If you live in the Bay Area, you should consider biking with your kids. Like, right now.
I grew up in the deep South and recently went home for my high school reunion. I ran 5k while there and thought that I might pass out. It was just SO hot, even in October! I have very vague memories of riding in a bicycle seat when I was a toddler, and I honest to goodness don’t know how my parents did that. Was it in January?!
You may not be from a humid climate, but if you live in Silicon Valley, you’re likely to be spoiled by the weather. We’re in the perfect climate for outdoor activities and even knowing this I hadn’t considered biking with our kids in tow.
We have been blessed with two healthy kids. I got pregnant in August of 2015. Then again in August of 2017… and in that span my bike practically rusted over. In October, our dear friend stayed at our house for a couple of weeks before he moved abroad, and as a thank you, he tuned all our bikes and made mine usable again. I was so excited!! My good old Trek, purchased about 7 years ago from The Bicycle Outfitter, was in spit spot shape. PLUS, he installed the secondhand bike seat I’d impulsively bought following his wife’s urging that had been sitting in the garage FOR A YEAR.
A couple weeks later, my birthday plans went a little awry. I’d signed up to run Ragnar Napa, a 24-hour team relay run, and the day before the start it was cancelled due to the Kincade fires. I was so worried about the potential devastation of another beautiful area, I didn’t really care about making new plans.
As for biking, my goal was to have my bike ready to go for winter term so I could bike to campus and also to have an outdoor activity we could all enjoy together. But we still needed another bike seat! At the last minute, Facebook Marketplace alerted me that a seat was for sale. It wasn’t another Yepp Maxi but the Yepp Mini. I scrambled over to San Jose to purchase it. The next morning, I ran over to Sports Basement and grabbed a sweet little Nutcase helmet for our daughter….and we were off!!
Even if it’s not your birthday, you should definitely go for a spin with your family. You can check the city guide for the best routes to plan ahead. Easily enough, my husband is a long-time bike commuter and we could easily take off.
We loaded up the kids, and with my husband’s slim camelbak bag full of kid essentials, we took flight. Heading north, we crossed two freeways on the bike and pedestrain bridges and rode 9 miles each way to Shoreline. I had NO IDEA how many birds were along the Bay…and that it was a hunting zone! But don’t worry; no hunters were there. Just lots of birds.
With my daughter in front of me like a joey, we rode cozily. She became entranced and was quiet for the first couple of miles and then started saying, “Weeeeeee!” and around mile 6, she started singing, “Hap Burday yuyou.”
We reached Shoreline Lake, hopped out, and enjoyed a lakeside lunch. The kids ran around to shake off their bike legs, and then we strapped them in to head back home for naps. We were running a little behind nap schedule, and our daughter fell completely asleep after not even a mile of riding. I didn’t mind one bit having to bike home one-handed as she snoozed on my arm. With my husband and son behind me, and my sleeping daughter leading the way, there was no better way to have welcomed 39.
This was a BIG ride. We like to take shorter rides, too, which I’ll post about. Either way, I hope you’ll try family bike rides!
The Life So Valley 