Nostalgia is a Child Carrier on an Old Raleigh

Growing up, my parents rode matching coffee-colored Raleigh Sports roadsters that they purchased when they were in college (they still have them). And when my sister and I were very young, we cruised around in a rear-mounted child carrier on the back of one of those Sports. I have no memory of riding in that carrier, but I recall seeing my sister ride in it as I got older. It was a pale yellow plastic contraption, with foam pads in the seat and woven nylon seat belts. My folks were avid recreational bicyclists and bike commuters, and I imagine I spent a great deal of time on the back of the Raleigh enjoying leisurely rides around the neighborhood.

Ginger and I decided that, at 10 months old, our youngest has grown big enough to ride in a child carrier, so we went for a family bike ride last weekend. Ginger opted to haul the baby in the rack-mounted child carrier, as the tag-along trailer cycle hitch was already bolted onto my bike. Her Motobecane couldn't be used for carrying the baby, due the steel rack and prune box already on the back of the bike. That only left the '72 Raleigh Sports.

Baby's first bike ride! #cyclelikeastringer

A photo posted by Ginger Stringer (@gingerstringer) on Jul 31, 2016 at 4:28pm PDT

I attached the rack and child carrier to the back of the Raleigh, and was struck by fond memories of seeing that old yellow child carrier on the back of my parents' bikes. After all, my love of bikes can be directly traced back to early exposure to the joys of bicycling. And riding in that child carrier back in the early 80's would've been my very first exposure to bikes. I don't know if my kids will follow in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents and find a passion for bicycles, but if they do, I hope they think back to weekend bike rides and a funky plastic baby carrier mounted to the back of a vintage Raleigh as the source of that passion.

The Road Warrior Ramble

Got to go on today's Mother's ride with @mirda_inc. So glad I went. Kudos to ride organizers and the random photobomber.

Just when I thought our favorite brewery couldn't get any better, it went and started hosting some Sunday rides. Weekends are pretty busy for us, and I'm coming off a particularly busy season at the office so really all I want to do on my days off are laundry, grocery shopping and be with our kids.

Apparently I've done that every weekend for months because Cody conspired with Miranda, his sister, to get me out of the house "because I never do anything."

I'm so glad I went. I met up with Miranda at the brewery with just enough time to have a beer (a super nice guy put the first $100 on his tab so we got a couple for free!) and hit the road. We opted for the 10-miler since she was recovering from a couple of longer rides and I haven't been on my bike in forever. It was a beautiful day, a friendly crowd, a leisurely pace and an all-around excellent experience. I'll do it again, no arm twisting necessary.

The day I had to keep going

As far as cold bike rides go, today's could have been way worse.

I'll be the first to admit my unabashed wimpiness when it comes to the cold.

As soon as the heavy coats come out I just can't handle it anymore. It's too much for my little hands and my ears. And since I'm the one who takes the kid to school in the morning, why should he be cold so I can prove to myself that I can really tough it out by biking?

So it should surprise no one that I've chosen driving over cycling every day since this season's first real cold snap.

You can imagine my despair when we found the car wouldn't work one day last week.

I had a moment. Like, maybe 10 seconds there where I rested my head on the steering wheel, closed my eyes and gathered myself. And then the little guy and I just loaded up and biked in. Simple as that.

I closed the cover on his trailer and gave him a blanket, but he didn't complain. Not even one time.

The only surprise: My ass got really, really cold. Anyone else's ass freeze on extremely chilly bike rides? Even with extra layers? Lordy, that was unexpected.

Also, the only thing wrong with the car was the battery. Simple fix.

Sunday Joyride

Ginger and I were scheming about going for a bike ride on Sunday when I got a message from my sister asking if we'd be interested in going for a ride. I took it as a sign that it was the right thing to do. We loaded up our bikes and drove down to the South Creek Greenway for a leisurely ride through town. The weather was killer - a perfect early fall day. We started at the trailhead at National and Sunset and rode the 2.5 miles down to the pedestrian bridge that spans Kansas Expressway. Then we turned around and came back, for a total of 5 miles. The boy had a blast. And 5 miles ain't bad for a 4 year old riding a bike with 16" wheels and training wheels.

The best way to spend a birthday

Yesterday I turned 31, but it's okay because I got carded when I went to the store for beer.

It's also okay because I was the recipient of many, many kind birthday wishes from the people in my life.  Plus, Cody gave me a GoPro.

Cody also proposed that we go do something fancy, but all I really wanted to do was check out the Frisco Highline Trail and play with the new toy. Our friend Kenny joined us, and we had a great time.

It was only about six miles from Springfield to Willard, where we decided to turn around because that's where the pavement stopped. It was a quick ride, too quick really. We did our best to prolong it with pit stops for refreshments and snacks, but we were on our way back to Springfield in less than 45 minutes.

I discovered the best way to extend a day on the trail: Fall off your bike.

I was messing around with the new camera, and my front wheel went off the right side of the pavement. I tried to jump back on, but crashed instead. I scraped up my shoulder, both hands, both knees and broke a toe nail in half.

Kenny dashed on ahead to beg for first aid supplies from the Willard City Pool.

Cody later described my birthday wreck as epic.

Epic indeed.

Gettin' judgey

The local newspaper has this daily feature called Roses & Thorns, a space where locals can write in kudos or complaints about whatever they want. This is what was published a few days ago:

Now, I'm not young anymore. And our kid is no longer a baby. But she could have been talking about me! I bike our boy to school almost every day. In a trailer.

What this Giver of Thorns fails to understand is that the woman she saw was probably not biking for recreation. That many people rely solely on their bicycles and their feet for transportation. That motorists - however careful those drivers might be - also share the road with inattentive drivers. That pedestrians also have to watch for distracted drivers.

Inattentive drivers are a danger to us all.

We Stringers understand that not everyone is comfortable transporting children in a trailer. We get it. Really. It took us a long time before we were comfortable bringing the Little Dude on bike rides. But we are committed to helping normalize nonmotorized transportation. We want to see more people getting around town by bike. And we want drivers out there to get used to seeing us.

Really, we just want to share the road.

What can we do to protect ourselves from dangerous drivers? Look both ways before crossing the street. Wear our bike helmets. And fasten our seat belts.

Stringer bike date

Cody and I hired a sitter and went out on a bike date. Yay! We rode around downtown to take pictures. This flea market, the STD,  is as delightfully shady as you imagine. I hope they still have those wonderful wicker chairs I spied in there (hands off, Springfield. I have big plans for those).

How great is this mural? We work across the street from each other, and both see this every day. Downtown's buildings are full of great old art like this. It's one of the things I love about this city. Why, though, is Cody standing like that?

It's because I asked him to stand near the World's Biggest Turd. This photo doesn't even do it justice. Freakish, it was.

I tried to sneak some behind-the-back photos while we were riding. I was not as sneaky as I thought I was.

Anyway, we biked around some more until we found a rolling pub crawl. There was a great deal of awesome, including this Frankenbike.

So much about the group was amazing. We rode with them for a bit. Riding in a group of around 50 strong was so unexpectedly wonderful. It made me miss our Sunday Joyrides. We didn't really know anybody, but we did get to talk to some very nice people, who all seemed like old friends, which always makes for a fun atmosphere.

One of the places we went did not have adequate bike parking so some of the riders got creative. This, we liked.

Anyway, we eventually split off from the group and met up with a couple of friends at a sweet little place called Skinny Slim's, where I had the most delightful Old Fashioned. It was easy to spot my date in a crowd.

When we went outside to show my new bike box off to our buddies, and found a smoker's empty in my rig. Awesome.
Anyway, we do not often get the chance to have a night out together. Now that we've found a great sitter, we hope we can make this a more regular activity. Maybe, with more awesome and less littering.

Look at this adorable child

Our kid was so excited to go on a bike ride. We dragged him to a couple of flea markets earlier in the day. He was so good, and was really looking forward to this ride - our first family bike outing since moving to Springfield.

As soon as Cody assembled the trailer, the little dude wouldn't stay out of it. He even tried putting on his helmet by himself. Adorable, right? We were in for the easiest bike ride ever, right? Right?

Wrong.

The moment I strapped him into that trailer he started crying. "This will pass," we told ourselves, "He cried a little bit the very first time we put him in the trailer. That fuss only lasted a few seconds."

This fuss wouldn't stop.

The tantrum escalated. We only made it six blocks before circling around and going back home.

We plan to take the kid on more frequent rides as the weather continues to warm. I'll let you know how it goes.