« Fiets of Parenthood Family Bike Games »
July 17, 2010 
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"!
Reader Comments (7)
Drat! We were hoping to come up, but it overlaps with our neighborhood Sunday Parkways, so we're committed to volunteering here. Next year!
Is this still going on at the John Stanford School or has there been a location change? Hope to see everyone there!
Still at John Stanford! The playground renovation hasn't started yet, so we're on. Honey Bucket already in place. See you there!
T-shirt exchange?
Saw some photos from your great Seattle event on flickr.
Any Fiets t's left over? If so-- would you be up for a t-shirt exchange?
I'll screen you one (or more of these) if you're interested...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wittcogmbh/4737109108/
Sorry - just saw your comment - absolutely we'd love to swap t-shirts! I loved the one you did. Let's figure it out by email ... totcycle at the me to the dot com.
Hello is the swapping of tshirt still going on?
Any update in this task? I'm not sure though if there are still swapping. Thanks