There’s about a week left until Daylight Saving time ends, and we’re definitely noticing the change in daylight as we ride our bikes home from school or after-school events. We’re making a lot more use of our bike flag lights and headlights and tail lights. Bike lighting transitions It requires a little bit of a transition for us. We usually pack lights just in case, but we try to get more into the habit of putting them on (we usually remove them when parked because of potential theft) and remembering to keep the lights in the correct bag. Bike Flag Lights in the fall The bike flag lights always stay on the bikes, so we always have them available as a backup in case we forget our normal tail lights. (If you are looking for tail lights, I’ve written a […]
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When getting a flat tire isn’t so bad
Getting a flat tire on your bike sucks – usually The weather was pretty nice on Saturday, and my partner, kid and I were headed back to Oakland after a soccer game. We had left Alameda and were heading back home along the Embaracdero. It was a pretty calm ride, as we were all tired, and we weren’t trying particularly hard to ride fast. Thousands of sparkly obstacles We approached Nido’s Backyard as we rode along the Embarcadero. We noticed a lot of glass in the bike lane. This isn’t unusual, as this area is notorious for having pieces of broken glass everywhere in the bike lane and on the road. We tried to avoid the thousands of shards as well as we could. It’s difficult to do, because it’s not easy to exit the bike lane on short notice […]
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9 fun favorite spoke decorations from this summer
I made spoke decorations to add a little fun to our kids’ bikes for our bike parades and our Bike Bus. Here are some of the recent spoke decorations I’ve made over the summer and a little about each one. These are fun ways to decorate and personalize your bike and hopefully make nice little gifts for kids that celebrate riding a bike and being active outdoors. 9 summer bike spoke decorations Getting Boba is a nice treat during or after a good bike ride, especially for the kid. I decided to combine boba and biking with this spoke decoration. It’s a cute drawing of a boba drink, complete with straw and pearls. I made these Bike Bus Spoke Decorations to celebrate our Bike Bus. I made a bunch and also sent some out […]
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Bay Area Family Bike Events in November 2023
Here are some November family friendly bike events in the Bay Area! Saturday, November 11th, 11:11am – Richmond, CA (269 16th St, Richmond, CA) – Save-the-Bridge Ride – The bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge is a lifeline that makes low-carbon, and non-polluting bike commutes and trips into the North Bay possible from the East Bay. RSVP here. Or follow along for updates:
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Fun times riding bikes home with our LED glow sticks
Fall just started, and that means that the light changes the fastest during this time of the year. So it’s easy to notice it getting dark earlier. We lingered for a while, and it was dark by the time we left our last Kids Bike Parade which gave us an opportunity to light up the LED staff aka Bike Beams. Why I like these LED glow sticks Compared to other similar LED staff lights, I like the Bike Beam because 7 colors are included, and you can switch colors just by pressing a button. No app or remote control is needed to change the color of the LEDs. Also, the whole LED light pole is powered by a rechargeable battery that you can plug in to any USB port. Some other glow staffs use coin cell batteries or a separate […]
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Bay Area Family Bike Events in October 2023
Here are some family friendly bike events in the Bay Area that we know of for October 2023. Sunday, October 8th, 10am-1pm – Alameda – Adult Learn to Ride Class with Bike East Bay. This class is a great opportunity for any adults who want to improve their bike riding skills and confidence. It’s completely free and you don’t need any prior experience. I’m not the instructor for this class, but I can assure you that they are very friendly and helpful.: https://bikeeastbay.org/events/ltr-oct-8/ Saturday, October 14th, 10am-2pm – Pleasant Hill Elementary – PHE Bike Swap and Festival – Pleasant Hill Elementary has a wonderful walk/bike program that encourages half of their students to use active transportation. At this event, you can join a bike swap where you can sell your old bike or buy a new one. You might find […]
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Can bikes help with the invisible epidemic?
The Invisible Epidemic I read a neat visually-interactive piece from the Pudding, called “24 hours in an invisible epidemic.” Alvin Chang parses the American Time Use Survey to study feelings of loneliness and how people spend their time. He follows and visualizes the story of one person, and of many simultaneously throughout an entire day: One of the interesting and sad trends in the data is that the amount of time that Americans spend with other people has been declining for decades – with family and with friends. This is especially true for young people. How Bicycles can help combat loneliness I thought about how a lot of the social ties that I have, friends and acquaintances, have been strengthened through bicycles. Because bicycles are social vehicles. When you’re on a bike, you’re outside and able to easily interact with […]
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Why Beg Buttons are Bad for People who Bike and Walk
(full video below) If you ride a bike or walk on our nation’s roads, you’ve probably encountered beg buttons at some point. They are buttons that you have to push to get a walk or bike signal at an intersection. They are supposed to make traffic flow more smoothly.. for cars. They do the opposite for people who are not driving, and clearly indicate the hierarchy of your city’s transportation priorities. A few weeks ago, I was riding towards home near North Berkeley BART. There’s been a considerable change to the bike infrastructure here, but the end result (or current result?) is something that is not usable. Here, I waited through a light cycle for a green light to continue across the road and onto the bike path, but I never received a green signal. I read the sign: […]
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Riding our Xtracycle Family Cargo Bike in Oregon City
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 […]
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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 […]
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