Saturday Morning Ride to the Farmers Market

I enjoyed a nice morning ride to the farmers market today. I picked up a whole lot of fruit: a yellow watermelon, two boxes of cherries, and a box each of apples, apricots, and peaches.

Bicycling for Flowers

I enjoyed a bike ride to the nursery last weekend, in search of flowers and a few other plants for the new back yard gardens. I found some marigolds and calendula, a blueberry bush, a few Tall Telephone shelling peas, and some parsley. It's fun riding home with pretty flowers in the basket for onlookers to enjoy.

Bicycle Photo Fun

The good people at EcoVelo are having a bicycle photo contest this month. Their site "celebrates the beauty of the bicycle and the joys of everyday bike riding." I've enjoyed reading their posts, and the photos are terrific, so I thought it would be fun to participate by submitting a few of my own amateur bicycle photos. My favorite is #2, Gardening with an Xtracycle.

You can see all of the entries here. Feel free to post all kinds of nice comments about my photos. Thanks!

First Snow

Last night we enjoyed a really beautiful bike ride around town during the first snow of the season. It was quite chilly, but we bundled up and used our human-powered engines to keep warm. We started with a couple errands, to get a movie and a few groceries just up the street. Then we kept riding to enjoy a tour of all the pretty Christmas lights decorating the neighborhoods. Of course we wanted to participate in decorating the darkness, too, so before we started our ride, Don rigged up some battery-powered twinkle lights on the bikes. All the people we passed seemed to enjoy our festive lights. By the time we got home, it was snowing quite a bit, and we were ready to go inside, build a fire, and warm up. Happy first snow!

One-Car Family

Goodbye, RAV4.

Hello, Xtracycles!

Well, it only took us three seasons - spring, summer, and fall - to decide that we no longer needed our second car. So we said goodbye to the RAV, and we're doing just fine with our one other car and our bikes. We haven't really driven the second car for months, so we thought it was time to let it go.

It's easy to cycle in the summer, but we wanted to test our resolve during the colder, rainier months of autumn. We still love it. There are plenty of days when it's clear or just a little rainy. We bundle up a bit more and pedal on our merry way. We're also learning to enjoy bus rides along the many routes available to us all around town. Next fun challenge: snow!

Hooray for no more insurance, gas, and repair and maintenance for an extra vehicle! Hooray for cool autumn days, riding along streets with pretty fallen leaves, warm clothes, and rain gear!

Life is good.

Apples to Applesauce

Earlier this week, we took a bike ride to the library to pick up some books that were waiting for us. On the way home, we passed a local park and saw a huge apple tree with many tiny apples littering the ground underneath it. We were curious about the apples still up in the tree, and sure enough, when Ben climbed it, he found lots of larger ones just ready to drop. So we did some old-fashioned gleaning.

He picked a bunch and dropped them down to me. I caught them and gathered them into bags for the ride home. We offered a few of them to others as they walked by on the trail, but mostly people just smiled and walked on. It was great fun, and we're both glad we took the time to stop and rescue the apples so they wouldn't go to waste.

At home, we filled a drawer in the fridge with apples, and then, later this weekend, I spent a little time making applesauce. Yum!

A Trip to the Lumber Store

We enjoyed a nice mother-son bicycle ride to the lumber store on Friday. Ben is getting started on building another bass guitar, and he needed a 3/4" piece of maple for the neck. He found the piece he needed, and I found a good all-purpose broom for the garage.

It was Ben's first Xtracycle ride carrying cargo, so we took our time loading them up and riding them home. It was a fun, leisurely ride together.

Bicycles, Co-ops, & Libraries

Today has been a wonderful cycling day for our family. Ben and I started off early this morning; he rode to his weekly first-aid/CPR class while I rode to the new co-op to get some groceries. Have I mentioned how much I love PCC? It's so delightful to be able to ride my bike to get good quality, organic foods and other natural, sustainable products.

As you can see by the photo, I thought I might need a little extra cargo space today, so I strapped my pretty wicker basket to the Xtracycle snap deck. It worked wonderfully. I loved being able to bring it into the store to carry my purse, helmet and canvas bags.


Later in the day, Ben wanted to go to the library to pick up some books that were on hold for him. We frequent two different nearby libraries, and he hadn't ridden to this one before, so we rode there together so I could show him a good route. For this trip, I took my other bike so it'd be easier for me to keep up with him. The larger, thinner tires make it easier to go faster and keep up with his younger legs!

I hooked up my new handlebar basket from Recycled Cycles onto this bike so I could help Ben carry his books home. It has a nice, easy lift-off feature so once I park the bike, I can bring the basket with me. It was just right for what I needed to carry.

As we pedaled our way home from the library, we had a fun surprise. As we approached the intersection to get back on the trail home, Ben pointed across the street at another cyclist. It was Don! He was riding in the opposite direction, on his way from home to his evening band rehearsal. We stopped to chat for a few minutes and then continued on toward our destinations.

Once again, a delightful day.

Bicycling This Week

I've pedaled all over town for many different purposes this week, at least 50 miles total. Some trips have been short, some much longer. Some days have been sunny, others cloudy. I love the cloudy, breezy days because it's easier to keep cool even when I'm working up a sweat. I love the time I have on my bike to relax and ride, watch the scenery go by, and think about the beauty of the day. Here's a short summary of the week:

Where did I go?
* The farmers market, a bookstore, a bank, and a bakery
* Our CSA farm along the Sammamish River Trail
* Two libraries, the post office, another bank, and an office store
* The grocery store and a take-out restaurant

Who and what did I see?
* Two lakes, a winding river, and woodsy neighborhoods
* Geese, roosters, wildflowers, and a variety of gardens
* Friends, farmers, shoppers, and construction workers
* Families riding bikes and people walking side by side

What did I carry?
* A whole bunch of fruits and vegetables
* Books, bread, mail, printer ink, and paper
* Groceries for camping and dinner for the evening

One of the things I love most about riding my bike is the people I see. Sometimes I have chance meetings with friends when I'm outside a location like the library or the bakery, and they often notice me first because I'm on my bike. The red hair/Xtracycle combination probably helps. Also, when I stop in a store or at the farmers market, if I forget to take off my cycling gloves or I'm carrying my helmet, people strike up a conversation about bike riding. Clerks or other shoppers notice how much I'm carrying and wonder how I can carry it all on my bike. It's fun to tell them. Then of course, when anyone sees me with the bike and everything I'm carrying, they often do a double-take and inquire about it. I like this because it makes shopping and doing errands a friendly, people-centered activity instead of just something to get done. It's a good thing.

Quote of the Day

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle,

I no longer despair for the human race."

~ H.G. Wells

Edible Landscaping

On today's trip to the nursery, I went in search of various organic fertilizers and just a couple more plants. I found a lovely Aronia shrub with pretty color and lots of berries. It's known for its white flowers in the spring, bold red leaves in autumn, and clusters of round flavorful berries high in Vitamin C. The berries can be used in juices and jams, or eaten fresh when fully ripe. It's another adventure in edible landscaping!

A Ride to the Nursery

I wanted to get a few native plants to fill in the newly landscaped area in the back yard, and since the bike trail goes right behind the local nursery, it made sense to use the trail and ride the Xtracycle. I was tempted to take the car, but I knew if I did, I'd also be tempted to get more plants than necessary. They all look so pretty in the nursery, and it's easy to get carried away. Using human-powered transportation is good for keeping things on a human scale. I figured I could bring home about six gallon-sized pots if I needed to, and that would be plenty for now.

It was a fun ride, I found several great plants, and they all fit just right in the side-loaders. Here's what I got: red huckleberries, salal, Oregon grape, ferns, lipstick strawberries, and some wintergreen ground cover.

What else can you carry on those things?

A whole bunch of groceries

Plants and puzzles

A strawberry rhubarb crisp and other potluck foods

30 lbs of dog food and more groceries

A Load of Fun

This week Don loaded up his Xtracycle to ride to band rehearsal. You'll see he's got all the essentials: two guitars, a bag of cables, and a small cooler filled with beer to share with the band.

Xtracycle Girl

It's been about two months since we've been riding our new Xtracycles, and we love them! We ride them to the grocery store, the library, farmers markets, our CSA farm, social gatherings, and wherever else we need to go.

Strawberries

It's finally strawberry season here in the Pacific Northwest. Last week, I cycled to the farmers market to buy our first flat. It was fun to strap it to the top of the Xtracycle while cushioning the other fruit in the side loaders.

Then today we went with a few friends to pick strawberries at Broers Farms in Monroe. Together Ben and I picked two flats, about 28 pounds total. They're delicious. Hooray for local produce!