discard on the floor of Dutch Bike Seattle at a nice price, and now we have both a Mini and a Maxi. Mamafiets here we come!

Dad, kids, and tiger on their way to the wading pool. Must ... not ... complain about the heat.

I've chosen the Globe Live Mixte for our test bike ... I wonder if it's not Dutch enough (meaning sturdy indestructible hi-ten steel) to handle 2 kids plus parent, what with its lightweight curvy aluminum frame, but oh well. So far it feels a might bit flexy, but it's a nice smooth ride. I would have used my actual Dutch bike but as it's not a step-through frame, I'd need to attain levels of yogic flexibility to get a leg over with kids on front and back.

As far as the handling goes, between the low-ish trail, centering spring, weight on the porteur rack, and a centering weight in the front seat, you'd need an advanced degree in steering geometry to understand what's going on. But so far, it seems to work.

For those in the market for kid seats, I'm a big fan of the Bobikes (not the latest Star Wars-y ones, though), although we're used to having chest buckles over here in car country. See our front child seats article for more on fitting and such. Their Dutch kid seat competitors, GMG, previously keeping alive the kind of bent-metal-tubing seats you might have ridden in "back in the day", have also come out with some great looking new Yepp front and rear seats (AKA Mini and Maxi too). All the modern Dutch trimmings are there - windscreen, "sleeping roll," and even a locking mechanism on the quick-release! Not as necessary here in the US, where folks are more likely to gawk at than rip off such setups. See them & compare with bobikes and iberts and more at Clever Cycles.

Visualize helmets if you must. Matching ones, of course.

Whether you're in the market for a front or rear seat, or both, do take a look at the Dutch seats. They are decades more evolved than what you'll find in your local bike shop. They do have less "plastic bathtub" wrap-around coverage than the US rear seats you'll find, but I personally am OK with that. And for Dutch front seats, you generally need a more upright bike with some stem showing. But you need that anyway, right?

I do wonder if "Maxi" is the best branding choice for the US market (not that they currently care). Kind of like the (English) Brompton touring pannier that was recently rebranded as the "T-Bag." Perhaps the new Brompton US rep will fill them in on the multiple levels of wrong involved in that moniker. Similarly, makers of "Fanny-Packs" (which are making an inexplicable comeback with the fixerati youth) here in the US should seek branding consultation before launching in the UK. Glad I could help with all that.

Roll Your Own Kidical Mass

It's almost this easy. Photo from carfreedays.

I've been asked how to go about starting a Kidical Mass ride, and have been terrible about responding, swept up in bike fun as we've been. Besides, Kidical Mass was originally started by Shane Rhodes, Paul Adkins, et al. in Eugene, Oregon. They have great info up on their website, www.kidicalmass.org. But since Shane is juggling newborn twin boys (yay!!!), and Paul's got his own circus going on, I thought I'd post a few things I've learned here on our site: 

• You're welcome to borrow from our Kidical Mass Seattle description and FAQ, and use Paul's Kidical Mass sign. Do let them know if you're starting a KM ride in your city, and post photos to their flickr group.
• If you have an especially controversial Critical Mass in your town, you may have a bit of a branding problem to overcome (see this post). Your ride will speak for itself, however. Or pick a new name.
• Certainly post flyers at bike shops, but also reach out to non-traditionally bikey venues, like schools, community centers, libraries, parent list-servs, etc. Social media (twitter, facebook, a blog) was very helpful in getting the word out here in Seattle. 
• Then again, do collect emails for ride announcements, as not everyone will be following your social media feeds regularly.
• To waiver or not to waiver? I've chosen not to. I am skeptical about the protection waivers offer, and worry that the message they send is that cycling is an extreme sport. I prefer to think of these rides as groups of like-minded families biking around together, with each parent owning responsibility for their kids, while looking out for each others' as well. I did, however, consider adding some umbrella coverage to my home insurance policy. We do live in America, after all.  
• Count on some weebly-wobbly young riders showing up, and plan accordingly. Being used to passengering younger kids just about anywhere, I've had to learn to pick shorter, calmer routes. 2-4 miles seems doable for most. You'll still get kids telling you with pride that this was the furthest they've ridden in the city. If you're not planning a round-trip ride, remember that families will generally have to get back to the start.
• Include a brief safety talk - pertinent rules of the road, intersection etiquette, signaling, and 1 or 2 abreast, depending on your local laws. I tell the kids that it's a single-file follow-the-leader ride (parents often riding abreast), because otherwise you can get a fair bit of jockeying for position. Given how many dangly helmet straps we often see, we'll probably start doing some helmet checks too. I'm reluctant to be school-marmy that way, but I think somebody's gotta do it.
• Have an experienced sweeper at the back end of the ride, with tools, who can help stragglers or folks with equipment issues. Kids and parents show up on bikes that are in need of some mechanical love, at times.
• Crossing busy streets without traffic signals can be scary. We do aim to be legal and courteous, so what we've found works well is to have an adult or two dismount and escort small groups of riders across the street. By "pedestrianizing" the adults, traffic is legally required to stop, but by crossing in smaller groups, we don't "cork" traffic. 
• In general, try to avoid routes with lots of controlled intersections; if you have a sizable turnout, it can take a looong time to cross legally. Kids don't wait well.
• Involve treats. I let go of my "food rules" on KM rides. We've featured popsicles, Mighty-O donuts, and other treats on rides. They're working hard, why not? Or serve GORP and organic orange slices, it's up to you!
• As for ride ideas, we've had fun introducing families to our favorite A-to-B routes around North Seattle, riding to destinations like the beach & Green Lake, as well as riding to bike/family-friendly special events. In general, though, I think it's nice for KM rides to be their own special event, ending in a potluck or ice cream social. Otherwise the opportunity to socialize and sniff each others bikes dissipates in the larger excitement of the other event. For inspiration, check out KM Eugene's dynomite 2010 lineup of rides.
• Scheduling is a challenge, for me at least. I really need to work on publishing a schedule in advance. In fact, it would probably work better just to pick a regular time, like last Saturday morning of every month. Evenings are doable in the summer, but weekend days have worked better overall, it seems.
• Our general rain policy is that we ride in drizzle but cancel for downpours. Then again, last time we rode a downpour started one minute into the ride. We all got soaked, and bailed after a mile at Hale's Ales for a fun, impromptu long-table dinner. 
• That's it and that's all! Any questions? Tips from other ride organizers or feedback from participants?

Bike Fun!

The past two weeks have been all about the bike fun. Last weekend we traveled to Portland for Fiets of Parenthood PDX, which was a HUGE success. Big big thanks to Sarah Gilbert, Clever Cycles, Urbanmamas, and the local crew who put it on. It's been well-written up at Clever Cycles, and at CarFreeDays. Check it out, and don't miss Todd's curated image gallery - this was one of the sweetest collections of family bikes ever assembled. Kudos to Anne and her daughter for winning in style! We are very excitedly planning the Seattle event for this August.

Brompton Bike FunOur Sunday in Portland was lovely as well. Luc decided to grace us with his presence at 5:30am, so we headed out on bikes from 7am until we left after dinner. We visited 6 playgrounds, rode across 4 bridges, joined the Teddy Bear Ride (thanks!), loitered at Clever Cycles, played in a fountain park at the Pearl with our friend Sheri, and finished at a brewpub with 4 free-ranging kids disturbing the peace. Portland is such an effortless city to tour by bike ... I hardly bother to look at a bike map, since bike routes are so well-signed, and bike boulevards (in the SE, at least) are everywhere. I think this might have been the weekend that sold my wife Kim on going by bike.

And this weekend Anne & Tim of CarFreeDays talked me into joining them on the 2nd Annual Nine-to-Five All-night Solstice Bike Scavenger Hunt, organized by Ryan Schuetze and the GoMeansGo crew. I did have my doubts - am I too old for all-night bike events? Do I still have my residency-era all-nighter skillz? Can four parents roll with hipsters on fixies?

Answers: Apparently not, yes (if on a bike), and hell yes. In fact, er, we won. Aided by my sister-in-law and her family's treasure trove of scavenger hunt items (bridal veil, bike store employee badge, sporks, etc), their random tipsy neighbors up the street (god bless their paella-offering hearts, but we politely declined the savory seafood), Tim & Anne's neighbors who came up with two issues of Boy's Life magazine, Dan's long-suffering wife, various bartenders, the bouncer at re-bar, the 3am drunk-in-the-street guy that told Tim he was planning to "f*** his face" (thus inspiring our unofficial team name), and most of all to Ryan and Melissa with bakfiets-transported coffee and snacks through the night, and honest-to-god delicious hot breakfast at 5am.

Boys LifeTim and I shared a special moment at re-bar, which seemed to be the only place in town with an all-night photo booth. Double-points for topless pix? Double-done. But perhaps more embarassing was me giving a big "right-on-my-bikey-bruthas" smile to these other sweaty, fit shirtless dudes coming out of the bar, assuming they were co-scavengers. Which they were, in a way, just not on bikes, and probably not for old copies of Boys Life.

But despite a pretty righteous collection of scavenger hunt items, our winning recipe came down to this: 2 xtracycles + brompton with touring bag + MTB + (96 cans of discount tuna x 2 points each) = victory. While there were many sweet rides to be seen that night, it's a little hard to carry that many cans-for-charity in a messenger bag. Drunk with cargo-carrying capacity, I ended up carrying bricks and cans for most of the night, while Anne lugged a cinderblock on her xtra for about 4 hours. Next year we might strategerize that a bit better. At least we waited until 4:30am to hit up the Safeway for several cases of tuna, which Tim lugged to the finish.

We worried a bit about a beatdown by hip-holster U-lock for exploiting the intentionally-left-open can loophole, but the other teams were lovely, and the whole night was more about shared enjoyment than posturing or competition. It's surreal and surprisingly invigorating to race through near-deserted streets at 3am, and the two meetups were a nice chance to rest and recharge with the other riders, many of whom we'd run across in odd parts of the city. Anne and I kept nudging each other and whispering "we're in an AlleyCat" whenever some fixed-gear freestyle would break out. I threatened to slay some folding-bike freestyle moves. But didn't. It's OK though. Ryan the organizer said we could tell our kids we were in a "full on scavenger-cat".

Thanks to the GoMeansGo crew for making it so fun and so inclusive. They are the future of Seattle bike fun. Here's to working together on a Pedalpalooza-esque week of bike events later this summer or next year, at least.

Old Folks Reprazent / Dads vs Grads / Love my white pants

Fiets of Parenthood PDX

Calling all bike families! Totcycle and friends, CarFreeDays, and, with any luck, the Wallyhood crew will be heading south this weekend to represent the Emerald City in the upcoming Fiets of Parenthood, Portland edition. Read all about it on the Mamabikeorama site, and Clever Cycles.

In the "we should have such problems" category, the Fiets of Parenthood is in close conflict with the Cirque du Cycling Family Bike Parade, the Family Cycle Picnic, the Girly Bike Ride, Stumptown Joustdown, and the "Sunny Nekkid Ride I". Since the totcycle family regularly parades around on girly bikes in various states of inappropriate dress/undress with picnic in one hand and a stick in the other, I'm hoping to heal the divisions within the Portland biking community by combining all of the above rides in one.

And I'm pretty sure we can incorporate the Pretty Panty ride (a point of pride for my daughter), Donuts Curb Hunger, Brompton Tea Ride, and Gayest Day of the Year Ride (Kim's always been active in Pride, and I ride in chaps). But we can't yet represent the "No Babies Ride", AKA the Vasectomy Ride, even if "myths will be debunked!". 

For those of you in Seattle that can't make it, fear not, we'll be hosting our own Fiets of Parenthood in August. For further away bike families, or those that live in towns where bike ride conflicts are of the more mundane bike vs car variety, please send us a photo or video clip of your own fiets of family cycling. We'll have an International Fiets of Parenthood photo/video showdown this summer that embraces all of our far-flung tribe. Tricks, dressage, cycle chic, mood shots, or celebration welcome. Just getting the kids out the door and onto the bike is feat enough for me, so worry not, the bar is set quite low. Details and prizes TBA. Inspiration:

Happy Birthday Kidical Mass Seattle!

Grandpa's Birthday Cake by Rachelskirts, on Flickr

Our fun, safe, and courteous family bike rides turn 1 year old this month, and our anniversary ride will again coincide with the Bike to School/Work Day After-Party in Ballard on Friday, May 21.

Last year's Kidical Mass kick-off ride was a hoot, and I don't expect such a mind-blowing turnout this year, but hey, the weather is gorgeous, and I'd like to kick off the summer biking season in style. Spread the word!

We'll meet at the bell (Ballard Ave and 22nd) at 5:45pm, depart at 6pm, parade through the after-party, turn left past the library on 57th to use quiet streets most of the way to the bike trail at the Locks, and continue on a relatively short ride to "the secret beach" (opposite Paseo) for a seaside dinner picnic. Bring food or get delicious Paseo take-out, we'll have dessert.

Come early to enjoy the After-Party and street closure in Ballard - they kick-off at 4pm. And don't miss the Alki Summer Streets closure on Sunday, May 23. 

As for June, I'm looking for some Team Seattle folks to travel down with us to Portland on June 12th for Pedalpalooza and Fiets of Parenthood PDX! Check out my previous post for more on this concept ... we'll be doing a Fiets of Parenthood Seattle later this summer. We'll also have a local KM ride in June, details TBA. For email updates on KM rides, please use our signup form.

UPDATE: Weather is a hmmm ... Rain cancels (but I'll be there), drizzle changes destination (Tacos Guaymas?), bring cash for Paseo if beach weather.