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...