Category Archives: Biking

Lately

Posted on May 23, 2013 | 1 Comment

Last week ended on a bit of a down note, with some not-so-great news that set us back in our plans to buy a longtail cargo bike.  We’re somewhat back to the drawing board and once again weighing options on that front.  Had that not happened, I might have been out and about on a sweet new ride this morning.

As it was, we headed out on the trusty BUB plus IBert front seat combo for a nice visit to the Botanical Garden.  It was a bit chilly, but in a good way — definitely not complaining, especially with scorching summer heat right around the corner!

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After visiting the sheep, we continued on to the raccoons.  He discovered them on our last garden visit, and they’ve quickly become a new favorite.

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Backtracking a bit, we all spent Saturday at the garden, arriving at 8 a.m. and not leaving until almost five (Sir and me).  Someone else stayed until almost seven!  ‘Tis the danger of a commuter garden and a number of consecutive rainy and/or ground-too-wet-to-work Saturdays.

I forgot the camera, but we really whipped things into shape, with tons of weeding followed by mulching with decomposing leaves from the compost pile.  I was a bit of a slacker, choosing the less-tedious, more instant gratification tasks of weeding and mulching the fennel and potatoes.  I just couldn’t face the four by a million foot onion and leek bed, filled with tiny onion and leek plants which were easily outnumbered by weeds — props to Matthew for his work here!

Sunday found us tired and sore, so we started the day with a low-key family ride to the park.  Sir attempted to walk down a slide (or some such), and did a number on his face, which is surprisingly well-hidden in the above photos.  Later in the morning, we headed out to brunch with cohousing friends before returning for a lazy evening.

In addition to regular daily “stuff,” I’ve been packing for Sir’s trip to Florida.  He leaves tomorrow and we’ll be apart for NINE whole days!

Tonight marks the end of our twenty-two-and-a-half month breastfeeding journey (more on food and weaning in an upcoming post) — definitely bittersweet that it’s coming to an end . . . .

That about wraps up the last week, so I’ll catch you later!

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Posted in Biking, Garden

Bike to Work Day

Posted on May 17, 2013 | 4 Comments

The last Bike to Work Day when I actually biked to work was probably May 2009, which predates this blog.  The past three years, I worked a Monday through Thursday job, and the official “day” is always a Friday.  It would have been a moot point anyway, since I traded my bike commute (when almost everyday was bike to work day) for a car commute when I took that job.

Anyhow, despite the lack of a job to bike to, I did enjoy the opportunity for a nice morning bike ride to a refueling station at least one of those years.  Tomorrow morning’s plans don’t include being out and about early enough to visit one of the stops, but we’ll be on our bike later in the day.

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Going to the playground is a hard job, but somebody’s gotta do it!

Where are you riding today?  Or where have you ridden this week?

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Posted in Biking, Cuteness

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Longtail comparison: Yuba Mundo, Kona Ute, and Surly Big Dummy

Posted on May 14, 2013 | 2 Comments

I’ve been drooling over longtail cargo bikes for more than a year now, and, with Sir close to outgrowing the IBert, the time has come.

Over the past few months, we’ve done our research, comparing the options and doing some limited test riding.  I created this table to aid in the comparison process.  We eliminated the Big Dummy fairly early on, given its sticker price and lower load capacity, hence the incomplete column.

Kona Ute

Yuba Mundo

Surly Big Dummy
Base price $1300 $1250 $2400-2600
Weight 35+ lbs 48 lbs
Max Hauling Cap. ??? 440 lbs (+rider) 400 lbs total
Bags X $129 (x2)
Toddler seat $230 $169
Fenders X X
Front-wheel stabilizer X X
Side loaders no X
Disc brakes X $100-$250
Kickstand X X

An “X” indicates that the feature is included in the base price of the bike.

The Ute comes in an 18″ and 20″ frame size.  At 6’2″, Matthew was comfortable on both.  I rode the 20″ MinUte and found it fairly comfortable, although I wondered if I would have felt a bit more stable on the 18″.

The rear wheel on the Ute is larger than that on other longtails, meaning that the load on the rear rack has a higher center of gravity.  I’ve read some complaints about this making the bicycle difficult to handle, particularly for shorter riders.

The Mundo frame is one-size-fits-all riders from 5′ to 6’5″.  I met a local Mundo family, but so far our efforts to set up a test ride haven’t worked (their bike needs a new wheel and some other work to be ride-able).  Unfortunately, there are not [yet] any Yuba dealers in St. Louis.  The closest dealer is two hours away in Columbia, MO, so we have yet to test ride a Mundo.

Since longtails are a rarity around here, our chances of finding a used one of any kind is practically zero.

Despite it feeling a bit like flying blind, since I’ve never ridden either the Ute or the Mundo (or any other longtail, for that matter), we’ve decided to take the plunge.  So, any guesses which bike we’re picking?

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Read more longtail reviews (from people who’ve actually ridden them!) and check out some other cargo bike options at the links below:

Cargo bike pocket reviews
Loaner bike: Yuba Mundo v4
We ride: Our Fleet
Joe Bike — Cargo bikes

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Posted in Biking

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Mother’s Day weekend by bike

Posted on May 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

This year, we moved our Mother’s Day celebrations to Saturday to accommodate some Sunday gardening.  We enjoyed beautiful weather (sunny and 60s) all weekend long.

We started with a bike trip to Tower Grove Farmers’ Market.  Given the size of our garden, farmers’ market trips are fairly rare for us these days, more so for Matthew and Gabriel, who usually spend Saturdays at the garden, so being there as a family, soaking up all of the beauty that is local, small-scale produce, was a real treat!

We purchased asparagus and rhubarb in quantities to freeze, and then I headed to the playground with Sir, while Matthew biked a little farther for some goodness from La Pastisserie Chouquette: a bourbon pecan sticky bun and an almond and cheese-filled [pastry] pillow, shared three ways.

On our way home, we chose “the road less traveled [by bicyclists],” continuing south on Kingshighway (a major north-south arterial in StL, two lanes each direction with a center turn lane) for most of our return trip, rather than diverting to smaller neighborhood streets after using the bigger road for a short stretch, as is our habit.

It’s not what I’d do every time, but for duo biking, it worked like a charm, and was much more pleasant than our route on the way there.  Plenty of space for us and other road users, two stops at stop lights as compared to over ten stop signs . . .  what’s not to love?

As we neared our turn, we heard a honk (the only honk we received in over a mile).  I would have thought nothing of it, shrugging it off as a the proverbial “territorial barking dog motorist,” but the man pulled up next to us with his window down and very sincerely praised our good work “claiming the lane.”  Talk about a great end to a lovely bike outing!!!

After a low-key afternoon (and blanching and freezing the asparagus), Matthew made a special dinner — spanikopita, using pie crust (super light and flaky thanks to his pastry chef skills!) instead of phyllo dough.

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I enjoyed some solo time on actual Mother’s Day, which included two more bike rides.  I once again had a nice interaction with a motorist, when, stopped at a light in the through lane, the woman in the minivan in the right turn only lane next to me rolled down her window and very politely said that she just realized she was in the wrong lane and could she get in front of me.  Why, yes, and thank you for asking!

‘Twas a weekend of abundant good, weather, good spirits, and biking!  Hope your weekend was lovely as well.

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Posted in Biking, Food

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Friday facts

Posted on May 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

First up, if you haven’t already, check out Her Green Life’s snazzy new Facebook page.  I’ve resisted creating one for awhile, but I decided to give it a trial run, as another way for you to stay up-to-date on posts here.  Simply “Like” the page to stay in the loop!

Employment, or lack thereof
I’ve now been unemployed for over nine months.  Unlike the results of nine months of pregnancy, nothing special happens after nine months of being unemployed.  However, if we did have a fourth family member, we would qualify for food stamps on our one-job income.  Interesting, no?  (But definitely NOT incentive to have another child!)

That said, I have a job interview on Monday — fingers crossed!

Sir’s summer
Regardless of what happens with the interview, Sir will resume part-time child care starting sometime in June.  It’s something I’ve been pondering for awhile.  It should be good for his social development and my sanity.  The hardest part for me is giving up control of nap time, meals, etc.

Prior to that, Sir will travel with Baba (grandma) to Florida.  It’s bittersweet because I’ll miss his first time in the ocean, but it means I’ll have over a week child-free!  Look for some long-overdue posts that I’ve been meaning to write.

In the garden
The cooler, rainy spring means slow growth for most everything.  Our pea plants (snow and sugar snap) are quite stunted, and, in general, most everything (other than the weeds) is behind given the cooler, rainy spring.

However, after a crazy weeknight gardening blitz, we have seventy, yes, 7-0, tomato plants in the ground.  Grow, babies, grow!

Two-wheeled report
And, last, but certainly not least, sometime in the next few weeks, I’ll be embarking on an exciting bike-related project, as well as a new phase in my bike-commuting journey.  Stay tuned!

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Posted in Biking, Garden, My Life