A Very Vernal Photo Roundup

Hello and Happy Winter's End, Dear Reader! Here in Seattle, end the winter did! The sun broke! The flowers bloomed, the fair weather cyclists took to the streets and every park was filled with slacklines and devil sticks! It was a wonderful spring! And it lasted about four whole days. This week we are driven back into darkness and rainpants. But fear not! Now that our appetites have been whetted by a single sunny weekend we are sure to see an increase in cyclers on the roads and fun events about town for Pedal Parents and Pedal Progeny and Pedalers in general!

(Like, for example the Pedaler's Fair itself. Coming up on April 20th and 21st. Bound to be a blast!)

Anyhoo, here are some recent photos I offer as proof that the spring did come, and as reassurance that it will come again.

Playing in the Park

"Me and Papa on Gogo the Edgerunner" by Little Oil, the most talented three year-old alive.

Okay. I can't lie to you. I gotta come clean right here that I drew that and it just looks like Little did. Still, cute that she requests drawings of us on our bike.

Spotted on Little's sneakers. "Oilily" would be a good nickname for one of my kids. "frogs on the highway" would not.

This place has been empty for a long time but the adorable sign remains.

Spotted In the Wild: Many Cool Bicycles

Hey, isn't that that Nihola Trike from a long ago Spotted in the Wild post? Gosh, what a cute cargo bike.

This dashing gentleman is local animator and cycler-about-town Webster Crowell.

In addition to this handmade wooden porteur crate, Webster also hauls serious cargo (crates of seltzer water for his seltzer by bike business) using a cuctom Haulin' Colin trailer. I'll try to get you pictures.

Speaking of DIY, I added these clips to Little's seat and eliminated the Napping Child, Dropped Blankie issue for no dollars and no cents.

Spotted in the Wild; a great looking Bilenky Chuckwagon.  This is a cool design for a cargo hauler. Like a Long John or Bakfiets, it uses a steering coupler and holds large cargo in front of the rider. Unlike those bikes, the load is up above the front wheel, which means it is held above the center of gravity.

That makes the bike potentially less stable under heavy load than it's rock-solid cargo bike cousins and less ideal for passengers. However, it also shortens the wheelbase and makes for a very sporty cargo bike. The Chuckwagon is a favorite of cycle couriers. And my friends Russ, 20/20 Cycles and Swift Industries have all used one as their "company truck."

I like this bike.

Also Spotted in the Wild; Jenifer from Loop Frame Love's new Kona Minute! I love this fabulous new color for Kona's fabulous midtail.

Same day. Spotted in the Wild; Alyssa's totally hot Breezer stepthrough Xtracycle.

Alyssa and her hubby made this attractive wooden seat for two. She says the seat being mounted right to the frame is more stable than a Yepp seat mounted to an adapter, like we use, since it is lower down and flush with the deck. I buy that.

Also note the oven mitts attached to stoker bars. They are handwarmers for Alyssa's Pedal Passengers.

AND the seat in the front folds down for when the kid in the rear is riding solo! I love convertible and transformable bike stuff! SO cool, Alyssa!

 Here is Little Oil taking the set-up for a spin. She approves of this cargo bike.

Gendered, As A Rule Revisited

Gendered, As A Rule follow up number one. "text me!"

Gendered, As A Rule follow up number Two. Yeah, this bike is really called the "Rage Thruster!" I don't make this shit up.

The Easter Cargo Bike Ride

Most major holidays Little and I can be found riding bikes with a real nice bunch of folks, the Seattle Cargo Bike Rides! Cargo bikes are not required on these rides but they are appreciated, to pace the ride at a leisurely speed and to haul the food for the traditional picnic or barbeque finish. Good fun.

The ride to the ride left from Cal Anderson park.

The actual ride met at the fountain near the Olympic sculpture park late on Easter morning.

There were a couple of other families on the ride. We spent a little while talking with these two. They are riding a BionX assisted Surly Big Dummy with Hooptie and cute flowers. Nice!

The Easter Bunnies came along, which was nice.

At Gasworks Park, the Society for Creative Anachronism was bashing each other with swords and shields.

And Little Oil took part in her first Easter Egg hunt. She loved it! Thanks for setting that up, Gypsy!

Xtras

I generally stay away from the preachy, preachy Berenstains, but this book is hilarious.

Little insisted on posing with Goldfinger, the golden Sears Totecycle, after I was done working on him in the driveway.

Ditto with Booberry the Blue Raleigh Twenty. Cute! Little Oil, little bikes!

"Got sleep?" Yes, yes we do.

Playing In the Street, With Friends

Went for a ride with Tyler and Frances...

Shared some bike love.