Many Happy Returns

All good things must come to an end sometime, and so we have returned home from our visit with my husband's family in Ireland. I have quite a few bike-related photos to share from the trip, but first I want to report the news from today: My bike buddy is back! Daughter rode her bike today for the first time since her foot injury on May 1! After two and a half months of Sever's disease, Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, bruised toes, crutches, a walking boot and physical therapy, she finally felt confident enough to ride her bike to the library this morning. We discovered her bike needed a little physical therapy, too:
Flabby tires need to get pumped!

As we pulled up to the bike rack outside the library, another mother and her two young sons arrived on bikes. I was happy to see that someone else had discovered the bicycle solution to our library's notorious parking space shortage (about 10).


Later in the day, Daughter requested another bike ride to the farmer's market to buy her favorite cinnamon scones from the bread stand. How could I say no? After dinner, she suggested riding our bikes to the convenience store for milk. No problem! Looks like someone has rediscovered her bike love.

It's good to be back.

A Sweet Ride

On Saturday we took our first trip by bike to the Italian bakery just a half mile down the road. That is, it's a half mile as the crow flies or the car drives, but on a bike (especially with a child), the safest route is twice the distance. We certainly didn't mind taking the long way round through the neighborhood streets behind the busy main road, but most people would choose to take the car, and here's why:

This crosstown street has one lane of traffic in each direction with a center lane for turning and absolutely no shoulder. Only the most experienced cyclists take the road here. The sidewalk starts at the edge of the road, with not even a grass buffer zone between the curb and sidewalk. One false move and you are in the direct path of traffic. On the other side of the sidewalk is a series of parking lots for the businesses that line both sides of the road. Approximately every ten feet, the curb is cut out and the sidewalk slants as a driveway to the parking areas. To continue on a level path, a pedestrian or cyclist (as children and their parents are permitted to ride on sidewalks), must constantly zigzag from sidewalk to parking lot, avoiding parking space bumpers, raised planters and property dividers, while keeping an eye out for vehicles entering and exiting the road. No wonder there are rarely pedestrians on these sidewalks, despite the number of businesses. We have taken this sidewalk route by bike once or twice before, but it is not a pleasant ride nor much faster, due to the obstacles and changing surface.

The township is currently working on a plan to improve the appearance and traffic flow of this area, but is running into opposition from business owners who fear that any change to their parking areas could mean a substantial loss of business. I hope they can find a compromise soon and get working on it. We need more green here in every sense of the word. (Looks like a job for Jan Gehl!)

At this point, I have taken the long way round to report that we rode our bikes to the bakery on Saturday, so I will finish quickly.

Decisions, decisions.
I'll have a snickerdoodle, please.

The goodies went into my basket, and we took the long way home.

Supermarket Park It

Make-do
Make-believe

Okay, more than likely the riders of those six bikes were visiting the REI store to the right of the supermarket (as I was). Nearly every time I’m there, I see a bike or two parked outside, which is not surprising since the Schuylkill River Trail is nearby, but there isn’t a bike rack anywhere. This small shopping center got a makeover last year, but I guess nobody thought of adding a bike rack. Maybe I’ll ask someone at REI about it after the holidays when they have time to chat. Or maybe I’ll send an email since that worked wonders in my town. In the meantime, maybe Santa will leave that Playmobil bike rack in my stocking. It’s so small!

Good things come to those who bike

This is National Education Week, and our school has planned many activities involving the parents. There are opportunities to observe a lesson in your child’s classroom, or join them for a special event, such as today’s Thanksgiving Lunch in the cafeteria. With parents coming and going to school throughout the week, parking is scarce at all times of the day, not just the usual drop-off and pick-up times. Naturally, I chose to ride my bike to today’s lunch date. When you have a terrible habit of always running late, it doesn’t make sense to waste time looking for a parking spot and walking blocks to school when there is an empty bike rack waiting for you just outside the door. The ride to lunch was a special treat itself because a snow shower kicked up just as I got on my bike. The unseasonably cold weather has been hovering just above and below freezing all week, with winds adding an extra bite, but today was calm and the pedaling kept me warm. It was exhilarating to be on my bike, riding amidst the snowflakes, instead of sitting in my car watching them die on the windshield.

Dead snowflakes

The kids were disappointed that the snow had stopped during lunch, but as they went out for recess, the snowflakes magically reappeared. My daughter and her friends held their breath while trying to get a close look at the beautiful crystals on their coats and gloves.

Live snowflakes

They waved as I rode away from the playground, and I could tell my daughter regretted taking the bus today after arguing that it was “too cold to ride our bikes”. I think we’ll both be hoping for more snow tomorrow.