Originally Posted by
WonderMonkey
Sure. Let's say that the kids manage to get into a carpool. Now the moms and dads of those kids also are going to the game, namely me and the wife. Do people car free simply don't attend the away games? When those games are at 5:30 or 6:00 it isn't always possible for your kid to be picked up or for the parents to get a ride as well.
As I move towards reducing my driving I'm just trying to figure out how far I can go.
How come you (the parents) can't get a ride also? I would offer to pay for the gas, or offer to pay to take the kids out for ice cream after the game. You might also encourage the kids to select some activities that are closer to home, and limit (but not eliminate) activites that are further away.
Personally, if I had young kids I would probably set up a cycling group in the neighborhood. It would be a lot of fun to spend Saturday mornings guiding your own kids and nieghbor kids on bike rides. Another possibility would be to set up bike races or even charity rides for the kids to participate in. You could include "training rides" as a weekly activity leading up to the races or the charity ride. The Boy Scout's manual for the Cycling Merit Badge is a great resource if you're interested in doing something like this.
What you're running into is the common problem that American institutions--even Little League and Scouts--are set up with the assumption that everybody is willing to spend a couple hours a day inside a cage. I guess there isn't a whole lot we can do to change that, besides encouraging the development of recreational facilities and activities that are close to residential areas.