Last Ride of the Year

New Year's Eve ended up being a pretty nice day. The sun came out and the temperature was in the low 40s. KJ then surprised me by signing "No" (Actually, more like "No!") when I asked if he wanted to go biking. My next surprise was when PJ (who is not a biking fanatic like his dad and older brother) said that HE wanted to go biking with me.

OK, this wasn't going the way I intended, but that was OK. We hooked PJ's trailer bike on to my single bike, and off we went to Frick Park. PJ has improved a LOT when it comes to helping dad pedal. I could actually feel him pushing from behind.

When we got to the park, believe it or not there were some other kids there, so PJ had a chance to run around and play for a little bit before we headed back home.

We actually ended December on something of a high note. After almost 6 weeks without riding, we were out 5 times in 10 days. We actually set something of a December record. Normally we only get one or two short rides per month during the winter, and here we had 5 rides with an average length of over 8 miles.

KJ in da 'hood

The weather was only marginally acceptable today (cloudy, 39 degrees, with a wind chill that made it seem like 30) but rather than stay cooped up in the house, KJ and I decided to go down to Panera Bread at the Waterfront again. I was concerned about KJ's ears, because he is not big on hats, and his bike helmet was a further complication.

We had this hooded dickie thingee at home that I thought would be perfect for KJ to use while cycling. Thin enough that he could wear it under his helmet, and because it was separate he didn't need to wear a different coat. My biggest concern was whether KJ would wear it, or if it would bother him and make him fuss. Fortunately I think KJ realized this was gonna help keep his ears warm, so he put it on without complaint.

One thing about going to Panera Bread: KJ goes here for the food, not the ambience. As soon as he was done with his Orange Scone and Apple Juice, he jumped up, zipped up his coat, and was headed for the door.

On another note, we have two cyclometers (both Planet Bike 8.0) on our bike. One for me and one for KJ. One advantage this provides is a backup in case one unit fails. When you are as hung up on the numbers as I am, this can be handy. When we were a mile from our finish today, my cyclometer decided to reset itself back to "0", so I lost all my speed and distance information. Fortunately it was all still on KJ's unit, so after we got home I logged KJ's information and updated the stats on my unit.

Panera Bread, Here We Come!

Panera Bread is turning into one of KJ's favorite eateries (An Orange Scone and Apple Juice, please...). He got a Panera Gift Card from Santa, so on December 27th we decided to head down there and try the card out.

I can see this becoming a favorite winter-time ride. The distance is decent (9.5 miles) and for the most part were are not on any main roads. Plus we get a chance to warm up and eat before the ride back. Much better than staying outside in some cold deserted park.

KJ seemed to drag a bit on the ride down there. A couple of times I needed to remind him that he needed to pedal too! But as we were getting ready to leave panera and head back home, I noticed KJ was bouncing around, full of energy. So I told him it would be nice if he channeled some of that energy into his pedaling. Well, I got my wish! KJ kept up a wonderful steady pace for the entire trip back, most of which is uphill to one degree or another.

Christmas Day Ride

So much for a "white" Christmas. We weren't even close this year. Christmas Day was sunny and dry, with a high of around 45 degrees. So we decided on the next best thing, to go out for a bike ride. Of course, nothing was open, so we decided to just head over to Frick Park. Unfortunately, by the time we left, we didn't have any time to play there, since the sun was setting and we needed to be home before dark (and the temperature drop).


It wasn't that much of a ride, only 5.6 miles, and we weren't particularly fast. But this time of year, ANY riding is good riding.

A "Green" Christmas

"I'm dreaming of a Green Chiristmas...
Because I biked instead of drove..."


(My apologies to Bing...) It was the Saturday before Christmas, and I needed to finish my Christmas shopping. Unfortunately the wife is out with the car (we're currently limited to one car due to a busted water pump...). It is cloudy and 46 degrees out, so why not use the bike to get to the Waterfront (A former steel mill site converted to a shopping complex)? We hadn't been biking in almost 6 weeks, so I really needed to get back on the bike. With the expected traffic (the Waterfront has notoriously bad traffic problems) I thought it actually might be faster to bike instead of drive.

Using the bikes to run errands is something we have been doing a lot more of this year. With the price of gas and busy schedules, it just makes sense. Our neighborhood is in an excellent location that makes several different shopping areas accessible by bicycle.

So off I went on my "half-bike" (an early-nineties GT hybrid). I got a lot of funny looks from people in the stores, but I wasn't the only crazy out on his bike. A couple on a Cannondale tandem (with a BoB trailer on the back) passed me as I cycled into the Waterfront complex. Of course, we weren't as crazy as the old guy I passed when I was leaving, who was jogging barechested along the access road.

Happy Holidays to All, and a Happy New Year!

The Way It Could Be...

We spent Thanksgiving weekend visiting my mother in suburban Chicago. We didn't bring the bikes, because Chicago supposedly got snow the day before Thanksgiving, but there wasn't any snow, and the weather was sunny with a high of 45. Oh well...

I want to talk about this because Schaumburg Illinois shows the potential for bike trails. We think we have a pretty nice trail system in the Pittsburgh area, but it is trivial compared to what Schaumburg offers. Schaumburg has won national awards for their trail system.

Schaumburg is a high-growth suburb of Chicago, comparable to Monroeville or Robinson in the Pittsburgh area. The largest mall in the Chicago area is in Schaumburg (where do you think all the TV stations had their reporters on Black Friday?). When I grew up there it was mostly farmland, but now it is busy roads, strip malls, residential developments, business parks, and bike trails. A LOT of bike trails. 85 MILES of bike trails. In residential areas there are bike lanes on many of the roads. Main roads have a separate bike lane (like a sidewalk) that parallels the road. There's even several loops in a nearby forest preserve. You can literally get anywhere in the community by bike, plus the trails link with the bike trails in adjoining communities.

But it is more than just bike lanes. Developers are required to include parks and playgrounds in their developments, and these are linked by the trails. Businesses are required to include bike racks out front. Drivers are taught to respect the cyclists, and cyclists are encouraged to ride safely (we were once given free Slurpee coupons because we were using bike helmets). There are annual rides to encourage cycling in the community.

Maybe Pittsburgh will be like that someday...

Why Biking is Good for Someone with Autism

OK, so if this blog is about bicycling and autism, exactly what ARE the advantages of bicycling for someone with autism? The following list is something I came up with. It is by no means complete, nor is it terribly scientific. I should note that many of these also apply to typical children (as well as their parents).

It gets them (and you) out of the house We all know how easy it is to just stay inside and let our child play on the computer or watch television. Bicycling breaks the routine. K.J. is very much into a rigid schedule, but all I have to do is mention that we are going biking, and K.J. will stop whatever he is doing, and head to the kitchen to get our water bottles ready. I try to vary our route and trails, so we don't get into a routine for our rides either.

Physical activity Both from the exercise standpoint, and the physical therapy standpoint, bicycling is good for your child. I've been told that the repetitive pedaling motion is great. K.J. is a healthy looking 14-year-old, and I like to think that bicycling is a major contributor to that

Interaction with parents and other family members Bicycling is a family activity. It helps your autistic child feel like they are part of the family, and will also help typical siblings understand what "family" means. A long quiet ride is a great way to get some "quality time", just you and your child.

Interaction with the community and nature You're not biking in a vacuum. You child gets a chance to interact with your community and with nature (especially with trail rides). they will learn to interact with their favorite vendors (the local ice cream stand, for instance) and other trail users. Bicycling on a trail allows them to get closer to nature. K.J. like to count the various creatures we encounter (deer, rabbits, ducks, and even the occasional snake).

Bicycling stresses cooperation and communication This is particularly true of a tandem bike, but it also applies to other configurations. Climbing a hill or accelerating to pass others is most easily done when you are working together!

Sensory integration Learning to deal with a variety of stimuli, particularly in public situations.

Bicycling is fun! Duh! Almost forgot this one...

Two Outta Three Ain't Bad...

Sunday shaped up to be a perfect opportunity to cycle into dahntahn Pittsburgh. The wife was out all day, and I had both boys. The Steelers weren't playing until Monday night, so I didn't have to worry about game traffic. And the weather promised to be more of the glorious fall weather we had the previous two days.

Well, I got two out of three (cue Meatloaf...). The weather didn't cooperate. It was overcast and windy. Pretty miserable from a biking standpoint (especially if you're the one up front breaking the wind). It even started to sprinkle a little bit. The boys didn't complain, even though I heard some sniffles behind me.
We stopped at a new location for us, a place called "Tunnel Park" near the REI store on the SouthSide. I guess the name comes from the fact that there is a railroad tunnel running directly underneath the park. The park has a bunch of chess tables, and a huge chessboard in the center (I think there are large pieces somewhere, probably taken in for the winter). KJ decided it also worked for hopscotch.

Even though it was cold and miserable, it didn't prevent the boys from stopping for ice cream at Station Square. I didn't mind, because at least we could be inside for a bit and get warmed up.
Instead of the 18 to 24 miles I had initially hoped for, we only managed 12 miles. Although for this time of year, that isn't really too bad. That leaves us 62 miles short of our 1000 mile goal.

A Day OFF of School = A Day ON the Bike

On Friday KJ's school had an in-service day, so not wanting to let a beautiful fall day go to waste, KJ and I went out on the bike. Originally I had planned on a longer distance on a trail, but KJ had a busy day planned (haircut and an outing with his aide) so we finally ended up with a local trip to a park we don't get to as often.

The Children's Institute is a facility especially for special needs kids, as well as kids recovering from injuries. They have a playground that it adapted to those needs (ramps, special swings, etc) that is used for physical therapy, but it is also just a fun place to play! KJ's favorite activities are playing with the built-in tornado tubes (middle photo) and finding various rocks and sticks to push through the holes in the decking (bottom photo).

When all was said and done, we did a little more than 10 miles. We're now 74 miles short of 1000 miles.

Fall Riding

OK, so yesterday I was bummed because my planned 20 mile plus ride turned into a 5.5 mile hop. Today we had a chance to make up some of that lost mileage. KJ's usual Monday outing with his aide got canceled, and since I usually don't work on Monday evenings, we had a chance to get a ride in after KJ got home from school. We rode to a different park, referred to locally as "Blue Slide Park" (because of the long blue concrete slide built into the hillside), and officially known as the Frick Park Parklet. The Parklet is approximately a 9 mile round trip. We played for a bit, including KJ playing with the fallen leaves, before riding home as the sun set.

This time of year, with the sun setting sooner, and the weather getting cooler, there are some things a cyclist needs to do differently. Tonight we had our jackets stufffed in our bags when we left the house because it was still quite warm. But by the time we were ready to come home it had cooled off, so we pulled out the jackets before we headed home. Worked out perfectly, especially since the trip home has some long downhills that can be quite chilling. The other thing that came in handy was our flashing red taillight. If you are riding at twilight in traffic one of these things is a MUST. You can pick one up for $10 or less from Target or WalMart. I've even seen some that are built in to the back of a bike seat. Our particular unit is a TREK five-bulb model that offers 270 degrees of coverage, so it helps you to be seen from the side in addition to from behind. Handy when you are going through an intersection. It has settings for solid light, slow blink, and fast blink, and runs off two AAA batteries. Our TREK unit sold for about $24.

Sometimes Things Don't Go As Planned

A few days ago I started looking forward to this Sunday. The weather forecast was calling for a perfect day, and I anticipated being able to take a long (20 miles or more) ride with KJ and his younger brother PJ on a trail, pushing closer to our goal of 1000 miles for the year. Because of work and school schedules, Sunday is usually the only day of the week such rides are possible

My wife had a work assignment at 3 pm, and she wanted to do something with PJ in the three hours between when he got home from religious school and she would have to leave. I would need to be home at 3 pm so my wife could drop off PJ and head to work. This shot down any idea of riding on a trail, since that typically required 5 hours, and KJ also had religious school until Noon.

OK, so Plan "B" was that just KJ and I would ride from the house into nearby Squirrel Hill. I figured that if we didn't stop, we would get 11 or 12 miles ridden, and still be home by 3 pm. Not a bad ride, still double digits on the mileage.


KJ and I headed out, and after 2.75 miles passed Frick Park, a large public park that is a frequent destination of ours when time is limited. KJ signed he wanted to play in the park, rather than continue riding. Rather than make an issue of it, I headed into the park

At the point I was thoroughly bummed. My original vision of a nice long ride on a sunny day had been reduced to a short jaunt to a nearby park. KJ was content to have his snack, and then spend his time finding berries, branches and leaves to push through the storm grates (bottom photo).

About 15 minutes after we got to the park, we suddenly hear sirens, and three police cars come flying by, headed in the direction we would have gone had we not stopped at the park. Five minutes latter, a fire truck came by, headed in the same direction. Shortly thereafter one of the police cars came back and blocked the road so no one could head up that way.

Clearly there had been an accident of some sort on the road ahead. I don't know exactly where it was, and I don't know if we would have been involved had we not stopped at the park. But for once I was glad that things hadn't gone accrding to plan.

Oh, and by the way, our mileage for the year stands at 862 miles. 138 miles to go...

Our Current Bike

Our current ride is a blue and silver 2004 Raleigh "Coupe". In any given model year, Raleigh offers three different models, and the middle one is known as the "Coupe". Our Coupe is an aluminum-frame bike with 27 speeds, 26 inch (mountain bike) wheels and straight handlebars. We originally started with a maroon and silver 2002 Coupe that we purchased at the beginning of 2003 (saving some cash because it was "last year's" model). In 2004 the welds holding a small plate to the frame cracked, and Raleigh replaced the frame,with a 2004 frame. There were minor differences in the frame, the main one being there was room for a fourth water bottle cage.

The bike is pretty much stock. We added a rear rack, four water bottle holders, bent bar ends for both handlebars, and dual cyclometers (Planet Bike model Protege 8.0). Originally the bike came with a suspension seatpost on the rear seat (a standard feature for most tandems). I had to replace it with a solid seatpost when we added the hitch for my younger son's trailer bike. But KJ has grown so much that I can probably put the suspension seat post back on, and still have enough solid seatpost available to mount the trailer bike hitch.

The bike came with 26x1.95 Kenda tires, which are smooth in the center and have a tread on the outside edge. I replaced those with 26x1.5 inverted tread tires which ran faster, but gave a rougher ride. When those tires wore out I put the old Kendas back on. Along the way I replaced the original wheels with Bontrager Mountain bike wheels.

KJ absolutely LOVES this bike. When we first got it, I was concerned that our annual mileage (which was around 500 miles per year when KJ was riding on the trailer bike) would go down, because the tandem REQUIRES KJ to pedal (which isn't necessary with a trailer bike). What actually happened was the complete opposite. Our mileage doubled to 1000 miles per year, and has stayed at that approximate level ever since.

A New Milestone...

This past Sunday (October 7) was the first time that KJ actually ASKED to go bicycling without any prompting from us or any indication that I was planning to go biking. Unfortunately, I had a photo session planned for most of Sunday afternoon, so we didn't get out the door until around 5:30 pm. Enough time for us to bicycle to Frick Park, play for a bit, and then come home (5.5 miles round trip). It was fortunate that we went out, because our favorite ice cream stand near the park was closing for the rest of the year. So we had one last chance for KJ to get his usual Strawberry sundae.

For the year we are up to 838 miles. That's more than we managed in 2006 (810 miles), but my goal is to get to 1000 miles. So we have our work cut out for us. As long as the weather holds we should be able to make it.