Family Biking

It's been 6 days now since Evey and I began to locomote via bicycle, and I thought I'd offer an update.  Overall, it's been a great addition to all of our lives.  But there are some hiccups, too.

The first time I went to the park with Evey via the bike instead of the car, it was so much like when I took newborn her out for the very first time: there was so much I didn't think of, problems popped up all over, I learned a LOT very quickly, and it got substantially easier from there on out.  I sent Kevin the full list of issues and notes from that ride - I won't clog the blog up with all that, but trust me, it was long.

Riding with Evey is pretty intense.  The extra weight on the back does make the bike a bit unstable, though we'll be evening out the weight with a frame-mounted front rack and diaper-bag/pannier.  The extra weight also means it's a little harder to pedal.  Loading Evey in and out of the bike is also a little tricky, but just requires attention, focus, and some muscle to get the job done. While riding, we still talk, she still needs things, she sometimes tickles me and sometimes kicks me, though she is mostly very well behaved.

But the most intense part is simply that riding, sidewalk or road, is dangerous.  When you're car-driving with the other potentially unobservant, distracted car-drivers on the road, you've at least got the car around you to offer some protection.  When you're bike-riding ... your only protection is your helmet and your ability to avoid injury in the first place.  So, when I have my precious, darling child on the bike with me, my brain is constantly saying "We could die, we could die, we could die".  No, I'm not exaggerating.  I'm serious.  It's a charged experience, adrenaline surging and everything.  And I'm grateful every time we have both gotten off the bike uninjured.

So sometimes I think to myself, why risk this?  The following are things that come to mind when I think about why it continues to make sense to me:

• She and I both have fallen in love with being on the bike together. We're close, we're outside, the breeze is rushing past us, we can see the world together. Life is simple for a short time.
• While I can't change other drivers' behaviors, I trust myself to ride as safely as is possible.  I ride slowly, signal every turn or merge, slow down and check behind me at every intersection/driveway/etc, stop if I have any doubts, never assume cars can see me, study my routes before leaving and only take roads recommended for bikes, and so far have avoided riding in rain or low light.
• Things in this world are dangerous. Driving on the freeway is extremely dangerous. But we do it. 
• I like reducing our gas usage. Our new car is not nearly as gas-efficient as our old one, and in just the last 6 days, I've already saved around 2.5 gallons of gas.  Cost-wise, it would take a LONG time to make up the cost of our bikes and accessories. But I value reducing our pollution.
• It makes our community feel small, more our own.
• It's something Kevin, Evey, and I can all do together, is good exercise, and we all enjoy it so much.  
• Little errands are a journey, instead of just some task to complete.

My heart feels a little lighter when I think about riding my bike, especially because I'm close to my daughter and most times either riding with Kevin or riding to see the Emerle/Dunn clan (practically a family extension at this point).  I won't go so far as to claim it's helping me emotionally, other than insofar as exercise is helpful, but momentary lightness is worthwhile, too.

We decided last weekend that a tradition of going to Afternoon Delight early on Sunday morning would be a fun thing to add to our lives for a while.  And we decided after I purchased my bike that riding there would make it even better.  So tomorrow will be our first time doing that.  I think we're all looking forward to it.