Car-Free Challenge, Day 3: Kid Biking!
We finally have all three kids biking on their own! Oldest daughter has moved up to an adult bike. Middle daughter just tonight moved up to the middle bike and started riding without training wheels. Youngest daughter is now on the smallest bike, with the training wheels on. Yay! But I forgot to take any pictures. Boo!
Day 3 was pretty uneventful as far as transportation went. I didn’t need to go anywhere; the only problem was when I needed to mail something and couldn’t find any stamps. If I’d had access to the car, I might have jumped in and gone to the post office to buy stamps and put the envelope in the mail. As it was, I found a way to print the postage I needed online, and got the envelope into the mailbox before the mail carrier arrived.
Why didn’t I just bike to the post office? It’s at the bottom of a big hill. I suppose I could have biked to a different (but further away) post office, or I could have bought stamps at Fred Meyer, but that didn’t occur to me at the time. And the hill? I’m not just being lazy. I’ve never been able to get up that hill without walking my bike and half-dying.
Right now, however, I’m pondering a ride down that very hill. You see, I’m adding people to the challenge! Yes, Aaron Walker chimed in and went car-free yesterday, so that brings me to six car-free days (through this Friday). And Shetha, although she didn’t actually say “I’m joining in, match me!” is in the middle of five car-free days of her own. And I’m thinking about matching her just for the heck of it. But that means I have to take my daughter to the summer camp bus by bike on Monday. The bus stop isn’t far, but it’s at the bottom of that hill, and we’d have to take her gear (not really a big deal).
Really, I don’t see why I can’t do it. Do you?








This post has 2 comments
July 27th, 2010
Yes! I finished day 5 today. My furthest trip was down to sellwood & back for swim lessons (4 mi each way – with 2 kid in tow, and only 1 disaster that resulted in loading the 7 yr old’s front bike tire into my pannier and loading him on the deck of the longtail). The good news is this: My 3 year old is training wheel free! And he can bike along when I go for my jogs
Great biking fun for all!
July 27th, 2010
I’ve done the towing thing before, too! Longtails are great for that.