michcabby

So we're moving to the city, and would love to downsize from 2 cars to one. Walking and biking with baby in trailer would be our main mode of transportation. We will be taking every last safety precaution, and I'm an experienced rider.

Wondering if there are any other biker mamas who also rely on biking to get around? And any tips/advice for someone just starting out on this exciting journey?

wahoonc

There are several on the forums here, hopefully they will chime in. Which city? Some are better than others. There are also several blogs out there of families with children living car free.

Aaron

michcabby

Thanks for the response, Aaron! I'm glad to hear there are others. I haven't had much luck finding any other than the news story of the Portland mother who bikes with her 6 children. If you remember the name of the blogs you mentioned, please do let me know!

michcabby

Oh, and we're in Seattle, relocating to Tacoma.

FedericoMena

Michcabby, THANK YOU for trying to reduce the number of cars on the road. Try the Commuting forum in this site; there are many people there who can give you advice.

wahoonc

I will get you a blog list tomorrow, just got in from a loooong day at work and can't see straight.

Aaron

wahoonc

Blog List, I am sure there are several others out there, these are just the ones I am aware of. There are also several mom's that post on here occasionally.

• Girls and Bicycles
• Carfree With Kids
• I Dream of Bicycling
• Ding Ding Let's Ride
• Suburban Bike Mama

This should get you started, some of them have not been updated in a while, however the information is still there in the older posts. I have another list somewhere but can't seem to locate it at the moment.

Happy Reading! and make sure to keep us updated!

Aaron

michcabby

Thanks, I'll check it out!
I think it's so important.. I'm hoping that having my little one grow up behind a bike will show her how one can live simply and fully without a vehicle

michcabby

Awesome!! Thank you for taking the time.. I'll check them out!

Kindacrunchymom

Hi there! I'm a mom of two expecting my first cargo bike on Tuesday! I just joined the forums and have been blog searching myself. We are going to be using a Yuba Mundo with a Yepp Mini seat for my son and the Yuba Monkey Bars on the back for my daughter. I'm excited to lower our car use, while I don't think we will be car free any time soon I do expect to be seasonally car light as much as possible. Hopefully we can both get the hang of biking around the kiddos as quickly as possible.

michcabby

Yay! Glad I'm not alone
I'm a little nervous, I know there will be challenges, as biking is sure not as comfortable or convenient as a car can be. But the thought of going green, and saving hundreds every month is quite appealing

Best wishes!

anon06

I grew up in a one-car household, so it's definitely doable; I thought it was the norm, anyway, a generation or two, ago. The downside was that I wasn't able to join any school clubs or sports programs because my father wouldn't have been able to pick me up from school, due to his employer sometimes wanting him to stay late.

michcabby

Thank you for sharing! There will always be a downside to not having the convenience of a car. We hope that since we live smack in the city, we'll be close enough to everything that we can get where we need to by bike, or bus if absolutely necessary.

Ekdog

Good luck to you! What kind of bike and trailer do you have? How old is your baby?

michcabby

Thank you!
We just bought a second hand kidarooz trailer/double stroller since I also run. Little one is almost 11 months and loves being outside, I think she'll have a blast! The tricky part is considering how this arrangement will work if a baby #2 comes along. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there!

Roody

There are dozens of options for schlepping little ones with bikes. There have been several threads on the topic that might interest you.

michcabby

Thanks! I've tried googling but haven't found much. Those blogs Aaron shared are extremely helpful!

anon06

Maybe this will also help; I searched "one car household" on Dogpile, a multiple search engine, and found several articles and blogs with comments from people with children who downsized to one car.

FedericoMena

People here who commute regularly with their children will have a much richer experience to tell you about than the following, but still...

Last summer my wife, 5-year-old daughter, and myself spent a month in Vancouver. Both of them were taking English courses; I was vacationing and then off to a conference. The first thing we did was to sort out the bike situation - we got two cheap, used bikes, fitted a used child's seat on one of them, and then we used them nearly every day to bike to school. And even within those very few weeks of riding, my daughter and myself developed an incredible bond. She LOVED to be wheeled around, backpack in hand, cramped as it was (she was slightly bigger than what the seat really allowed, but it was okay). She even fell asleep during the commute once, which my wife and I thought was the cutest thing in the world.

Anyway - this will be a fantastic experience for your child. Best wishes, and best of luck

(It's quite unfortunate that we can't do the same thing here in Xalapa. The route to school is too dangerous with cars. Maybe when my daughter grows up and we can tandem or something...)

wahoonc

I will have to admit it has been a looooooong time since I had small children around. My "baby" daughter is 28 years old. I used to ride my two around in a Canonnondale Bugger... the original one from the 70's However having a vested interest in any transportation other than the single occupant vehicle I have tried to keep up to date with a what other people are using and doing to make it work for them.

I am constantly impressed with the versatility of the the bicycle and the people that use them.

Aaron

Roody

I didn't raise carfree kids, but I have had my grandson visiting or staying with me for most of the past five years, since he was ten. We have had amazing fun together on our bikes. He has been able to outride me--both speed and distance--for at least a year now. I have been careful to minimize riding in traffic, but I think this year he will be mature enough to ride on busy streets, as long as my son or I are with him.

Riding with kids is a different experience. They aren't real good at steady riding. They usually like to ride "fast" for a while and then stop and do something else. My grandson still cannot pass a dog without stopping to pet it. When younger, he couldn't pass a bench or ledge without "resting" for about 30 seconds. He also had a disconcerting habit of stopping to talk to people who were drinking stuff out of paper bags on the river bank.

I found (with him and friends' children) that bribes can work very well--especially food. "We have to hurry or they might run out of your favorite kind of ice cream." "Let's keep going, your mom's probably ready to serve our dinner." "If we make good time we'll be able to stop at the playground on the way home."

Amazingly, kids can put in a lot of miles on a bike, if you're patient and persistent. We were doing 16 mile round trips to the beach the summer he turned 11.

I really hope that he will remember our adventures together when he's my age and has grandkids of his own.

My grandson also liked walking with me but now at 14 he claims he is "too lazy" to enjoy walking. He still loves the bus, and that's how we've always traveled when longer distances or traffic are an issue. I remember our first bus trip when he was little. He stood in the front of the bus and said, "Hi everybody, my name is B------ and this is my first time ever riding on the city bus." Most of the passengers chorused, "Hi there B----, we hope you have a nice ride." Ah, the friendliness of the Midwest!

michcabby

That does help- thank you!

michcabby

Thanks for sharing, sounds like you have some fond memories of biking with your grandson

michcabby

Right now we have a kidarooz double, I feel ok lugging little one around in it. She wears a helmet that she hates and I avoid busy streets.

michcabby

Thanks for sharing! I'm from Vancouver- great city to bike in! Best wishes in xalapa