Why use a top tube bag for a child’s bike? As parents, we want our children to enjoy their cycling experience. We had been searching for a way to enhance that experience for our child by finding a way for them to be able to carry their stuff on their own bike. I looked around for a couple of bags and had found an old bag that we had used before. It was beneficial because it allowed our child to carry their own snacks, band-aids, and other things deemed to them to be essential. It also freed us from having to carry the various sticks, leaves, rocks, toys, and other small things that children often collect and carry. The top tube bag location is great. It allows a child to easily access their stuff, even while riding. The top tube […]
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Blitzu Gator Bike Lights: 3 Month Review for a Childrens bike light
How is the Blitzu Head Light holding up? Bike safety lights are important for keeping bike riders safe while riding at night. I purchased a set of lights for my kid. We’ve been riding around for 3 months now with the Blitzu Gator 390, a budget bike light option for childrens bike lights. We have been using it about once per day, 5-7 days per week. The headlight/tail light set costs about $16 on Amazon, and is a good choice for a LED bike light for a child. I wouldn’t call it the best kid’s bike light, but it’s a good value and a good option. Function, Usage and Visibility: OK The light works fine. It’s fairly small, so it fits on small handlebars well. It’s easy enough for a child to operate. It has a few modes for varying […]
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Riding our light up bike pole lights (aka Bike Beam) in Oakland and Berkeley
Family bike riding around Oakland and Berkeley Our child is old enough to pedal themselves around to school, the library, and to sports practice. Sometimes it’s hard, but usually we have a good time getting to where we need to go. We get some exercise, take in our surroundings, wave to neighbors, give names to cats and dogs, and appreciate random sidewalk finds. And we can get around in an environmentally-friendly way. We ride around with a set of bike pole lights that I have been developing for a while. The bike flag lights make us pretty easy to spot. If you see us, wave and say hello! I made our bike pole lights (aka the “Bike Beam” light) to keep my child visible When we first started riding around on neighborhood streets, I realized that my child was hard […]
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Bike Soccer Dad (No Minivan or SUV Required)
I’m enjoying being a bike soccer dad. I guess I’ve become a soccer dad now. Our kid has practice on the weekends, but we bike to the field instead of taking a the stereotypical soccer mom or soccer dad minivan or SUV. We do it because we rarely drive, but there are plenty of benefits to doing so. It’s good exercise, and it’s a great way to get outside and enjoy nature. It also helps reduce car traffic congestion and pollution. It’s about a 3 mile ride that takes us 20-25 minutes. We selected our route based on Oakland’s Slow Streets (which are being taken away soon, sadly!) and other low-car-traffic roads. Berkeley has done a decent job adding physical barriers on designated routes to promote safety by slowing the flow of automobiles. There are a couple of hairier intersections […]
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Fantastic Berkeley Bike Lanes: Riding on Milvia Street on a Sunny Day
Protected Berkeley Bike Lanes on Milvia Street We rode the new Milvia Street protected bike lanes in Berkeley again a few days ago. These lanes are protected from automotive traffic in a few different ways. There are concrete islands with metal rails in some sections (by Berkeley High School, for example) and then simply concrete barriers in other parts. There are a few unprotected paint-buffered areas. In general, the lanes allowed us to feel more comfortable riding around Berkeley with a physical barrier between us and moving automobiles. We were on our way home from getting lunch. Our route took us south on Milvia Street from near the Cal campus in order to get back to Oakland. It was a short but enjoyable stretch. A few students were milling about and the vibe was nice and calm – perfect for […]
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A photo from December’s Kids Bike Parade
A Photo from the December Kids Bike Parade Adults and children ages 4-7 rode together for our December Kids Bike Parade. We got together for an evening ride around the neighborhood on Oakland’s Slow Streets. We made a stop in the middle on Lawton Avenue to see some of the fancy holiday light decorations. There was unfortunately no pizza this time because Sliver was closed, but the kids still had fun riding together. Group riding helps get children excited about riding their bikes Our bike parades are a way for kids to have COVID-safe fun while building community through bicycling. At each of our bike parades, adults ride along with the children to make sure they’re safe. We provide childrens bike lights to make sure they’re visible to us, each others, pedestrians, and the occasional driver. Group bike rides in general […]
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Bike safety flags for being extra visible while riding a bicycle, even in the daytime
Bike safety flags can help keep bicycle riders visible The greatest risk for someone riding a bike on roads with automobile traffic is being hit by a car. I strongly support infrastructure improvements that physically protect someone riding a bike. Dedicated bike paths and protected bike lanes can help a lot with this. I don’t like putting the burden of safety on the more vulnerable in general. At the same time, if there’s a low-effort way to improve safety, it’s probably a good thing to do. According to the NHTSA, the 2nd leading factor in bicyclist deaths is “Not visible (dark clothing, no lighting, etc)”. Vehicles are getting bigger, which causes more line of sight problems for other users of the road. Adding a flag is an easy and low-cost way of improving visibility, but it does have a few […]
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Bike gift ideas for kids and others who started biking during the pandemic (2021)
Hi, I’m making a quick list of gifts that I recommend for kids who bike. I also have gift ideas for people who have recently started biking during the pandemic. For some gift guides, bloggers or writers solicit ideas. I’ve compiled this list based 10+ years of bike-commuting experience and daily rides with my child. I’m also finding accessories and other bicycle-related gifts that make riding more fun. My goal is to help make it easier to bike where you need to go. I hope that this gift guide will make it easier for your intended recipient to do so too! Bike accessory gift ideas Lights I recommend lights for anyone who might be riding when it’s starting to get dark. Lights also help when it’s very cloudy or raining. Important factors for me are: size, ease of […]
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Neighborhood Bike Parades That Help Kids Learn to Ride Together
The kids bike parade is a way to let kids play, ride bikes together and learn to ride safely. Children and adults make new friends and build community by bike. How did the bike parade start? Earlier on in the pandemic, we learned that COVID spread mostly through poorly-ventilated air. We tried to think of ways to still foster social interactions between children with a lower risk profile. Our family and a lot of others have gone with their kids biking to spend time outdoors. We started by turning a birthday party into a evening bike ride. Kids had fun biking together and being able to see each other not on a computer screen! Parents got a chance to ride with their kids and others. Neighbors were treated to a lively mini parade. A few parents loved the […]
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Flat tires suck
Flat tires suck. I took my child to get a flu shot the other day (not a great experience!). On the way out, we had to hop a curb because there were no curb cutouts nearby. My child went off the curb and then said “Daddy, there’s a problem.” I looked back, and indeed, the rear wheel was completely flat. That’s some insult-to-injury type stuff right there. It was kind of funny though. Luckily, I usually carry a tool kit with a patch kit and a pump with me, so I was able to fix it pretty quickly. On flats in general I don’t know if it’s just Oakland and Berkeley streets, but two friends have gotten flat tires recently on their cargo e-bikes. I saw one of them on the sidewalk on the way to school pickup. He was […]
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