May, Flowers. Photo Roundup

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May was a month that saw the blooming of so many things! So many, many, many, manymanymany things! All at once! In less than one week:

Tyler and I signed a lease for the future home of our new bike shop,

G & O Family Cyclery!

Wahooo!

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The lamp which hangs over our entrance. It is in Greenwood. 

Aaaand! This kid was born!

Awww!

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Cute, right? We'll call him "Baby Oil," here on the blog. I wonder if he's thinking about cargo bikes yet? 

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The Oil Family, today.

So, now we have two small Oils! Little Oil is delighted to have him, as are Lady Oil and myself. Obviously, blogging may be light for a while. I do have a lot of things I'd like to talk to you about:

  • how it feels to become a Pedal Parent of two,
  • when we imagine we'll be getting him on a bike,
  • why I've started scolding drivers again, and what Little Oil has to say about that,
  • how things are going with the new shop,
  • and all the other posts I had in progress before this momentous week.

We'll just have to see how much time I can find for blogging. I miss you! Meantime, here are a bunch of photos from the last month. Enjoy!

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When Little Oil was born, our friend L-Train presented her with this fantastic quilt. Some eagle-eyed readers spotted it in the background of the post on naps and asked that I share a better pic. Nice, right? When Little is ready for her first fixie I am going to paint it to look just like this one.

Now that the shop and my growing family demand all my time, I finally concluded my many years at Bike Works. This is sad. :( And also joyous! :)

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One thing I noticed over my last few months in the Bike Works shop was a massive increase in cargo-biking Pedal Families in South Seattle. This cool Pedal Papa with his G1 Kona E-Ute, for example. It was a little busted in the electrical side of things. I hope he's gotten it fixed, cause his family deserves a sweet ride!

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This adorable father-daughter team in a lovely Bullitt were nice enough to pause for pictures.

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Pedal Papa with Chariot on Lake Washington Blvd.

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Another neato bike, spotted at Bike Works. It's an electric assist Huffy! A Hill Topper, installed by LionTail.

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Cool DIY dad carries his young teenage daughter onboard this custom modified rack. We talked Xtracycles, but they are pretty happy with the $15 solution they came up with themselves.

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Speaking of DIY Dads. The original came back to Bike Works on one of my last days. He's revamped his erector set seat and mounted it on a very robust looking Schwinn frame with an integrated, heavy-duty rack that I failed to photograph. Trust me, it looks boss. And DIY as frak.

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This Pedal Papa and Passenger are rocking a front seat I've never seen in action before! It looks great for littler passengers. I cannot, for the life of me remember the brand. Anyone recognize this?

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The same blue Bullitt as before, this time ridden by my friend, Shirley! She is awesome, writes a blog that you should read. She wrote about her impressions of the bike here.

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Here's Tyler putting together our first bike sold! A fantastic cherry-red Larry Vs Harry Bullitt, equipped with BionX E-assist and a cushy seat for the passengers. The family who got this bike are super-cool. I'll do a post on them and their bike as soon as I am able.

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Tyler, with Little Oil and his oldest, Frances out on our shop Bullitt. It is green, fast and has amazing hydraulic disk brakes. It is the nicest bicycle I have ever ridden.

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Here's Tyler again, with Wheelio, my Xtracycle. I include this because they both look so damn good!

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Speaking of Wheelio; I just innovated this simple solution for carrying coffee without installing a permanent cup holder. A toe strap and my basket! It works pretty well. Drink still sploshes out a bit.

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Better than the alternative. Little always finishes my coffee! Here she is pointing out these nasty grips. She really wanted to share this picture with you.

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The brassiest brass bell I ever did see.

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I think I was given eyes by my creator simply so that I could spot and celebrate odd cockpits on strangers' bikes. I live for this.

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Another occasion for bike repair innovation! A fancy cork handlebar plug broke off as I was installing it in my new solo bike and I reached for the most logical tool for the job.

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Family bikes on Capitol Hill! I see this sweet ride on Broadway most every day. Yepp seats are quality.

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So are BoBike seats. This one was parked in front of Central Coop.

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This gorgeous WorkCycles Omafiets! I just met it's rider online, she seems like a pretty fierce Pedal Mama! 

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The cousin of that last Dutch bike. I think this one is a Secret Service. This guy was hauling ass up 10th Ave to Capitol Hill. He says he goes a little slower when his kid is riding on the back.

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May was Bike-To-Work Month, which in Seattle means that you can eat free bagels and ride with the Mayor at least once a week, if you want to. Mayor McGinn is a really nice guy, and great with kids.

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It is hard to believe that May Day was only one month ago. Cargo bikes are great for taking kids to marches and protests. Some can be a little unwieldy when you are traveling at a walking pace, but the EdgeRunner is very stable. And the ability to contain the kid and to split whenever you want is really a boon.

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May was a big month.

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Many changes.

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More to come!