Biking Together Again--Gibbie Helping!

So, after a long hiatus, prompted by Gibbie's new found ability to ride behind an adult on his "tagalong" (meaning he hated the old trailer and I didn't know how to carry Ezra with the tagalong) I finally mustered up the courage to just try something. Lo and behold, it worked!I just tie Ezra, who is is now four years old, on my back. I don't do this much anymore, as he walks everywhere, but it worked just like always, and doesn't hurt when I'm leaning over biking, as it tends to now if I tried to wear him while walking any distance. It's similar to biking with a heavy backpack, which I am used to. Ezra loves looking over my shoulder, and we can all three of us can talk much better than when I was hauling them in the trailer because they are closer. I think it's quite safe and feel more comfortable in traffic than I did with the trailer. Plus, Gibbie is contributing to the ride! He can pedal along, and push hard on hills. He's really helping now!

We have biked like this to several places including our church, which is about five miles from home and up quite a hill! Another disadvantage which kept me from doing it for so long is the lack of storage space--I can't wear my backpack. This should be easily resolved with a generous handlebar basket and a rack over my back tire to support panniers. Maybe we could even put a rack on Gibbie's tagalong? I can't use a rack with a crate on it, because the tagalong runs in that space over the wheel.

Buildig A Bicycle

For a couple of years now, I've been dreaming of owning a bike with a few specific features: single-speed, road tires, bullhorn handlebars - along the lines of your basic hipster bike. I didn't have the knowledge or parts to build something like this myself, and didn't feel like going to craigslist. I tried to get one person to build it for me, and then she passed me off to another guy who I finally started working with last Friday to build my long-desired bike from the frame up.

It's a vintage (1960's or '70's) polish frame called a Tyler. It's surpisingly light for something that old.
We overhauled and greased-up all the bearing systems.

Almost all of the parts were from Daniel's home stockpile. We got used brakes (with new pads) from Sibley Bike Depot along with new Salsa brake levers.

It was great to finally get the bike I've wanted for so long, and be able to participate in building it.

Thanks, Daniel.

Bikes on the Road!

Having spent the summer biking ourselves and the kids around everywhere has given me a fresh perspective on traffic! It's made me wonder if most drivers have no clue what to do with bikes on the road. Therefore I give you:

Bike Traffic for Motor Vehicles 101:
In Minnesota, bikes are treated like cars. If you don't know what to do when you see a bike, pretend it's a car--
1.don't hit it!
2.would you yield to it if it were a car? then do likewise.
3.always signal. It's the biker you don't see who needs to know where you are going.

Often, we have trouble with cars actually being too accommodating of us as vehicles. I think the driver may be trying to be nice by stopping inappropriately to let us cross a road in front of them. Perhaps they are charmed by the strange biking family? It often makes it more difficult, not easier, when a car yields to a bike if the car actually would have the right-of-way. (Say, the biker has the stop sign but the car waits for the bike to cross.) You see, a cyclist is less protected as a vehicle from collision, and often, drivers are not looking for bikes on the road. Therefore, as I come to an intersection, I can't assume that any vehicle sees me. I certainly can't assume I can run a stop sign. So I watch traffic closely. I have to assume drivers may not see me.
It takes a bike, particularly a bike towing a trailer full of children, much longer than a car to get going again. If I've stopped to yield to a car which has the right of way and the car stops for me, it's particularly awkward if there is cross traffic coming the other way which doesn't need to stop for me, or if there is no traffic and had the car not stopped I could have proceeded in peace instead of lugging into motion with an audience.
I regularly cross busy roads with the trailer. Sometimes I have to wait a good while for an adequate gap in traffic. That's fine by me; I expect it and plan this time into our day. I'm not biking just to get there as quickly as possible. In fact, watching the traffic, a biker often is tracking the cars, gauging thier speed to get moving while this one passes me, so that I can be across the intersection before that one comes. Now don't fret, Grandmothers! We really are careful. I'm just saying that it's usually not helpful for a driver to slow down for a biker.

That being said, I really appreciate how courteous drivers have been to us so far. I haven't encountered any vehicular hostility here in St. Paul, and we've been on all kinds of roads, in all kinds of traffic! (I might interject here that there are lots of crazy, not law-abiding bikers out there, for whom I cannot speak. Ahem, I won't mention any names.)
I sometimes wonder if drivers stop because they feel sorry for the poor slow biker. Do you pity her because the sun is shining and she's in it? Because he's breathing hard?
Rather, wish that you were in his place. There is an exhilarating freedom in going places without a motor. Less to break, less to go wrong, more time to enjoy the view. Between busy roads there are spaces of actual silence. There is a feeling of power in one's own body that can take one places! A restfulness in going days on end without starting a motor, and certainly a deeper sleep at night for a body that has worked.

At first, the kids were thrilled to bike. They begged to bike or bus instead of driving. Times have changed a bit. Recently, Gibbie said, "Mama, I see people in cars and I wish that I was one of them." Sadly, soon enough he will be. Bike transport with kids may be simply impossible year-round in Minnesota!
We're learning to bring a little pouch of playthings or snacks for when the littles get restless. Sticks for banging on each others helmets do very well, as pictured with a special birdie, above.

the Bike Trailer

A couple of days ago I mentioned biking around with the boys in a bike trailer. I didn't include any pictures in that post so I thought I might right now. We were out yesterday on our (almost) weekly trip to Java Train. I like most of the features of this trailer, except the cloth topper. It attaches to the back of the thing with Velcro, which isn't quite sufficient for the amount of tension it requires. I'm going to bolt it on one of these days. I like how Libby bungied a milk crate to the frame of the trailer. It serves well as a trunk!

Zero Driving Days

After Gibbie and I finished fixing the car as shown in the previous post, our family didn't drive again for six days. We biked everywhere. This was extremely gratifying and probably one of the longest stretches of Zero Driving Days we've had.

Since I bike to both of my jobs, weekdays are easy Zero Driving Days. The weekend is the challenge. So far we've successfully biked to church only once. It's uphill most of the way and we need to leave home early enough to give me plenty of time to be early. (I can't be late for church if I'm supposed to play the opening hymn!)

We pull the kids in our Cannondale trailer which Libby has equipped with a milk crate "trunk" for our stuff. We can trade off who pulls the kids for the different legs of our travel in a given day. Unlike driving in the car, we can split off in different directions whenever we want to and both have a vehicle.

I'd say the biggest drawback is how hard it is to hold a conversation while traveling like this. We often read in the car, which is of course completely impossible on bikes. Thus our current book Paradise Lost is not going quite as quickly as others have, but ah well.

All this and I haven't mentioned gas prices... but I guess that's obvious.

Chain Care

In honor of our recent snow, I'll share how my bicycle chain has made it through the winter. Currently I am riding a bike with multiple gears which tend to get messed-up when covered with slush, dirt, and salt. The two products pictured above may not be the best for the job, but they've gotten me through snow and sub-zero cold. Break cleaner can clean most things mechanical just by spraying it on. I used this to get all of the crud off of my chain and gears. Silicone spray, like WD-40, is both a lube and a water-repellent. The advantage of silicone is that it doesn't tend to attract dirt like WD-40. Clean with one then lube with the other. That's it.

There are better things to use for these purposes, but the winter usefulness of these is that they're spray-on quick. How much time do you want to spend working on your bike outside at zero degrees Fahrenheit?

More Beard Frost

Libby said that my last beard frost photos didn't capture the full effect of the phenomenon. I took this picture when I arrived at Amore on Thursday morning. It was about 8 degrees F.

Will Bike for Food

Did I ever say that I love to bike? Probably.
Recently I got some nifty bags for my bike that allow me to carry a lot of groceries. Pictured here is one of those black bags made by Trek. The other one is an old Blackburn brand bag that has largely replaced my backpack for daily use. The bike, rack, and older bag are courtesy of our Liz who moved to Argentina. One side benefit of having a lot of missionary friends is that at some time or another they tend to get rid of most of their worldly goods. (We really do miss you though, Liz.. and Kimber & Andy... *sigh*)
It's exciting for me to go to work in the morning by my own foot-peddling power, make some money, stop at the Co-op and get some good organic food, and pedal it home to my family.

Four Wheels, or Two?

The dreaded scenario happened: two old immobile diesels.

Last week the Mercedes sprung a leak near the injector pump. Since fixing the Audi has been on the back burner, I was left with no drivable vehicles and a lot of work to do.

We've been without a working car many times before and it's generally not a big deal. I hardly ever drive to work anyway. Getting the family to church on Sunday morning is about the only time we need a ride.

What's worse than the dreaded scenario? My bike broke halfway through the week. Man, was that hard. I was left with walking or busing to work. I chose to walk. Getting groceries became painful, literally. (and it bugs the heck out of me when people say "literally" and it isn't literal. My hand actually hurt after carrying the heavy bag of food back from the Co-op.) Life without a car was manageable, but life without a bike felt like a real hardship.

On a recommendation from a coworker, I took my good bike to Express Bike Shop. I always modify my bikes to use just a single speed by taking off all the derailleurs, cables, and whatnot, and shortening the chain to accommodate two gears I find to be a useful ratio. Since I'm an urban year-round biker I don't need a lot of gears and having just one means there's far less stuff to go wrong. I had the folks at Express do it the "right" way and actually remove the extraneous cogs and add a special tensioner to the chain (see photo). Since it was the Fourth of July week, I had to wait extra long for it to be done.
All of the walking, besides being good for my prayer life, gave me time to realize what my main vehicle really is. I'd been feeling for a while like I should maybe break down and get a "normal" car like a Camry or something that would be completely boring and dependable (as well as expensive bloody gas consuming). Some might call this responsible, while others would consider it "selling out." It feels more like the latter to me. In any case, realizing that the bike is my main vehicle and cars are only secondary/occasional transportation put a lot of things in perspective. I once told an old bike-guy-friend-coworker from Amore, "I want to have an old car I can work on and basically never drive." I don't think he had any idea what I was talking about, but maybe you do after reading a bit of this post. I love working on cars, but I'm not so big on driving them every day.

Oh, I think I did fix the leak on the Mercedes too. It was a neat little thing by the injector pump that lets you prime the system by hand! (what a cool idea.) It had a worn out rubber seal. I got something from the hardware store that seems to work. I also have a replacement for the little unit if that doesn't do it. The reason why I only "think" I fixed it is I haven't really driven it anywhere since I worked on it, just idled it and looked for dripping. I've been too busy biking to drive it anywhere.

Family Biking

We are getting somewhere in our quest to use biking as practical transportation for the family. The first thing we tried was having both boys in a bike trailer. Our toddler loves it, but the babe cried the whole way- "I'm distraught, scared, and in pain" kind of crying. Today was a big leap forward.

The innovation: wear the baby! It seems this is our answer to all baby dilemmas.
Why I loved it:
1.No crying
2. I've gotten really comfortable with wearing Ezra on my back. I knew he was secure.
3. He can look over my shoulder.
4. No crying. Did I mention that?
5. He sang! As I started biking, he began to croon.
6. My body absorbed the shocks of the road for him. I can accommodate for bumps, very much unlike the trailer
7. My mountain bike was a plus-- I usually hate leaning over, but it was great when he fell asleep, he had a perfect perch for his helmet-heavy head. His body also seemed to support my back a bit.
8. It was comfy for me.
9. I feel safer about him being able to see him and having him so close to me.

You can see in the picture an extra cloth tied over him. That's not holding him on. It's for sun protection. Earlier I had it up over his arms. The helmet mostly shades his eyes.

Note to self:
-install a handlebar mirror; it was tough to see well behind me on the side where his head was. Okay this time, as Paul was there, but I'd feel better with a mirror.
-Watch the gravel. I was extra careful about stuff I'd not normally care about. In an industrial area we went though, the bike lane was strewn with sand and gravel. Ditto for broken glass.
-Next time remember to tie up my pant cuff. These wide pant legs are perfect for catching in the chain.
Saint Paul is a great place for biking! We went to the other side of downtown and only had a few blocks where we weren't on a bike path or bike lane or small street. We are also so blessed to live in Frogtown, within close range of so much that we love. It's a very transit friendly neighborhood and except in the dead of winter, it's totally possible to get around without a car even with little kids in tow.
It is a beautiful day for biking! Down in the hollow it's cool and shady and oh-so-lovely.