I'm baaaa-ack

It has been one heck of a year (plus) since I last posted about family biking and I'm back with what I hope is the first in a series regarding our big summer excursion: the Highline Canal on bicycles!

Quick stats:

• The Highline Canal is 71 miles end-to-end
• Our group included ages 7-74
• Our group varied in size day to day, topping out at 14 riders on the final day
• Injuries from biking = 0
• Injuries from water balloon fight = 1 (a scraped leg)
• Most popular trailside snack: Turkey Jerky
• Most popular camp meal: walking tacos

In future posts, I hope to explain what we did, what I'd do differently and options for adapting the trip for various preferences. For example, we could've simplified logistics and packing by staying at hotels instead of camping.

For now, I'll simply say that we had at least two types of fun and it was our kind of microadventure!

COVID-19 Birthday Bicycle Party: Keep it Rollin'

If your family has a birthday coming up, prospects for celebration look bleak. No one is congregating. Extra trips to the store are discouraged. Gift-giving could mean giving illness. Even online ordering has its risks and could be delayed—bad news for overwhelmed folks who feel fortunate to have a general idea that it is apparently April now?

One answer: a family biking birthday ride! Message friends and neighbors around your neighborhood and ask them to be at their front porches/balconies/windows during a limited time window (11-noon, for example). Decorate your family's bicycles with colorful items you have around the house, such as tissue paper, streamers, and ribbons. We used wax paper and a sharpie to make a personalized flag.

Then, get a little exercise* and take your bicycle party on the road! If you have a portable speaker, play your kid's favorite movie soundtrack or Spotify's "Happy Birthday" playlist (remove the one explicit track if desired). It isn't just festive, it also helps your friends hear you coming. Instead of giving gifts, they could decorate their window or put some balloons or streamers out if they happen to have some on hand. They could shake bells to help you feel like professional athletes!

If you ran out of cake ingredients, why not stop by a treat shop for take-away as part of your ride? Chocolate Lab has been doing amazing work supporting health workers during the pandemic, and their treats are delectable for all ages. Duffeyroll is another great option. What's your favorite local sweet shop offering carry-out right now?

You could also include your local bicycle repair shop on your route (they qualify as essential businesses). Pick up some extra inner tubes, tires and maybe some fun lights for the birthday biker! Bike Shop Girl Family Cyclery is accepting appointments. Bikes Together has two locations. Velosoul recently moved to Englewood and is open with limited hours. SloHi Bike is currently swamped with repairs, but accepting appointments starting April 21.

If you have a stash of party hats, you can wear them right along with your helmet! The Governor of Colorado and the CDC are recommending everyone wear cloth face coverings while not at home. Cardboard is a reasonable alternative for single use (I got the idea from an online meme and recognized it as a clever no-sew option). I taped over the gaps on mine.

Image of me wearing a blue party hat over my nose and mouth along with my helmet.

I guarantee you'll make some folks smile. Ok, they're laughing. At you. And it is totally worth it.

Happy birthdays, my friends. Better days and group rides are ahead of us!

*Outdoor exercise currently qualifies as essential activity in Colorado. While I strive to provide only accurate information here, pandemic restrictions and recommendations change frequently. Follow both the letter and the spirit of the most up-to-date restrictions for your city and state.

I've Learned Some Things

Last week, I sat down with Steve Staeger of Next with Kyle Clark along with two other bicycle advocates: Rob Toftness (@NoSquish on Twitter) and Nicole McSpirit (@GoingDutchDen on Twitter). It was a great time to reflect on what has changed in Denver's cycling advocacy over the past few years.

For one thing, there is now A Thing called the Denver Bicycle Lobby. This is a group of individuals who take time out of their day on a regular basis to engage in cycling advocacy. I've learned a lot about what bicycle advocacy entails since starting this blog, and I intend to outline some of those lessons in this post and others.

Spoiler alert: None of it is as fun as being on TV. Most of it IS more effective.

One of the most important things advocates do is attend public meetings. Public meetings happen all over the city with surprising frequency. They often occur at times that are inconvenient for families, there isn't always much advance notice, and they are packed with people who are more eager to speak than listen. Picture NextDoor IRL (in real life).

Public meetings are my personal nightmare—except that they are a critical component of effective change. They are intended to be an arena where stakeholders can both learn and teach. With mutual respect, neighbors can point out details that experts might have missed and collaborate on solutions that improve quality of life for everyone.

Without mutual respect, neighbors shout down public servants and each other while stubbornly resisting change they don't yet know they want (more on that in a later post).

As much as I loathe public meetings, I have seen some form of positive result from each and every one I've attended. Once, it was an idea for a red arrow in place of a standard red light at a dangerous intersection where right turns on red are deadly. Ideas like this might seem like insignificant minutia, but these ideas save lives and come from people who care. Just as importantly, these ideas are heard by people who have the expertise to implement them as effectively as possible. We need more people showing up at these meetings ready to listen, trust, and collaborate. If we all show up in good faith (no matter how difficult that may be), improvements happen.

It took me too long to realize that I can and should take my kids to public meetings. Fellow parents—hear me out! I've attended public meetings where no children were present, but temper tantrums erupted from half of the adults in the room that would put a threenager meltdown to shame. Don't worry about your kids disrupting the meeting! Their presence just might remind the adults to set a decent example.

Worried about depriving your kid of their childhood at in interminable public meeting? Pack a picnic! Bring a coloring book! A board game! Heck, bring your kids' friends along and call it a play date! Most importantly, only do what you can do. If it works for you to bring the kids for the first 15 minutes and then leave, your presence is still valuable. If you get the kids to bed and then draw straws with your spouse over who shows up late to the meeting, that's better than not showing up at all.

I strongly recommend attending your first public meeting with no agenda whatsoever. You'll see some familiar faces and lots of new ones. Get a feel for who likes to talk and who likes to listen, who is constructive and who isn't, who riles people up and who calms them down. Then comes the hardest part: be one of the calm, constructive listeners who keeps showing up. Your kids won't be the only ones taking cues from your example.

The Packing Post

If you are planning a trip of any sort, you've probably encountered a mountain of advice about packing, solicited or not. If you're reading this, hopefully you're doing what I did: researching in excited anticipation of your trip! Unlike most bloggers, I do not currently have any sponsors or affiliates. All items here are provided simply because I purchased them myself.

1) Dry shampoo. I had heard about the wonders of dry shampoo but didn't purchase any until my last haircut before the trip. My stylist taught me how to use it and I bought a travel-sized spray can. I loved having it in my bag! I don't style or even blow-dry my hair. Still, when traveling there were days that I had to let my hair go unwashed a little longer than I would've liked, or had dinner reservations at the end of a day of cycling in the hot sun. Dry shampoo was an easy, no-hassle way to spruce up fast.

2) Cycling shorts. This is an item I didn't pack but should have. This trip was structured around cycling, after all, but I imagined leisurely rides with lots of stops. Honestly, that is mostly what we did, but several consecutive days of leisurely rides adds up to a sore rear that really could've used some cushion.

Reeuwijkse plassen, South Holland, Netherlands

3) Crocs. Perhaps I am biased as a Coloradan, but these shoes were objectively great for the trip. They added color to monochrome outfits, were classy enough for restaurants, passed for slippers at Spa Gouda, and functioned like flip flops at the beach and in locker room showers. I ended up using them far more than the ankle boots I packed for cooler weather and hiking.

Can't wait to get back!

4) Collapsible water bottles. It took us the entirety of our trip to figure out how to get free tap water at restaurants and other establishments in the Netherlands. We never figured out a way to access free potable water on trains. So these Platypus soft water bottles served us well. When empty, they cram easily into even overstuffed bags; great for airport security.

Overkill? Probably. But we lost two of them during the trip.

5) Compression socks or leggings. Jet lag wasn't too bad for me after our arrival, and I give partial credit to my compression leggings. If you plan to take long rides, they'll be useful for muscle recovery, too. They are light, take up very little space, and can be paired with a dress for versatility.

6) Travel towel. I doubted whether we would use this, and almost left it at home. About halfway through our trip, we moved it into our small packet of items to take everywhere, no matter the circumstances. It turns out The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy was right, one should always know where one's towel is. We used it as a blanket for a tired kid, a giant handkerchief for a nosebleed, a wipe to treat road rash, a shawl in unexpected cold, a picnic blanket and—yes—a towel. That said, one travel towel was plenty for our family of four; there is no need to pack one per person.

7) That's it. Seriously! It is nearly impossible to pack too little for a trip to any first-world country, especially during a warm season. As a friend assured me before my trip, almost every problem can be solved with a passport and debit/credit card. Here is a list of things I'd take again that you'll find on any packing list, but even these could've been purchased at our destination(s) without much hassle.

• Zip-off pants
• Rain jacket
• Swimsuit
• Sun hat
• Minimum quantity of clothing in quick-drying material. Try to pack only two tops, one bottom in addition to the cycling shorts and zip-off pants, and a dress for us gals. 4-5 pairs of underwear. Your compression socks are probably the only socks you need unless you never wear sandals.

We were able to pack one backpack per person, plus a packable bag for the whole family to use for overflow, laundry or shopping. I bought most of our backpacks at Arc Thrift, but splurged on this awesome convertible backpack pannier for my spouse. We averaged about 15 lbs. per person and in retrospect, I would've packed even lighter!

I over-packed.

Family Biking Denver Hits Holland!

Our family spent a month of this summer in the Netherlands, at a farmhouse in the province of South Holland. We spent much of our stay entirely car-less, using bicycles and buses to get around. After failing to find a workable trail-a-bike option, we went with a rear-mounted seat for our five year old. Our son turned eight on our trip, and utilized a kids' bike with 24 inch wheels.

The first thing I would like to say about family biking in Holland: it is not for novices. I was expecting everything to be flat, what with all the canals and sea-level spaces. I quickly learned that flat landscapes do not require flat infrastructure. Some of the canals are higher than the land surrounding them, and canals are everywhere. Consequently, steep climbs up to narrow bridges occur frequently. If you're thinking about taking a family cycling trip in the Netherlands, try to find bridges near home that you and you family can use for practice. Once you get good at crossing one at a time, try crossing together and finally crossing in opposite directions at the same time. If you give your kids less than a foot of space on this final maneuver and you both stay calm, you're ready to cycle rural Holland!

You'll ride your bicycles over a bridge like this.

When you aren't navigating bridges, you'll probably be on a bicycling path or bicycle lane. It is important to know that motorized scooters are allowed in these places as well as on the road, and the drivers often explore their options while going the speed limit. That said, once I got over my surprise at being passed on a bicycle lane by a miniature motorcycle, I noticed that the drivers were overall quite courteous and usually gave us more space than passing cyclists.

Cycling through a nature preserve (time lapse).

So, on your left you'll have traffic of some sort— either cars on a street or scooters on your side of a hedge— and on your right you'll often have a steep hill down to water. That doesn't leave much room for error in terms of steering, but I was surprised as anyone that our kid actually seemed to do better with these constraints than he did on the wide streets at home. Maybe it was the separation from opposing traffic, maybe it was that he couldn't let his mind wander too much, maybe it was the clear delineations between the asphalt bicycle space and everything else, or maybe it was simply the innate adaptability afforded by childhood. Regardless, we never had a kid careen down a grassy slope into the drink (thank goodness).

A typical trail in Holland, with a canal on the right.

The South Platte cycling trail in south Denver.

Our son seemed in his element during Utrecht's evening rush hour. The flow of cycles felt a lot like the flow of water in the canals; as long as you knew which way you wanted to go, you just followed that stream of cyclists, did what they did, and ended up where you needed to be.

An eight year old embracing Utrecht rush hour. Not a car in sight.

Utrecht's famous bridge, as seen from a cycle.

 Most children ride in seats (as our daughter did) or in the famous dutch bakfiets. Dutch students receive bicycle education in fifth grade (which I imagine simply solidifies what they have observed from their parents' cycles for several years). Certainly some cycle independently before then, but almost all do so at fifth grade or older. Packs of cycling teens were very common, and acted much like teens in the U.S. Once, one said "bonjour" in an unfriendly voice to a friend of ours as we cycled. As it happened, our (American) friend was fluent in French and answered back in a fashion that left everyone laughing and the teen somewhat red-faced with shock.

Our setup: youngest in a seat on an adult bike, oldest on his own bike.

Despite the surprising challenges, cycling was a fantastic way for a family to explore Holland. We rode through huge nature preserves that allowed cycles but not cars. Even for distant destinations, there was always a fairly direct cycling route. Once I got used to the unspoken customs of lowlands cycling and the large quantities of cyclists sharing the space, I realized that good cycling infrastructure doesn't have to take up a lot of space or fight with vehicular traffic. A lot of cyclists can utilize a fairly narrow path as long as they are proficient.

Bikes on a ferry = happy transportation wonks. The apple does not fall far from the tree!

All The Empowerment Feels

Full disclosure: My spouse is on the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council in Denver. So you tell me: am I biased when I say that this bicycle extension of the My Denver program is the warmest fuzziest thing to happen all summer? (YES, this is an invitation to try to one-up me with even better programs, cycling-related or otherwise! I can't get enough Denver warm fuzzies.)



The My Denver Card gives kids free access to city recreation and cultural centers. With the addition of My Denver Bikes, young'uns are hitting Denver's bicycle paths with knowledge about basic bicycle maintenance. Thanks in advance, Mayor Hancock, for training the kid who will help me change a flat on the path someday! I have little doubt they'll have the confidence to offer help after putting in the hours to earn their very own bike.

There are so many things that are so right about this program. I've experienced first-hand the independence that comes with possession of a bicycle and the confidence to use it. These kids earned that independence, and our whole city will benefit as they take their skills, knowledge and confidence into our community.

I can't wait to see what the future holds for this program and how it continues to expand and improve.

"Stop As Yield" Law in CO? Let's Make This Happen!

Coloradans, it is time to figure out who your state senators and representatives are and call them to ask them to SUPPORT Senate Bill 17-093! Remember to tell them that you are a voting constituent and/or how the bill affects you personally. This is a great way to get younger folks involved in civics! Remember, anyone who turned 14 prior to November 3, 2016 will be of voting age for elections in 2020. Anyone who turned 16 prior to November 3, 2016 will be of voting age for elections in 2018. More importantly, cycling laws affect everybody who cycles, regardless of their voting status.

Why are "Idaho Stop" laws a good idea? Here is a thorough explanation by Idaho Bike Law attorney Kurt Holzer. Here is a post regarding "Stop As Yield" (also known at the Idaho Stop or Rolling Stop) including video and fleshing out the argument that it is important to regulate a 30 pound bicycle differently than a multi-ton automobile. That said, I urge you to sit at an intersection with all-way stops and see how many cars come to a COMPLETE stop before proceeding through the intersection. There is no way police could ticket every driver who treats a stop sign as a yield sign, frequently putting other motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists at risk.

It is time to acknowledge that bicycles function differently than cars, and that assisting cyclists in an easier commute is better for public health and safety, tourism, and the environment. Residents who cycle regularly are getting healthy, low-impact exercise. Tourists who use services like the Denver B-cycle will enjoy their experience more. Laws that already benefit recreational cyclists in Breckenridge, Dillon, and Summit County can be enjoyed statewide. Lastly, if people are safe and happy on their bicycles, they are more likely to choose cycling over motorized transportation with a high environmental cost.

10 ways riding a bike can save the world from http://www.movoto.com/blog/opinions/10-ways-riding-a-bike-can-save-the-world/

The Old Joe Bike Gets New Life

UPDATE 9/12/17: After serving Community Cycles, the Joe Bike was purchased by another cycling family! We are so excited to see this bakfiets log as many miles as possible!

Today (12/6/2016) is Colorado Gives Day, so it seems fitting to post about Community Cycles, a great non-profit cycling organization in Boulder. Our old Joe Bike cargo bike is now their shop bike! They spruced it up with electric assist:

I think they're enjoying it. It looks great, too:

Non-profit never looked so money.

Happy Colorado Gives Day! Please consider donating to BicycleColorado, BikeDenver, or any of many cycling organizations participating in Colorado Gives Day!

Bike to Work Day

Mr. Rogers said that "play is really the work of childhood." So, it seemed fitting that today this guy biked to his play/work at SPREE camp like a boss.

He loves riding on those pink rumble strips! It was mercifully overcast today, making for near perfect riding conditions. We got a lot of smiles from other cyclists, and a few people encouraged or complimented him. On my ride home with his red bike in the empty box bike, I also received a comment from a stranger: "Good work, mom."

Good work.

I hope everyone had a lovely ride to work this morning. I know that our sometimes excessively long bicycle commutes help our whole family stay happy, healthy, and more productive, for which I am grateful.

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/fredrogers193081.html

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/f/fredrogers193081.html

Helmets

All four of us wear helmets with MIPS concussion prevention technology, as much for improved comfort and superior fit as safety. We’ve drilled our kids to wear helmets so insistently that they will sometimes call out to our fellow cyclists without helmets, “That’s not safe!” We chuckle abashedly but as far as we can tell, no one has noticed their commentary so far.

We talked to another cycling family, who regularly sees a dad out with his two kids on their longtail bicycle with no helmets among the three of them. We all thought the parent should do whatever he wants, but the kids should definitely have helmets.

Then I went to pick up my daughter from school in the box bike and forgot her helmet.

There I was, buckling her into the bike with my own helmet on, her beautiful wispy hair waving unobstructed in the wind. I was more than a little embarrassed. Fortunately she was distracted and didn’t notice that I didn’t have her helmet, or else she would’ve cried all the way home “This isn’t safe!” at a volume impossible to ignore.

The truth is, it wasn’t safest, but it wasn’t unsafe. We’ve crashed our box bike before and the kids’ heads didn’t end up anywhere near the ground. We’ve all walked away from those crashes with nary an injury.

That said, I have a vivid memory of when my son was getting the hang of his Strider balance bike. He got going a little too fast and couldn’t quite stop with his feet, the only breaking mechanism. We were on a slight hill, so he gained speed as we entered an intersection which I had already checked for cars. He swerved as he approached the other side of the street, just as I realized how fast he was going. His balance bike tipped on its side and his momentum carried him head-first into a rounded curb, shaped like a bludgeon. It was a moment I’ll never forget. He was wearing his helmet, so he hopped right up and said, “Woah! Do it again?” Meanwhile, I scraped my jaw off the ground and put on a smiling face as I imagined what I’d be doing if he hadn’t had a helmet: calling 911.

As it happens, the guy with the longtail got helmets for his kids. I think it is a good move, but I’m not going to moralize about what happened before the helmets were purchased. He got out there with his kids and nothing terrible happened. We’ll all continue to wear our comfy MIPS helmets whenever we manage to remember them, but I might talk to the kids about the scale between “unsafe” and “safest” and point out that cycling is a fun, healthy activity for everyone, regardless of which safety precautions our fellow cyclists choose or reject.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Family Biking (Part 2)

The Ecstasy

With The Beest in The Shop, our Sunday looked uncertain. The beautiful weather beckoned. But, drive somewhere? Us? Could we...?

We piled into the car with the Islabike and Strider and drove to the Trestle pump track at Barnum North Park, near 6th Avenue and Federal. I knew immediately it would be a huge hit!

This place is great for any kid who isn't using training wheels, including balance bikers like our 2 year old!

A freshly painted gazebo covers a few picnic tables. The entire pump track is visible from there.

Still aren't sold? Walk a little way on the pedestrian bridge over 6th Avenue for great views of the city.

The pump track is great for little kids, but if any of you biking families have older kids or daredevil parents, check out the huge track at the same park.

We'll be investing in some elbow pads and knee pads soon. Despite the scraped knees and elbows, the kids had a blast and got a LOT more comfortable on their bikes! It was so much fun, it was... ecstasy.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Family Biking (Part 1)

The Agony

We finally had our Murphy's Law ride on Saturday morning. We embarked on a 10 mile ride (one way) to a friend's house for brunch. I was feeling wiped out already, and considered driving while Kevin rode with the kids. "Go on, it's sunny! Exercise will do you good," offered an encouraging, angelic voice in my psyche. So I dragged myself out to the garage and hoisted myself onto my regular bike.

A spoke broke on the rear wheel of the box bike (aka The Beest) about halfway though our ride. We couldn't really single out a traumatic event that caused it, so we chalked it up to possible prior damage from our cafe lock. However, the wheel was visibly out of true, making The Beest wobble like crazy for approximately four miles (not fun for Kevin).

Within a mile of our destination, the rear wheel just shredded; ultimately a total of 5 spokes broke. We were a 15 minute walk from our friends' house, so we disembarked and started walking. Fortunately the kids were fairly well rested for the walk, having ridden in the box bike for quite a while. I texted another friend attending the brunch who was just leaving home. She split up with her husband so they could bring an extra car for us in case we needed a ride home (it is a good thing that they did).

A couple of months ago, we joined AAA because they offer a ride for you and your bike: free for the first 7 miles and a nominal fee for further distances. Kevin called AAA, explained that we had a cargo bike in need of transportation, and walked The Beest to our friend's house so it would be ready to load when AAA arrived.

I'm not sure what the dispacher thought "cargo bike" meant, but they certainly were not prepared for The Beest.

There goes plan B.

The AAA driver exclaimed at least 50 times that he had never seen anything like this in his life.

We determined that The Beest could fit in our friends' SUV while I went with the AAA driver and shredded rear wheel (with my own regular bike on the standard bike rack) to our cycle repair shop, Campus Cycles. We love a lot of bike shops in the area but Campus Cycles has a spoke cutter, which allows them to repair our non-standard wheel quickly. It is an easy ride home from Campus Cycles, so I could get the car and drive back to brunch to retrieve the kids. Kevin went home with our friend in the vehicle carrying The Beest.

Bottom line: we all got home and no one died of exposure... thanks to our vehicle-driving friends, lots of delicious food and beverage* at our destination, and AAA. Next time, we will be sure to emphasize to the AAA dispatcher that a cargo bike cannot fit on a standard bike rack, nor in the back of a van. We'll measure the full length and offer that for clarity, and mention that the thing weighs about 100 lbs. Hopefully, the wheel will be rebuilt superbly and there won't be a next time.

*We always pack lots of food and water for long rides. Juice boxes were key in getting the kids to walk to our destination. Still, it helped immensely to have a comfortable, cool place to rest and eat while we waited for AAA.

Thank you, Denver Parks & Rec, for Pasquinel's Landing!

On our family's many cycling trips to Costco, we've had to detour around some major construction. On February, 28, however, we beheld the fruits of those labors:

Pasquinel's Landing!

Jay Henke of Denver Parks and Recreation spearheaded renovation of this beautiful public open space. Thank you, Jay, for the hours I will now spend awake at 2 AM planning family picnics and yard games to enjoy within a short bike ride from home (click here for a map). Oooooh, I can't WAIT for a hot sunny day to watch the kids splash around in that little creek diverted from the South Platte! We'll spread our towels out on the grass and blow bubbles or fly kites. Perhaps the kids will ride in loops on that silky smooth path while I paint my toenails. We may never make it to Costco again.

Box Painting Complete! (For Now)

I spent a lot of time thinking about how I wanted to paint the box of our new CETMA. With the gorgeous black and yellow color combo, the first thing that came to mind was a bee or yellow jacket and ideas poured forth from that starting point. I knew it would be nearly impossible to match the yellow of the frame exactly, so I picked out a pale yellow from the mistints at our local Guiry's for $2.

A photo taken in front of the beautiful Newman Center at the University of Denver.

Not bad, right? Then I got to thinking about a two-layered hexagonal pattern. I wanted a black honeycomb grid which I could overlay with reflective yellow hexagons. We found a stencil which would allow black hexagons to be applied easily, but that looked too much like tire tread. Painting black and then yellow again did not yield the desired results. So I threw out that idea and decided to go with a more street-art style involving spray paint and hand drawn bees.

First, I settled on a bee motif that I thought would scale nicely. Then I cut out around it so that I could use the teardrop shape as a mask for where I wanted the bees to go. I cut out a few that were the same size and shape.

Next, I applied the teardrops to the box where I wanted the bees to be. The mask would allow the bees to stand out against a pale yellow backdrop even if it interfered with the spray painted background I had planned. I also loosely masked the back of the box with a drop cloth.

I consulted with Forrest Brinker over at Making Things and Teaching about my design, and he pointed out that I should be mindful of how the interior of the box looks, as well as the outside. He use a crock pot to show me how a dark border at the top was appealing in appearance and framed the contents. This was great advice, but I wasn't sure how to deal with the sloped back of the box. So I decided to do what many pop artists do when they don't know how to finish something they've started: fade out. I would make the border very black at the front and fade it toward the back. I also decided to incorporate a zig-zag pattern evocative of a bee swarm.

This is what it looked like after peeling off the teardrop masks.

Next, the nerve wracking part: hand-drawing the bees. I practiced a little bit with my new Sharpie Magnum:

I drew the bees on the box, felt fairly pleased with myself, then applied the reflective hexagons in a way I hoped was evocative of honeycomb and complimentary to what I'd already done.

Now the box is back on the bike and riding around town! Do you like it?

At least one kiddo seems to like it.

Our CETMA is here!

We ordered a CETMA Cargo bike in August when our Joe Bike started to show excessive signs of wear and tear. We received our new CETMA via UPS freight yesterday afternoon!

Kevin had a meeting with the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Council after work, so we didn't start unwrapping until just before 9 PM.

8:55 PM

I absolutely LOVE the yellow!

First we laid everything out and removed the packaging.

9:08 PM

Poor Joe Bike! We'll find a good home for you soon!

The assembly went more smoothly than I anticipated. Attaching the two halves together was the trickiest part, simply because we needed about 5 hands to align all of the holes, hold the bike in line, and tighten the nuts. Still, we did it with just the two of us!

9:41 PM

 Kevin checks email photos from Lane to make sure we've got it right.

9:57 PM, when I decided it was too cold to continue.

Our garage was well below freezing during assembly, but it went quickly and smoothly anyway. The streets are too icy for riding this cargo bike for the first time, which is fine because Kevin wants to double check all of the bolts and continue to make adjustments to ensure optimal performance once the roads are clear. I am hoping to purchase paint for the wooden portion of the box soon, and I need to figure out a warm enough place to paint. I have some ideas for the paint job which incorporate hexagonal reflective decals for added visibility.

The kids are super excited about the bike -- almost as excited as we are! Can't wait to take it out for a spin as soon as the weather warms up a bit!

Family Day at the Opera by Bicycle

Today, Denver is blanketed in snow. Yesterday, it was a beautiful sunny day with highs in the 60's, perfect for a family bike ride to Opera Colorado's Hansel and Gretel!

We started with brunch at a friend's house, whom I talked into buying a Babboe City Cargo Bike a year or two ago. In fairness, she was already leaning toward the purchase and I probably just re-enforced the decision, but I was happy to hear her husband describe the purchase as, "The best money we've ever spent," as we set out on our ride.

We weaved through the neighborhood to the Cherry Creek Path, which took us to within a few short blocks of the spectacular Ellie Caulkins Opera House. As usual, the extra time we spent getting outdoor exercise on our bikes approximated the time we would've spent looking for parking. There were plenty of empty bike racks at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.

We made our way into the lobby just as the doors to the house opened. I was pleased to see extremely courteous ushers decked out in their usual tuxedos, treating the children like royalty AND distributing tickets for free concessions! We were ushered onto the stage itself for a breathtaking view of the opera house from what Klaus Frahm calls The Fourth Wall.

Families had access to a backstage bathroom, which was more than simply practical and accommodating. It gave kids and their families access to another space that is typically reserved for performers, which complemented the "Fourth Wall" perspective to blur the line between audience and performer. Seemingly small choices such as these go a long way toward encouraging audience members of all ages to be more active participants than passive consumers, an outcome highly prized by artistic organizations everywhere that thrive not only from ticket sales, but primarily on charitable contributions from engaged and enthusiastic patrons.

The set was versatile and fun, the costumes were wonderful, the young artists extremely talented, and the pianist remarkably adept, sensitive, and focused as she did the work of an entire orchestra non-stop for an hour.

My two year old didn't make it through the hour, so we headed back out to the lobby to get some wiggles out after 40 minutes or so. There were still tables set up with activities that we missed beforehand: coloring, crafts, and a fun photo op:

The concession stand was open, so we traded our tickets for some chips, hot cocoa, granola bars and a banana, which gave us all energy for the ride home. What a day at the opera!

This isn't even all of us! Thanks to everyone who made it such a fun afternoon!