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Bikes

Cargo biking, family cycling, bike touring and biking for transportation.

Child-size stuffed animal, Sleep Dog, works as pillow for leaning child in cargo bike next to field.

Training with Sleep Dog: First Long Ride with a Nap-prone Toddler

Sleep Dog worked hard. I had a particularly tough assignment for the large stuffed animal and I wasn't sure he was up to the task. I stood next to our bakfiets cargo bike, knelt down and asked my 16-month-old daughter Therese her opinion: "Are you ready to

natural tall grass in the foreground, trees in the background. Silhouette of large metal flower in the foreground.

The non-advice of my car-free mentor

I was nervous about giving up my car in Richmond, Indiana and heard that Wayne had been car-free for ten years. I invited him out to lunch to hear about his experiences. He accepted, but his experiences weren't what I expected. I braced myself for the horror stories.

How to find out if bike lanes will fit on your street for $25.

How to find out if bike lanes will fit on your street for $25.

There are likely roads in your own community that you suspect are already wide enough to accommodate a bike lane– They just need stripes to mark the lane. You can check road widths yourself by using a measuring wheel, found for about $25 on E-bay. A measuring wheel measures distances

Carrying a twin size mattress on a bike trailer behind an electric cargo bike.

How to carry a mattress on a bike

A twin-sized mattress can be carried on a bike by using the Bikes-at-Work Trailer. If you need a bike trailer just temporarily, you may get lucky and live a city where one might be rented or borrowed. Call your local bike shop to ask around. In the photo above, I

Why is biking not recommended on sidewalks, but is on multi-use paths?

Why is biking not recommended on sidewalks, but is on multi-use paths?

Plenty of bike advocates will recommend against biking on sidewalks, but at the same time will recommend biking on multi-use paths. Both are often next to roads and intersect with roads. So what's the safety difference between biking on a sidewalk on a multi-use path? Other similar bike

3 year old girl waits to cross a straight on a bike with her family. Baby brother is cozy in a bakfiets.

Better behavior when biking

My kids have consistently behaved better when we are cycling, whether they are three or thirteen. Even if we aren't getting along great at home, our bike trips together tend to go smoothly. Here's my parenting theory. Just as video games engage by providing a series

Bakfiets with car seat and stroller rides by a Model T car.

Wanting to get rid of my car was easy, committing to it was hard

I found myself driving my car a short distance to work because I had it. The car was easy. I drove it when it was very hot, or very cold, or very rainy, even though I could have walked or bike the same distance. In an “Aha” moment over cereal