Why bike to school? There’s something special about biking to school and watching your child wave to friends as they near the front gates. If you’re just starting out, for Bike to School day (in Alameda County, it’s Walk and Roll to School Day), or because you want to take climate action and make sure your kid(s) get exercise, here are some reasons why biking to school is great: Builds community and friendships Lets kids have fun riding with friends – bikes make people smile! Promotes better air quality & a lower carbon footprint Reduces the number of cars on the road Gets Kids and adults healthy physical activity Saves money on fuel Allows kids to be independent “You and your kids will be happier riding and get used to it quickly” – @share_hugh on Twitter As easy as riding […]
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Ride the new Blumenauer Bridge in Portland? Yes!
We made a brief visit to Portland and were lucky to be able to join in some Pedalpalooza rides! We rented Biketown e-bikes and joined the Fancy Mondays Pedalpalooza Ride. Riding across the Blumenauer Bridge Our Fancy Mondays ride took use from Colonel Summers Park to Irving Park. We rode across the new Blumenauer Bridge that had just opened on July 31st, 2022. It’s named after Congressman Earl Blumenauer and connects the Kerns neighborhood with the Lloyd District over Interstate 84. The bridge has room for 2-way bicycle traffic and pedestrian traffic. It has a bit of new landscaping at either end and provides a nice view over the highway. It was renamed the Blumenauer Bridge from Sullivan’s Crossing to honor Mr. Blumenauer’s advocacy for cycling and pedestrian issues. It was a hot day, so the breeze in the early […]
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Innovative bike tracking: Deter theft with an AirTag bike mount?
Bike theft sucks. Your bike is probably really special to you, and your financial investment is worth protecting. A bike AirTag mount can help. When I first moved to the area, I was so worried about theft, that I bought a second “beater” bike to get around town. I bought a good U-lock to lock my frame and a cable to deter a theft from stealing the wheels. I even bought a smaller cable to keep the seatpost in place. To prevent theft when locking: Use a good lock Ideally the lock will be strong and thick enough to resist bending or cutting with a saw or angle grinder. The key and shackle mechanism should also be resistant to tampering. The lock should go through a part of your frame (not just the wheel!) so that, assuming the lock is […]
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It’s Pedalpalooza in Portland. We love using their pennant as a flag for bicycles!
Pedalpalooza is an amazing summer full of bike rides Described as “a festival of bike fun” and “three whole months of fun on two wheels”, Pedalpalooza is 3 months worth of hundreds of bike rides and bike-related activities. The Pedalpalooza calendar features 2 to 20+ rides per day with all types of themes. There’s a Pride ride, coffee rides, Bike Play performances (often-musical theater experiences), mural rides, cargo bike rides.. it really feels endless. Last year while visiting Portland, we went to a kids clown ride with Olive and Dingo, and the Foster Night Ride. The Pedalpalooza pennant makes for a fun flag for bicycles We’re celebrating Pedalpalooza remotely with our pennant. I mounted it on our bicycle flag light. We live in Oakland though and only get to visit Portland once per year. But we knew we could still […]
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Nice Bikes: An Argo Cargo Bike kit in Oakland that converts your bike into a practical front loader
An Argo Cargo Bike at the park Bike adventures are big fun. Bike adventures with kids are even better. I’d seen the original Argo Cargo bike Kickstarter for their “Lift” product and thought it was a neat idea to be able to turn any “regular” bike into a front-loading cargo bike. They had a successful campaign and raised $105,429 for their front-loading cargo bike conversion kit. Many front-loading cargo bikes cost $3000+, so a kit that adds on to an existing bike for $1149 is compelling. The Argo Cargo bike attaches mainly at the front fork and the bottom bracket, and requires a minor modification to the brake cables to connect your brake lever to the brake on the front wheel. I saw a parent ride in on their Argo Cargo Bike with their kids in the front, and asked […]
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Nice Bikes: A Lemond Prolog spotted in Oakland (An attractive, stealthy e-bike)
The Lemond Prolog is an e-bike that doesn’t look like an ebike. I spotted this Lemond Prolog last month in North Oakland, parked on the sidewalk. It is an attractive, good looking bike, launched last fall, that I had only see photos of online. Lemond has done a remarkable job of designing the Prolog so that you have to look very hard to find clues that it’s an ebike. The motor is a small rear hub motor that is only a bit larger than a traditional hub. The other clues are the integrated rear lights in the seat stays and the power button on the top tube. It’s on the pricier end of a single person eBike at $4500. It doesn’t weigh as much as an eBike either Lemond also managed to keep the weight extremely low, at 26 […]
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Cherry picking (and other U-Pick fruit picking) in Brentwood. A successful 20-mile adventure by bike!
April to May to June is U-Pick cherry picking season in the Bay Area When I was a child, I remember apple picking in New England with my dad. My memory is fuzzy now and I don’t remember if we just went once, or multiple times, but I still remember climbing a ladder to pick, and watching cider presses. I was confused when the cider came out brown when apple juice wasn’t. It seemed odd, but I still enjoyed drinking it. There’s so much locally grown produce in California, and I wanted to create a similar experience for our family. Especially after friends at a picnic shared some of their u-pick cherries with us. Last June, we went cherry picking at a u-pick farm in Brentwood for the first time. Brentwood is the place to go for cherry picking in […]
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Kids Bay Area Bike Rides: Berkeley’s Brickyard Cove
Riding on the gravel paths of Berkeley’s Brickyard Cove Park We took the group of kids to bike on a family ride at the new Brickyard Cove park in Berkeley at the shoreline. It recently opened earlier this year. Apparently it had been privately owned land that had been a dumping ground for decades. Originally slated for a mall, after zoning battles, it appeared to have been purchased by East Bay Regional Parks in the late 90s. And now it has finally been developed into a park in 2022. Brickyard Cove has beautiful views The location is nice. It’s right off of the University Ave pedestrian bridge, aka the Berkeley I-80 bridge, and is right next to the Bay Trail. It offers expansive views of San Francisco, the Emeryville Marina, the Bay Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Berkeley hills, […]
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Flag Poles for Bicycles: Helpful Pros and Cons
Hi. We’ve been riding around with bike flags as a family for more than a year and a half now. We’ve been riding in all seasons (in Northern California, so there isn’t a ton of variation) and in rain and in fair weather. I wanted to share our experience of riding with a bike flag for kids. Pros: Why should I ride with a flag for my bike? Bike flags make the rider more visible The main reason to use a flag is visibility. Until we get more protected bike lanes, we often need to share the road with cars, and it’s important to be seen by drivers when on the road. The flag poles typically mount to the axle of the rear wheel of the bike. While riding to school, we can see a bike flag from 3-4 […]
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Great bicycle books for kids: A list and resources
Great bicycle books for kids Bikes are fun to ride and fun to read about. As parents who spend a lot of time riding our bikes with our kid, we try to read bicycling books as well. Since May is Bike Month, I wanted to share some of the bicycle books (and bicycle-related books) that we’ve read and enjoyed. I’ve been surprised at all of the great kids’ books about bikes out there! Books we’ve read Duck on a Bike – David Shannon “Easy to read and it’s simple but funny.” We found Duck on a Bike as a sidewalk find while walking around Portland. It was great timing. We needed something to keep our kid occupied, and this book was fun, bike-related, and serendipitous. It’s a silly story about a duck that commandeers its own bicycle. It has engaging […]
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