We spent a couple of days in Oregon City with the Xtracycle Swoop cargo e-bike (an electric longtail family bike) and had a nice time using it as our primary mode of transportation. Riding the cargo bike to the Oregon City Farmers Market I took the cargo bike and the two kids up Linn Ave to get to the top of the Hill in Oregon City, where the Oregon City Farmers Market is located. It’s at the corner of Beavercreek and Kaen Rds, at the Clackamas County Red Soils campus. The ride up was okay. Car traffic was moving kind of fast, which is a little unsettling in the bike lane with kids on the back, but it felt okay. We had to stop briefly because my kid was having a moment. The bike was fine. It felt stable […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Learning about bike helmets for different hair types
Talking about Bike Helmets Every Friday afternoon on Mastodon, we have an online #BikeNite discussion about any topic that the Mastodon community chooses to talk about. As a bike instructor, I see a lot of different people and helmets, and some combinations don’t work well together. My kid often can’t wear their hair in a ponytail because of the shape of their helmet. Another person I know has trouble fitting his helmet over his hair, and I’ve often seen similar situations come up with students, both adults and children, in our bike classes. I wanted to summarize some findings for future use and recommendation: So what did we learn about bike helmets? A lot of people have had helmet/hair struggles, so it was a good discussion. There are two main things that you can do if you have a […]
Continue readingMore Tag
A list of all of the Bike Buses to school (that we know about)
We just rode our first Bike Bus of the school year! I wanted to make a list of all of the Bike Buses that I knew about so that interested parents/students can find one to join, and so that riders can work together, learn from each other, and start new ones. You probably already know that I think this is the best way to get to school, even when it rains. Bike Buses in the United States Oregon Portland Abernethy Bike Bus (Portland) Alameda Bike Bus (Portland) – Sam Balto leads this weekly bike ride to school with hundreds of students, parents, and teachers. Glencoe Bike Bus (Portland) James John Bike Bus (Portland) Sunnyside Bike Bus (Portland) Sitton Bike Bus (Portland) More detail about Portland Bike Buses in this BikePortland post. Other cities Metzger Bike Bus (Tigard) – Students ride […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Adding a flag to your Bike Beam LED pole light
If you have a Bike Beam LED pole light, but don’t have a safety flag (or some other flag/pennant etc) on it yet, here’s how to add one. Having a flag generally helps with dynamic daytime visibility, they’re fun, and you can add your own message to your bike ride as well. They’re useful to help people visible on kids bikes and cargo bikes, or to add some fun to your commute. Some people have used them for Bike Party, Loud and Lit, and Thursday Night Rides. Step 1: Find or make a flag for the LED pole light that is the right size The Bike Beam has poles that are about 5/16″ or 8mm in diameter, so consider this when figuring what to fly on the LED pole. The Bike Loud PDX and Pedalpalooza pennants I have are sewn […]
Continue readingMore Tag
What’s new about biking to school this year
Biking to school is pretty much the first part of getting back into the school routine. In a week where some golden retriever failed to stop a bike thief and Portland gets ready for the World Naked Bike Ride, we’re starting to head back to school. It feels different to be back at school, but as far as bike-related things go, not too much has changed. There were a decent number of people biking to school There appeared to be more parent bikes at the bike racks this year, but a similar number of kids’ bikes. I saw more cargo bikes than I had before. Lots of Tern bikes – 2 HSDs and one GSD. I saw an Xtracycle, a RAD, and a Surly Big Easy as well. I didn’t see too many while biking to school, because I think […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Fun Bicycle spoke decorations for your Bike Bus to school
Spoke decorations! To get ready to celebrate our Bike Bus for this upcoming fall, I made some spoke decorations to give to the kids as a celebration of our rides to school and as an incentive to continue doing so. About our Bike Bus We run our Bike Bus to school at least once per month, and more often when other kids decide that they want to join in. We have a rough schedule of “stops” and when we’ll be there. Kids join in along the way, usually with parents, though some of the kids are now old enough to ride with less adult supervision. It’s the most fun and joyful way to get to school. You get to skip the car dropoff line, get healthy physical activity, hang out with friends, and help promote cleaner air, all at the […]
Continue readingMore Tag
U-Pick Cherry Picking by Bike in Brentwood (2023)
This year we rode our 3rd annual bike ride to Brentwood, California to visit G&S Farms to go cherry picking in Brentwood. Our original ride to cherry picking was great, and we’ve wanted to continue the tradition every year. Getting there isn’t very easy by transit, but it can be a neat multimodal trip from Oakland and other parts of the East Bay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbpQBpZXD0U&feature=youtu.be Cherry Picking by Bike in Brentwood 2023 – Some stuff was different than years past. BART Bus Bridge This year, due to track work that was being done on the BART tracks between Rockridge BART and Orinda BART, there was what they call a “Bus Bridge” between stations. There was no direct train service, but there were free courtesy shuttle buses at both Rockridge and Orinda stations. This is normally a bit of a hassle, […]
Continue readingMore Tag
A tale of stolen bike recovery
Having a bike stolen can be frustrating and heartbreaking. We don’t always have success stories, but here’s one about a stolen bike that was recovered: The bike theft One of our bike bus friends had their bike stolen. It was a custom build that they had spent a lot of time and money on, and they rode it with their child with our Bike Bus. Their garage door was left open by mistake one day, and within a short amount of time, two of their bikes had been stolen. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a hidden AirTag Mount (I make them in here in Oakland) or some other type of holder or tracker for locating their bike. They emailed our Bike Bus and Bike Parade groups, telling us what had happened and asking us to keep an eye out for their […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Kids Bay Area bike rides: Dirt World in Richmond
Kid Bay Area Bike rides: Dirt World Bike Park in Richmond I decided to take a different route home after teaching a bike class that ended at Richmond BART, and headed to Dirt World in Richmond (4 21st St, Richmond, CA) to check it out. I’d heard for a while now that it was a fun place to take kids to ride on some dirt and do some small jumps. But I hadn’t had the chance to go. (here is their Facebook page, which appears to be their main information hub) Dirt World was finished in 2018, 4 years after Dennis Hoskins II and Jasmin Malabed conceived of the idea and led construction. They wanted to build a place for their son and other kids to practice BMX skills and mountain biking. Construction companies donated dirt, and a large group […]
Continue readingMore Tag
Moving up a size: Switching from a 20″ to a 24″ kids bike for a growing child
It finally happened – after talking about the next bike for 6 months, we finally got a new (to them) bike for our kid. Why buy the next size up kids bike? What is the next size up? Our kid was riding a bike with 20″ wheels, and we opted to go the next size up, which is a bike with 24″ wheels. I’ve found that a bike with 20″ wheels seems to work for most kids aged 6-9 or so. And 24″ bikes work for most kids aged about 8-11. So there’s some overlap around the 8-year-old mark. This all depends mostly on how tall your kid is and how long their legs are (their inseam is the critical measurement). Kids who are 8 and on the taller side might need to size up sooner. One of our friends’ […]
Continue readingMore Tag