Low Car Life

A few comments from concerned citizens

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:39:00 GMT

A few comments from concerned citizens

Chad Cannfield, Columbia, MO - We are traffic. As a driver and daily bicycle commuter I understand the issues. Their is no excuse for a motorist to willfully endanger another person with their vehicle. Do that at home on your Playstation. Better yet, Dust that old Huffy off in your garage and go for a ride.

Jessie Lawson, Columbia, MO - I am so sorry that you and Max were endangered. These careless--and sometimes aggressive--drivers must learn to be more mindful of others, be they cyclists, pedestrians, animals trying to get across the street without being killed, or even other drivers who are trying to abide by the speed limits and other regulations. I have to say that there are a lot of really disrespectful drivers in Columbia. Hooray for the cycling Overshiner family!

Andy Heaton, attorney, Washington DC - I would just add to this great note that even if a driver feels that a cyclist is doing something wrong, the driver should keep in mind that in the event of a cycle-car collision the driver of the car will almost always be found to have been at fault. So if you're tempted to "teach the cyclist a lesson," bear in mind that it may not work out so well for you -- even if you are theoretically right, which you probably aren't since most drivers are not well versed on the road rights of cyclists.

John Yarborogh, Austin, TX Not to mention the fact that in the event of said collision, the cyclist will more than likely be injured or even killed, helmet or no.

Here's to safe cycling for adults and children in COMO. Erica, Jamie, Violet, and Marley Kroll. Columbia, MO

Virginia Mueller, Columbia, MO - You really said it beautifully, Gina and Max. For most of us this really is the perfect time of year to start thinking about how cars and bikes and pedestrians are all out there together (most of us aren't as dedicated about riding in all kinds of weather as you all are). I'm so sorry that you two were harassed like this, but it looks like some good awareness can come of it. Thanks for pursuing this in such a reasoned way! I hope MO 486-NNP and all the drivers who put others at risk with their carelessness realize how frivolous their delay really is compared to the lives they put in danger.

I am dismayed by aggressive drivers. So many of them are simply on the edge.....in a rush....angry....and uncaring. They are the epitome of a country that hurries everywhere. Take some deep breaths please, and think about how awful you would feel if you hurt someone. The Overshiners are careful cyclists and wonderful caretakers of the earth. Teresa VanDover, Lee School Principal, Columbia, MO

Jody Shomaker, Columbia, MO - This drivers road rage is truly a misguided act toward good-hearted , law-abiding, planet-loving, self-respecting folks.
This senseless act of aggression could have very easily resulted in a much worse outcome.
When motor vehicles and bicycles collide, the cyclist always looses.
We all make mistakes and nobody is perfect. Hopefully through dialogues such as these we can all learn to share our resources a little better.
We are all traveling from here to there and everywhere.
Please, Let's show some basic human compassion to our co-travelers.

Mary Furnesse, Columbia, MO- Well done, Gina and Max...I sincerely hope that this driver, and others, take note and understand the importance of sharing the road. Good for you for reporting this, and taking a stand. Even if nothing was done, there is a bureaucratic record, and if it happens again, with the same car, report it again...a pattern will be established with this particular driver, and hopefully some notice will be taken.

Bonnie Cassida, Pastor, Columbia, MO - Glad neither of you were injured, but pissed that it happened without the driver getting the opportunity for "education." This area is also a school zone- making it so wrong on yet another level! Thanks for reporting, sharing, and continuing to bike in spite of it all.

Ginger Bradshaw, CA - I stongly support the rights of Gina, Max, and all biclyclists everywhere to share the road with all other types of vehicles, wheelchairs, and pedestrians: safely and with respect for one another. At it's core, this is about recognizing the value of each and every human life.
Riding in a college town (Ft Collins, CO), I saw the other side of the coin: many young cylclists routinely ignored traffic controls and safe riding practices, endangering themselves, other cyclysts, and drivers. This behavior fed the ire and prejudices of drivers, but of course it doesn't excuse nasty, dangerous retaliation.
I'm so glad Gina and Tim are working with cyclists to teach them how to keep themselves---and ultimately all of us---safer on the road. Riders must be law-abiding on the road and set a good example for the less enlightened among us. You are also to be commended for providing that example daily.
In this as in all things, we must 'be the change we wish to see in the world' (Ghandi)

Louiseann Routledge, Columbia, MO - How fortunate to have been given grace to not have hit our precious school friend, Max and his adorable mother, Gina. You have been given a gift. May you be grateful and joy-filled for all of this positive care and concern. You are a very fortunate dude. May you be at peace and pause to smell the roses that life has to offer you everyday.

Ashley Levanway Brown, Memphis, TN -My husband's an attorney and said that is a clear case of assault and couldn't believe the police wouldn't get involved, especially with a minor involved.

Esther Stroh, Columbia, MO - This is scary. To think someone wold endanger anyone - but especially a child- in this way is outrageous. Usually I worry about distracted cell-phone chatters, but purposeful, hostile behavior such as this should be ticket-worthy (aggressive driving, failure to yield right-of-way) or worse, regardless of where the offender lives

Gina and Max's letters to the driver

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:36:00 GMT

My name is Max Overshiner. You stopped in front of my mom and me, while we were going down Broadway. I ride my bike to school every day and ride it almost everywhere, and people are usually more kind. Even if they aren’t they only ever yell, "GET ON THE SIDEWALK". They never try to make us crash. I hope you don’t do this again, it could get you in jail. Just to let you know, Mom called the C.P.D.

Sincerely,

MAX OVERSHINER

Hello,

My name is Gina Overshiner. On Thursday, Feb 19, 2009 at 3:45PM, your aggressive driving endangered my ten-year-old son and me, while we were riding our bikes home from school. I would like to take this opportunity to share some things with you.

I am a 42-year-old mother of two. I am active in my children’s school and my community. My husband and I have a small remodeling and renovation company, which we own and operate as a bicycle-based family business. I believe in working to make our community and our world a better place to live. Towards that end, I paint art, improve homes, grow gardens, and ride bikes. I have some successes of which I am proud and lots of failures, which I am trying to improve upon. I am not an obstacle; I am a human being.

My children and I use bicycles as our primary means of transportation and have done so for the past several years. We prefer bicycles to cars for many reasons, the primary reason is that it’s fun and empowering to get where we need to go under our own power. On the first day of this school year, my ten-year-old son made a commitment to ride the seven miles to and from school every single day regardless of the weather. So far, we have met that goal riding in sleet, snow, rain, and sub-zero temperatures. By the end of this year my children will have ridden over 1,300 miles…pretty impressive for a ten-year-old and an eight-year-old, don’t you think?

As part of our commitment to make our community a better place to live, my husband, Tim, and I are both Licensed Cycling Instructors with the League of American Bicyclists. We both work part-time teaching cycling competency classes and giving educational talks in our community. We work to teach people to use active transportation and to foster good car-bike relations. Due to my work with cycling education and advocacy, I am familiar with the laws regarding cyclists and their rights to the road.

On Thursday, 02/19/09 at approximately 3:45PM, you harassed and endangered my ten-year-old son and I, as we were riding home from school. Not only was your behavior frightening, threatening, and harassing, it was illegal and potentially dangerous. The accompanying description contains full incident details and list of legal infractions.

Unfortunately, the police were not able to do much about this, lucky for you. I have shared this information with friends and associates throughout the state. This incident has started an active discussion regarding the protection of cyclist safety. Hopefully, it will underscore the importance of making it illegal for motorists to hassle, endanger, or threaten cyclists and pedestrians. I will continue working with the Columbia Police Department, city council, Missouri Bicycle Federation, and State Law Makers to ensure that this type of reckless behavior towards cyclists is no longer tolerated.

In the future, I hope that you will be a bit more tolerant of cyclists and pedestrians. I hope that you will have a little patience and exercise some restraint if someone slows you down for a minute or two. Remember, we are not obstacles; we are human beings, just like you.

If you would like to discuss this matter further, my phone number is 573.268.9751.

Thank you for your time.

Best, Gina Overshiner

Cyclists harassed by motorist

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 02:33:00 GMT

02/19/09//3:45 MO 486 NNP– Thursday afternoon, my ten-year-old son, Max, and I were riding home from school. We turned left on to Broadway from the Office Depot parking lot and headed west up the hill toward Garth. Since we were moving slowly, we were traveling in the right most lane. Per state law, we were taking the lane, which is not only the legal bike position, but the safest place for us to ride given the situation. While working our way up the hill, a car came up behind us and chirped its horn. Instead of passing, which the driver could easily have done since the left lane was lightly trafficked, the driver stayed directly behind us and chirped his horn twice more as we entered the school zone and approached the Garth intersection.

The light was green and the car followed us through the intersection. As soon as we cleared the intersection, the driver pulled out to pass. The left lane was completely clear, but the driver passed approximately 8 inches from my bike, so close that he almost caused me to lose control. After passing us, he pulled immediately back into the lane in front of Max and put on his brakes suddenly, forcing Max and I to quickly apply our brakes so we didn’t run into his car. At this point, I was terrified and scared for my son’s safety and my own. I yelled, "We have a right to the road. A------." He then proceeded to drive so slowly in front of us for a block and a half, that Max and I had to keep our brakes on to avoid hitting his car. He pulled into the normal flow of traffic near McBaine and was gone.

When I arrived home, I called the police to report the incident. I spoke with PO Turner, #1985, at 4:11PM. PO Turner took my statement and informed me that he would see what he could do. At 4:34PM, PO Turner called me back to say that he had run the plates and found that the car was registered in St. Louis, with no local address. He further stated that the police would be on the lookout for the driver, if they saw him they would pull him over and talk with him. Despite the fact that he broke traffic laws and used his car in a threatening manner, nothing else could be done. So unless he hurts someone and gets caught, there will be no repercussions for his hostile and threatening behavior towards my son and me.

The following laws were broken by this driver’s aggressive behavior.

Overtake Bicycles at a Safe Distance – RSMO 300.411 & 304.678 – The operator of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on the roadway, as defined in RSMO 300.010, shall leave a safe distance, when passing the bicycle, and shall maintain clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle. (2) Any person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of an infraction unless an accident is involved in which case it shall be a class C misdemeanor.

Riding to Right, Required for Bicycles and Motorized Bicycles – RSMO 307.190 – Every person operating a bicycle or motorized bicycle at less than the posted speed or slower than the flow of traffic upon a street or highway shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as safe, exercising due care when passing a standing vehicle or one proceeding in the same direction, except when making a left turn, when avoiding hazardous conditions, when the lane is too narrow to share with another vehicle or when on a one-way street. Bicyclists may ride abreast when not impeding other vehicles.

The following is from the Missouri Driver’s Guide:

When you are passing, give motorcycles a full lane width. If possible, give a full lane to bicycles and mopeds, too. Do not squeeze past these road users. The bicycle is generally a slower moving vehicle and this may require you to slow down. Wait for a clear stretch of road before passing a cyclist in a lane too narrow to share.

Note: Safe passing distance is generally defined as 3’-5’ between the vehicle and the cyclist being passed. Safe distance between the cyclist and the curb, is generally considered as 1.5’-3’ depending on the road conditions. The traffic lanes on Broadway where the incident occurred are 9’6" wide…too narrow to share with a car. Thus, my son and I were taking the lane as is advised by MO State law. The left westbound lane was lightly trafficked during the whole incident and completely empty when the driver passed us, leaving more than ample room for him to give us safe clearance while passing.

Assault in the Third Degree – RSMO 565.070

565.070. 1. A person commits the crime of assault in the third degree if:

(1) The person attempts to cause or recklessly causes physical injury to another person; or

(2) With criminal negligence the person causes physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon; or

(3) The person purposely places another person in apprehension of immediate physical injury; or

(4) The person recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death or serious physical injury to another person; or

(5) The person knowingly causes physical contact with another person knowing the other person will regard the contact as offensive or provocative; or

(6) The person knowingly causes physical contact with an incapacitated person, as defined in section 475.010, RSMo, which a reasonable person, who is not incapacitated, would consider offensive or provocative.

3. A person who violates the provisions of subdivision (3) or (5) of subsection 1 of this section is guilty of a class C misdemeanor. -

Making the Shift: A Guide to Commuting by Bicycle

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:50:00 GMT

Making the Shift: A Guide to Commuting by Bicycle

Little epiphanies: Sharing some little moments that made a big difference in how I get around my life.

Food is fuel. When I was twelve, I was riding my bike to friend’s house when it dawned on me, "Milk Duds and vanilla Coke make good fuel for this vehicle." I’ve been hooked on bikes (and chocolate and caffeine) ever since.

Make driving your bike as easy as driving your car. Heading out the door one morning, car keys in hand, I stopped and wondered, "Why do I take the car, instead of my bike?" This started me thinking. The car was really easy and it was always in good repair. All I had to do when I wanted to go somewhere in the car was get the keys and go. When I wanted to take the bike, I had to drag it out of the basement, air up the tires, and find my helmet. That day, I got my bike out of the basement, aired up the tires, and parked it next to the front door with the helmet hanging from the handlebars. Making my bike just as convenient to drive as my car was a huge step in changing my transportation habits.

Start with a small radius and work your way out. While training for an adventure race, I decided that I would use my bike for all trips within a five-mile radius of my house when I was traveling alone. I decided that I would only go in a car if someone else was driving and they were already going that way anyway – no special trips to drive me somewhere. This really opened my eyes to how much is within five miles, or one mile or two miles, of anywhere. I found myself riding to classes at the University, the library, the movies, downtown, friends’ houses, the video store, the post office, and on and on. By adding a rack, panniers, and a messenger bag, I was even able to do a lot of our grocery shopping. I was amazed by how easy it was once I got started.

My way is not the highway. While living in St. Louis, I realized that for every major road/highway that I traveled on, there are lots of roads that parallel the major roads. These parallel roads have surprisingly low traffic density, because most of them have low speed limits. I also noticed that traffic is surprisingly light during most of the day, especially between 10AM and 3PM and after 6PM. This opened up a new and wonderful world of cycle commuting in St. Louis, of all places. I rode all over town with my two small children in a bike cart. We enjoyed gorgeous architecture, found lovely little pocket parks, discovered unusual shops and restaurants, and developed a keen understanding of the city and its layout that I never would have gained driving my mini-van down Hwy 40.

When you can’t change your situation, change your attitude. As with life, some days on the bike are better than others. Riding with my kids has taught me that your attitude can take you a hell of a long way. One day, Max, Annarose and I got caught by surprise in a cold rain with no rain gear or jackets. As we rode home, Annarose told me "Mom, I’m changing my motto to ‘It could always be worse.’" I told her that was a good way of looking at things. She continued "You know what I like about riding in the rain?" I admitted that I didn’t. She told me "I don’t need to tuck in my pant’s leg, because the rain makes my pants stick to my legs." I chuckled in agreement. She continued jovially "No one could tell if I peed in my pants, and it would make me warm if I did!" All I could do was laugh. It was cold and wet and could have been really miserable, but with the right attitude most anything can be a fun adventure. It’s all in how you look at it.

Bike Maintenance: Make your bike as easy to use as your car. If the brakes went out on your car, or you got a flat, or your transmission went out, would you just leave it in the garage or would you make it a priority to have it repaired? It should be the same with your bike. If something goes wrong, fix it right away.

-Good condition Keep your bike in good operating condition. If you haven’t ridden it in a long time, have it tuned up. A good tune up will cost you around $45, about as much as a tank of gas for a sub-compact car.

-Accessible and ready Keep you bike easily accessible and ready to go with your helmet, lock, and other necessary gear close at hand. This will make it just as easy to hop on your bike and go, as getting in the car.

-ABC Quick Check A quick pre-ride check will help ensure a properly operating bike and a smooth ride.

Air – Check tires for proper inflation. This is best done with a tire gauge. If no gauge is available, squeeze the tire, it should be hard and unyielding. Look the tires over quickly for signs of wear and/or foreign objects caught in the treads.

Brakes – Grip both brake levers tightly, push the bike forward, the brakes should hold the bike. Try each brake individually, each brake should hold the bike. With the brake levers pulled in, there should be a thumb’s width between the lever and the handlebar. Look at the brake pads. They should be in good condition with no cracking or glazing. There should be plenty of rubber above the wear lines. The tire rims should be clean to ensure proper braking.

Chain, Cassette, Chain rings, Cranks These elements make up your bike’s drive train. They should be clean and in good condition. The chain should fit snuggly with no excess slack. It should shift smoothly. To protect your drive train and get the most out of your bike, the chain should be kept clean and properly lubricated. Wipe the chain clean, apply one drop of lubricant to each bushing, rotate the chain by back pedaling, and wipe off excess oil. An overly lubricated chain will attract and hold dirt, which will shorten the life of the chain.

Quick Check all quick releases to make sure they are tightly fastened and pointed back so as not to catch on anything.

Check Take a short ride to ensure all components are working properly together.

Further Education Flats are the most common type of bike problem. Learn to change your tires and always carry a spare tube, a flat kit, and an inflator (mini-pump or CO2 inflator). Bicycle maintenance is pretty simple, intuitive, and fun. Take a bike maintenance class, check out a book on the topic from the library, or check out the internet and/or youtube for loads of helpful information about how to work on your bike.

Bike Safety: Knowing how to control your bike in all conditions is your best and most basic safety tool.

Properly Maintained Bicycle A properly operating and tuned up bicycle is key to safety.

Properly Fitted Bicycle A bicycle that fits properly is easier, safer, and more comfortable to operate. Proper bike fit helps you get the most efficiency from your efforts and helps you avoid sport-related injuries.

Properly Fitted Helmet, Properly Worn 85% of cycling related deaths and disabling injuries are the result of head injuries that could be avoided by wearing a properly fitted helmet. A helmet that does not fit properly will not protect you in an accident.

Properly Illuminated Bike According to state law, and common sense, your bike must be equipped with a white, front bike headlight and rear red-reflector or light. You should never ride in low-light conditions – night, dusk, dawn, fog, overcast, rain – without proper bicycle lights.

Bike Safety Skills

Always maintain control of your bike. 50% of all bike crashes are the result of falls, which result when a cyclist looses control of the bike.
Practice stopping and starting your bike with control.
Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles. Cyclists have the same rights to the roads as drivers of automobiles, this means we also have the same responsibilities. Obey all traffic laws…stop and wait your turn at intersections, signal your intent, ride in the same direction as traffic, ride as far to the right as is safe and practical.
Learn emergency avoidance techniques to help avoid crashes should you find yourself in a dangerous situation.

A last word on safety The number one killer of Americans between the ages of 3 and 33 is car crashes. Over 43,000 Americans die in car crashes every year. The number one killer in this county is heart disease, which is associated with sedentary lifestyle. Many other deadly and debilitating diseases are associated with sedentary lifestyle, as well. These include diabetes, obesity, many cancers, and depression, among others. Commuting by bicycle works exercise into your life everyday, everywhere you go. When thinking about safety and risks, make sure you are looking at whole picture.

Route Selection: Think outside the car. For every heavily trafficked primary road, there are many parallel roads going the same direction. Learn your town, you will be amazed by how many beautiful ways there are to get around.

In short, with a little imagination and adventure, you can get just about anywhere easily and comfortably by bike.

Weather Issues: When you can’t change your situation, change your attitude.

Many folks are put off by cycling in less than perfect weather. When talking to people about bike commuting, I invariably come up against lots of "Yeah, buts" about weather. "Yeah, but what if it rains?" "Yeah, but I’ll get sweaty." "Yeah, but it’s too cold." "Yeah, but it’s too hot." "Yeah, but. Yeah, but. Yeah, but."

It’s true: sometimes it rains, sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s cold, sometimes it snows or sleets. A big part of dealing with it is dealing with it. As my daughter, Annarose told me one day as we were riding home in a soaking driving rain "Mom, I’ve decided my new slogan is ‘It could always be worse.’" A huge part of all weather riding is your attitude. That said, start in your comfort zone and slowly expand it.

Thankfully, there is lots of gear out there to help you with a wide range of weather conditions, which brings us to…

Clothing and Equipment: Think ahead, be prepared.

Outfitting your bike for commuting –

-Lights – You must have properly working lights on your bike to be legal and safe. White headlight on the front, red reflector/light on back.

-Fenders – Fenders help keep you dry and comfortable in less than ideal weather conditions. Fenders keep you from getting a road grime stripe up your back and they keep your feet and lower legs dry. Fenders also protect your drive train, brakes, and frame from road grime.

-Bell – A bell is a pleasant, friendly way to warn people of your presence.

-Coffee Cup Holder – A most civilized way to enjoy your morning coffee on the way to work, especially nice on cold mornings.

-Cycle Computer – A fun way to keep track of your speed and all those miles you are riding, saving the earth and natural resources.

-Lock – Locks are a must for bike security. There are many types available. I prefer combination cable locks, because I don’t have to carry a key and I can lock up to most anything.

-Racks – As a commuter, you will invariably need to carry stuff; racks allow you to carry stuff on your bike. Rear racks are the most common, front racks are available if you really want to carry lots of stuff.

-Panniers – Panniers are like saddle bags that mount easily on your racks. There are many, many types of panniers available in a huge range of prices and sizes. You should think about what you will want to carry, and choose panniers accordingly.

-Trunks – Trunks are usually smaller than panniers and sit on top of your rack. They are generally for holding small loads of stuff that you want to have with you most of the time.

-Milk Crate – Milk crates are cheap, spacious, weather resistant and easily attached with zip ties.

-Bike Carts – Bike carts allow you to carry/pull child passengers or haul large loads of stuff. They come in many sizes and shapes.

-Tag-a-longs – Tag-a-longs are designed to carry slightly older children who are big enough to hold on to a bike and pedal a little bit. They help kids learn to ride while staying close to mom or dad.

Outfitting yourself for bicycle commuting

Safety: Helmet, Gloves, Glasses, Bright Visible Clothing.

-Helmet – Always wear your helmet.

-Gloves – Can help protect your hands from abrasions in case of a crash or fall, pad your hands for comfort, and keep them warm in cold weather.

-Glasses – Help protect your eyes from bugs and flying debris, as well as rain, snow, and sun.

-Bright visible clothing – Bright colors help drivers see you, which keeps you safe. A safety vest is a good idea and can be worn over any type of clothing.

Comfort and convenience:

-Rain gear - There are many types of rain gear available for wet weather riding. My personal favorite is a combination of fenders, which keeps water and dirt from getting thrown up on you, and a rain cape. Rain capes are big in Europe, not so much here. A rain cape is a specially designed poncho to keep you and your bike dry in rainy weather. It allows for air circulation so you don’t get all sweaty like in a rain suit.

-Cold Weather Gear- Your body generates a good deal of heat as you are cycling. I recommend dressing in layers, so you can adjust your clothing as your body heats up. The real challenge lies in keeping hands/fingers, feet/toes, and ears warm. The best gloves I have found for commuting are insulated hunting gloves that came from a large discount retailer. They kept my fingers warm through the most extreme cold, way better than the expensive cycling specific gloves that I wasted money on. Keep your toes warm with thick warm socks and wind resistant shoes/boots. Always cover your ears with a stocking cap or head band under your helmet.

-Messenger bags – If you don’t want to fit your bike with racks and panniers, you can carry stuff on your body with a back pack or messenger bag. My favorite is a Chrome bag. I have experimented for years with messenger bags and Chrome is the best one I have found, hands down.

Yeah, but...it's just so dangerous. Isn't it?

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:16:00 GMT

I started riding bikes with my kids when they were very young. I took Max for his first ride in the Burley cart when he was six months old. I strapped his car seat in the cart and off we went. When Annarose was born two years later, Max moved up to a co-pilot seat mounted on my bike, and Annarose rode in the Burley. She rode her first Critical Mass in the Burley cart at the tender age of 2 months while Max rode ‘up front’ with me. For over two hours we wended our way through the streets of St. Louis with over 50 reveling cyclists. Ironically, she didn’t cry once during the entire ride, but when I would try to put her in the mini-van, even on short trips, she would scream and howl. The child-bike configuration evolved over time as we moved through developmental milestones. Now Max and Annarose are 9 and 7, respectively, we live in a different city, they are on their own bikes, and we still bicycle most everywhere most everyday.

We lived in south St. Louis City when I started hauling my kids around by bike. We’d go to playdates, friends’ houses, the zoo, the Science Center, the farmer’s market, just about anywhere within a 5 mile radius of the house, by bike. St. Louis is not known as a bike friendly town, though it has improved a lot in past years, thanks in large part to the work of the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation. When the kids and I arrived by bike, I would occasionally be met with concern and disbelief. "I can’t believe you rode that far." "Isn’t that hard with the kids?" "Isn’t it dangerous hauling your kids around town by bike?"

While I understood and appreciated their concern for our safety, it was a bit galling that they thought I was putting my children in danger. I would patiently explain that bikes are not inherently dangerous, and that if you know how to ride properly, cycling is very safe. I would point out that to get to the zoo, for example, they had driven on Highway 40 or I-44 where cars were driving approximately 70 mph and they had probably been on the road with hundreds of speeding cars and semi-trucks. While I rode on residential streets where the speed limits never exceeded 30 mph and were rarely over 20 mph. I would rarely see more than ten cars on any of my trips from home.

Living in an auto-centric world, it is easy to forget that the main thoroughfares are not the only ways to get about in life. In a car, people usually take the busiest, fastest, most heavily trafficked streets. That’s what cars are about, getting you there as quickly as possible with the fewest stops along the way. What we forget in our auto-centricity is that multiple quieter, less heavily trafficked, and usually prettier, streets parallel every major thoroughfare. So when I head out on my bike with my kids, we are not heading to the biggest busiest streets that are primarily used by car drivers, we head to the quiet little streets that parallel the big thoroughfares through local neighborhoods. Places where most drivers don’t want to go, because they have slow speed limits and lots of stop signs.

A few facts to keep in mind when making the choice between your car and your bike for your next trip.

Over 43,000 Americans are killed in car accidents every year. That’s like the entire population of Columbia (my hometown) being killed every two years in car accidents. Car crashes are the number one cause of death in individuals between the ages of 3 and 33. Do you know anyone who has been killed or hurt in a car crash? I have several friends and relatives who have been. (These statistics are from the NHTSA – National Highway Transportation Safety Administration).

The number one killer of Americans is heart disease, which is very closely tied to a sedentary lifestyle. In study after study, regular exercise has been shown to help decrease the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, several types of cancers, depression, obesity and many other diseases. More and more children in our society are becoming overweight and susceptible these types of diseases, because they don’t have enough activity built into their lives. Bicycling, instead of driving, makes your transportation your exercise, enriching and extending your life while greatly reducing your risk for many types of diseases.

So the next time you tell yourself or someone else, "biking is just so dangerous", make sure you are looking at the real risks.

Why do I do these things to myself?

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:51:00 GMT

03/20/07 - Why do I do these things to myself?

"The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart." ~Iris Murdoch, The Red and the Green

It was 4:30am on March 20^th, Max’s 10^th birthday. I realize this will make me sound like a terrible procrastinator, but it’s really not all that bad. I had been thinking and planning for a long time. However, past experience taught me that kids are apt to change their minds, a lot.

In this case, the original plans were to fly to Grandpa’s house in Texas for Spring Break which Max started talking about the day he turned 9. However, as his 10^th birthday approached, the plan changed to a birthday party at Flips. The next plan was a sleepover birthday party with three friends. Finally he decided he wanted gifts and dinner with the family. At the last minute, he decided he wanted me to make fruit pizza to share with his class at school. Making purchases too long in advance invariably ends in returning things as plans change…so, at 4:30am on March 20^th, I headed to the store.

My plan was to run out for birthday groceries, then go to Target later in the day to pick up the presents. Heading out the door, I thought ‘I may as well take the car, it’s kind of cold…not that that matters. It’ll be quicker…yeah, right. I will have more room to carry stuff…I can carry 8 2x4 studs and tool bags on the xtracycle – how much room would I need for birthday presents, really?’ What was I thinking? I don’t exactly know, but there you have it. I stepped out the door with car keys in hand and driving on my mind.

It was a crisp gorgeous morning, the sky a deep midnight blue with an indigo halo surrounding a spectacular full moon. I almost decided to just hop on the bike right then. A little voice said ‘Nah, just take the car it’ll be quicker.’ Listening, I got into the Subaru and started the engine. I looked up, I couldn’t see out of the windows; they were covered with frost. Crud! I turned the defroster up to high and got out of the car looking for an ice scraper. All the time thinking, ‘Geez stupid, just get on the bike!’

I found the scraper and started working on the windshield, it didn’t do anything as the frost wasn’t all that hard…too hard to wipe, to soft to scrape. Resigned, I got back in the car waiting for the defroster to do its work. As I sat in the idling car waiting, I felt colder than I remembered feeling in ages.

There are few things in this world colder than a cold car. You are surrounded in this little box of cold metal and plastic waiting for the heat to come and warm you. Space is limited so you can’t generate your own heat by moving your body. Even if you could, you wouldn’t feel warm, because it wouldn’t be sufficient to heat all the frigid metal and plastic that surrounds you. You are forced to wait for the car’s heater to do that for you.

There I sat in the idling car freezing and shivering, peaking at my bike through the tiny line across the bottom of the windshield that had been cleared by the defroster. Thinking, ‘Good gravy, if I’d just taken the bike, I would already be at Broadway and Stadium, less than a mile from my destination. I would be warm from the effort and feeling great from the exercise. But here I am sitting in the car shivering.’

Of course, I could have gotten out of the car at anytime and hopped on my bike. But by this point I was consumed by morbid curiosity trying to understand our car-consumed culture. Most people do this every morning and think I’m crazy for riding my bike everywhere. What gives? I was like a person who sees a horrible car accident and wants to look away, but can’t. So I stuck it out.

I sat waiting for the defroster to do its work. I thought of the gas I was burning at $3.09/gallon, the noxious fumes I was dumping into the environment, and all the extra time I have to work each month to earn the money to pay the car payments, insurance, gas, and maintenance costs, for what? For the privilege of sitting in my driveway freezing my butt off?

Finally, the windows were sufficiently cleared and I was able to leave my driveway. Had I taken my bike, I would have been there already.

I arrived at Hy-Vee and looked across to Wal-Mart. I don’t normally shop at Wal-Mart. I am just not a fan. There are all the standard reasons that pseudo-intellectual white people have for hating Wal-Mart. Ultimately for me, it was a series of really negative shopping experiences(moldy grapes, electronics that worked for less than an hour, clothes that wore out in 45 miutes, rude unaccommodating salespeople, wandering through aisle after aisle of junk unable to find what I need, long checkout lines...I could continue, but you get the point) that finally made me swear off Wal-Mart for good. Well almost for good, every year or so, something will come up that makes me go to Wal-Mart for some reason. Being optimistic by nature, I always think maybe it will be different this time.

As I was approaching Broadway and Fairview, I thought ‘If I go to Wal-Mart and get the gifts and the groceries now. I won’t have to go to Target later. That’d be nice.’ So against my better judgement, I turned into the Wal-Mart parking lot. Maybe it’ll be different this time. I said I was an optimist, remember?

My first mistake was parking by the north doors; they are locked until 6am. I walked over to the south door, right next to the bike rack…oh the irony. Walking into the south door, I was met by the greeter – for lack of a better word. He was not the kindly elderly person in the ugly blue vest that meets you during regular business hours. This was a big t-shirt clad gum smacking scary looking guy who glared at me with arms crossed over his chest challenging me to steal something. I smiled meekly and said "Hello". He just continued to glare at me smacking away on his gum and grunting what I assumed was a greeting. I should have turned around right then.

I headed to the toy department in the deep recesses of the store. On the way there I passed several cardboard cut-out Nascar drivers smiling down at me in their sponsor ladden jumpsuits leaning on their gleaming cardboard cars. This is really weird. I turned a corner and jumped as I came face to face with two huge WWF wrestlers tearing their shirts off promising to pummel me from their poster rack. I finally made it to the toy department. They didn’t have one of the Lego sets I needed, and the other two were five dollars cheaper at Target. Strike out number one.

I thought about just leaving at this point, but the thought of passing that burly greeter without any packages sort of scared me, would he think I stole something if I hadn’t bought anything? ‘Surely I will have better luck in the grocery section.’ I told myself though past experience indicated otherwise.

I made my way through groceries and found most of what I was looking for, I would be able to make due without the rest. Maybe that's what Wal-Mart is trying to teach us: how to make due without the things we do need by substituting those things with a lot of crap we don't need...a valuable survival lesson in this day and age. I made my purchases and headed home in my very cold car berating myself for driving on such a gorgeous morning. Once my friend, Michelle, told me "When I am in my car and I see someone on their bike, I wish I was on my bike. When I am on my bike, I am glad I’m on my bike." I know what she means.

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions.

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:16:00 GMT

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

"’Let me save you from drowning’ said the monkey to the fish as he pulled him from the water." ~zen koan

On the way to school Tuesday morning, the kids and I had a little incident that really got me thinking. It was a case of a driver trying to be helpful, while actually putting us, themselves, and others in danger.

What happened?

We were southbound on West Blvd approaching Maupin where would make a left turn. Cars were approaching from the south, so we scanned behind to make sure it was safe to move, signaled our intent, and moved to the left side of the lane. This allowed us to keep traveling toward our destination, while letting the southbound cars pass us on the right, as we prepared for the left turn.

When we were about 100 feet from our turn, an SUV stopped on West Blvd at Maupin. The driver was waiting for us to make the turn, even though we were about 20 seconds from approaching the turn. There were four cars behind this driver; all of these cars had to stop behind the SUV to wait for us.

If the SUV had just kept going without stopping or slowing to try to accommodate us, all five of those cars would have been well past the turn by the time we got there. Allowing us to make the turn safely without impeding the flow of traffic.

The stopped SUV really confused my kids and really frustrated me. They both hesitated asking why the SUV was doing that. I told them to just make the turn quickly. We turned on Maupin and went on our way.

Why is it dangerous?

After turning on to Maupin, I explained to Max and Annarose that the driver was trying to be nice by letting us turn in front of them. Then I explained why it is so dangerous to the driver and to us as cyclists.

It is dangerous for a driver to stop in a road where there is no stop sign or signal, because the driver could get rear-ended.

It is dangerous for cyclists, because the drivers of the cars behind may decide to pass suddenly, not understanding the reason for the stop, and hit us. The driver of the SUV may decide they are tired of waiting, start driving again, and hit us. It is also dangerous, because it sends an untrue message that cyclists impede the flow of traffic and need to be accommodated by drivers. This type of perception increases animosity of drivers toward cyclists, which is dangerous for everyone on the road.

What should drivers do?

Traffic laws and facilities are designed to ensure vehicles move smoothly, so people can get where they want to go safely and quickly. According to the law in all 50 states, bicycles are vehicles (see MOBIKEFED.ORG/STATUTES.HTML for complete laws regarding cycling in Missouri). Bicycles are small, human-powered, slower moving vehicles and should be treated as such.

When you see a cyclist, treat them the way you would a small slow car. Give them a little space when you are passing (3-4 feet per the law), yield to them as you would a car, but don’t make special exceptions to try to "be nice". If it is your turn to go at a stop sign, go. If it is your turn to make a turn or keep going straight, do it. Don’t stop and impede the flow of traffic in the interest of being nice to the cyclist.

We want our rights to the road, and we recognize our responsibilities to follow the laws of the road.

Yeah but, cyclists are so unpredictable.

Very good point. Unfortunately, many cyclists don’t know what the hell they are doing. They ride the sidewalk, blast through stop signs, ride the wrong way, cut out into the street unexpectedly.

True. What to do about them? Well, I can’t educate everyone, but I am trying. I work part time teaching cycling classes to children and adults. I talk to anyone who will listen about cycling safety and how to be a safe cyclist. I really try to encourage people to ride safely, visibly, predictably, and assertively. I am doing what I can to make Columbia a better place for cyclists and drivers. There are several of us who are teaching classes and encouraging people to ride more safely. Hopefully, things are getting better.

Many cyclists are unpredictable, which is dangerous. When you are approaching a cyclist, you may want to slow a bit and observe them for a few seconds. Watch them. Are they riding in a straight line? Are they wearing a helmet? Are they looking around watching traffic conditions? Do they signal their moves? Are they riding in the right third of the travel lane? If the answers to these questions are "yes", you are probably dealing with a safe cyclist and can pass them safely without incident. If they are riding unpredictably, pass with caution as you would a car operating in an unpredictable fashion.

...And miles to go before I sleep.

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 03:26:00 GMT

"…And miles to go before I sleep." ~Robert Frost

01/29/08

When I woke up at 6am that morning, the temperature was in the 50s. Max, Annarose and I rode to school in t-shirts and jeans. By 3pm, it was extremely cold and miserable. I considered taking the car to pick up the kids, but why? It was 13 degrees, the wind-chill was –3 with what the weatherfolk like to call a ‘wintry mix’, and northwesterly winds gusting up to 50 mph. Who wouldn’t want to ride bikes in this?

I arrived at school with the requisite winter riding gear: coats, snow-pants, balaclavas, gloves, mittens, goggles, and blaze orange hunting vests. The kids bundled up as I gave them the winter cycling safety lecture.

"The roads are slick. Ride slowly. You will take longer to stop. Be aware of cars, they take longer to stop too. The wind is very gusty and can make your bike hard to control. Keep your bike under control at all times." I lectured.

"Yeah, yeah Mom, we know" was their bored reply.

We headed to the Getabout Offices to pick up some paperwork. It was a short, but eventful journey. The kids were surprised by how disorienting the blowing snow was - think the Millennium Falcon hyper-space scene from Star Wars with snow flakes and ice pellets in place of stars.

When we arrived, Robert ran out with his camera. "Don’t take off your stuff yet! I want to get a picture. You guys are awesome." He told us. We posed for a few pictures, then headed inside, we were met with applause and cheers from Trevor.

We picked up the paperwork, rearranged our clothes, and headed back out into the cold, wind, and snow. As we rode south on Seventh Street, we passed the Candy Factory. I asked the kids if they wanted to stop and get some chocolate for the ride home…dumb question. Of course, we stopped. It was a warm welcome yummy smelling break from the cold and wind. We made our purchases and sat inside eating them, dripping on the floor and enjoying our treats while temporarily delaying the inevitable.

Sweet teeth sated, we headed back out into the brutal. We rode east down the hill on Cherry Street to Flat Branch Park. The force of the westerly wind was amazing. We rode slowly down Cherry Street hill without brakes. The wind was so strong it slowed we had to pedal downhill. I had never experienced anything like it.

As we rode through Flat Branch Park, my phone started ringing…ugh. We stopped in the tunnel under Locust, where we were sheltered from the wind and I returned the call.

It was Tim. "Where are you guys? Are you all right? Do you want me to come get you?"

"We are in the tunnel under Elm St. We are cold, but fine. We will be home soon. If we need help, I will call." I assured my worried husband.

The tunnel was a welcome respite from the snow and wind. We double-checked our clothing. Made sure no skin was exposed to the elements and headed on. Two tunnels to go before we made it to Stewart. When we started on Stewart, there would be no more shelter until we arrived home…a daunting thought. We stopped briefly in each tunnel bracing ourselves.

After stopping in the tunnel under Stewart and Providence, we headed out on Stewart Road. It was hard pedaling and slow going riding directly into the gale force winds. The streets were slick. At West Parkway, Max lost control of his bike and slid into the curb, I slid into Max before I could stop. No one was hurt. We picked up our bikes and kept riding west.

The going was slow and uneventful until Stewart and Greenwood. That was when I noticed that Annarose was crying. Oh no.

"Posie? What’s wrong?" I asked.

"My toes are cold" she answered through her tears. In my rush to gather up their winter gear, I had forgotten their snow boots. Her little toes had to be freezing. What to do? I could call Tim and ask him to come get us. We were only half a mile from home, it would take him longer to come and get us than it would take us to get home if we just kept riding. Having him pick us up would mean waiting longer in the cold. We needed to keep going.

"Posie, we will be home in a few minutes if we keep going. Can you do that? I could call Daddy to come get us in the car, but that will take longer. Can you keep going?" I enquired.

A feeble and tearful "Yes" was her reply.

"I will call Daddy and tell him to make sure and have a big fire going for us when we get home. OK?" I tried to encourage her.

"OK…and cocoa?"

"Yes Sweetie and cocoa and warm cozy blankets. Does that sound good?" I replied.

"Yes Mommy" she sniffled.

By this time we were at West Blvd…almost home. I started singing silly songs to take her mind off the miserable cold, snow, and sleet.

"Oh! Mares eee doats and does eee doats and little lambs eee divy. A kid’ll eee divy too, wouldn’t you?" I sang at the top of my lungs. We made the intersection of West Blvd and West Broadway, less than a quarter mile left.

"Mommy, will you teach me that song when we get home?" Posie asked.

"Of course, and we’ll have hot cocoa and hugs and snuggles in front of the fire" I promised.

We made it home. Being a faster, stronger, more competent rider than Annarose, Max had beaten us home by a few minutes. Tim already had him snuggled up in dry clothes. A warm fire and big hugs from Daddy welcomed us. We took off Annarosie’s cold wet shoes and rubbed her little feet until they felt better. We spent the evening snuggled up by the fire playing board games and reminiscing about the cold miserable ride home in the blizzard. We were proud of ourselves for making it through and we were so very thankful for our warm snug house.

The next morning, I woke up and listened to the weather report…bitter cold. "OK kids, it’s 4 degrees outside this morning. Do you want to ride or drive?"

"Is it windy?" Max asked.

"Nope. No wind, no snow, no sleet, just extremely cold." I replied.

"We can do that. Let’s ride!" They whooped in unison.

It could always be worse.

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:31:00 GMT

03/13/08 – It could always be worse.

"Mom, I am changing my motto from ‘suck it up and deal’ to ‘It could always be worse!’" ~Annarose Overshiner, age 7

Last Thursday evening, the kids and I went to a GetAbout meet and greet at Reilly’s Grill One-5 downtown. The forecast for the evening called for rain. It had started to rain a bit, but it was not too bad when we arrived around 5:15. By 6:30, it was raining pretty hard. I didn’t want to ride in the dark in the rain with the kids, so we left for home.

The temperature was in the high 30s. We had winter coats, but no rain gear. It promised to be a cold wet ride home, at least it was still somewhat light. We braced ourselves and set out for home. We had a lot of fun riding through puddles and the water in the tunnels on our way to Stewart Road.

As we headed west on Stewart, Annarose was in rare form enjoying herself by making the best of a bad situation.

She called back to me, "Hey Mom!"

"Yes Posie, What’s up?" I asked.

"I decided I am changing my motto from ‘suck it up and deal’ to ‘it could always be worse!’" she called over her shoulder and started laughing.

I laughed along with her and replied "Wow! Posie that’s a great way to look at life when things aren’t going your way!"

"Do you know what I like about riding in the rain, Mom?" she asked.

"I can’t imagine, what?" I asked.

"When it’s raining, it doesn’t matter if I forget to put an ankle biter on, because my pants stick to my legs and don’t get caught in my chain!" she replied with a giggle.

I looked down and saw that her pants were plastered to her legs with rainwater. "Yep Posie, that’s a great observation!" I called with a smile.

"You know what else I like about riding in the rain, Mom?"

"I don't know, Posie. What?" I asked bemused by this silly game that took my mind off of being cold and wet.

"If you pee in your pants no one can tell!" she replied.

"That’s true. You didn’t, did you?" I enquired with a chuckle.

"Of course not! But if I did, it would warm me up. That’d be a good thing too." She called with glee.

"That’s true, Posie. You sure are a smart kid!" I encouraged her.

That was the end of her philosophical musings, so we started singing silly songs and telling jokes the rest of the way home. All in all, it was a really good ride despite the approaching darkness, cold, and wet. It just goes to show, it could always be worse, and with the right attitude ‘worse’ can be quite a lot of fun.

Baby, it's cold outside.

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 16:57:00 GMT

"Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia." ~H.G. Wells

"What's wrong Mom? Don't you think I know how to suck it up and deal?" ~Max Overshiner, Age 9.

It's December 16th, 2007. We are well into another Missouri winter.  As temperatures have been dropping, we have added coats, gloves, hats, etc. to keep warm on our daily rides. Recently, I picked the kids up from school and we headed off to piano lessons. While we were riding, I noticed Max wasn't wearing his coat. It was about 35 degrees.

"Max, aren't you freezing?" I asked as we rode up the hill on Broadway.

Max looked over and replied "What's the matter Mom? Don't you think I know how to suck it up and deal?"

My jaw dropped and we both burst out laughing. I was stunned by his response and all it implied. As the mercury has dropped into the twenties and teens, this has become Max and Annarose's winter war cry.

"Are you sure you're warm enough? Are your fingers warm? Are you toes/cheeks/ears too cold?" I ask.

"It's OK, Mom. I'll just suck it up and deal." or "Don't we look like we know how to suck it up and deal?" followed by joyous laughter.

"Who are these children? Where did they come from? What have I done to them?" I ask myself.

About ten days ago, we had our first snow of the season. Two days later, we had an ice storm that closed schools on Monday and Tuesday, left thousands without power, and left over twenty dead. Four days after that, we had more snow, about 6 inches this time.

The logical question is "Are we still riding?" The illogical answer is "You bet!"

On Thursday, I was out on my bike running errands when it started snowing. Then it started snowing harder. On the way downtown from Target, I stopped by the house to pick up some ski goggles, because the snow was pelting my eyes...painful. Goggled, I headed out for the first snowy ride of the season with loaded Burley cart in tow...what fun! At the corner of Clinkscales and Broadway, an elderly gentleman in an old pick up rolled down his window to tell me I was brave for riding in the snow. I smiled from ear to ear and hollered "Thanks" as I made my left turn on to Broadway.

At 3:30 the snow was still coming down and the roads were getting really slick. I almost wiped out as I made a left turn onto Locust on the way to pick up the kids at school. I was worried about riding home with them. We arrived at the bike rack along with Erika and Violet. Erika and I discussed getting the kids home safely on the bikes in the snow. We decided to take it slow and ride home together, safety in numbers. I gave the kids a quick briefing on snowy road conditions and safe winter riding. 1) Watch for cars, they can't stop as quickly in the snow. 2) Start braking early, you can't stop as quickly either. 3) Keep your bike in low gear, this will help overcome rear wheel slippage and keep you in control of your bike. 4) Take it slow and easy. We decided to walk our bikes through downtown.

As we started out, Max realized his rear tire was flat. Argh! Max rides a vintage Schwinn Hollywood cruiser from the early sixties. Fenders, racks, single speed, coaster brakes, no quick releases, changing the rear wheel is a real pain. It was snowing hard and getting dark quickly. We walked the bikes to Cyclextreme to have the tire changed. Thanks Mike! By 4:30, we were on our way.   Still snowing, getting darker.

We walked down to Flat Branch Park and headed home on the trail. The ride wasn't that bad.   While pedaling through the snow was harder than usual, the snow afforded good traction so it was easy to maintain control of the bikes. We didn't have any trouble with slipping until we were pretty far up Maupin. With our fair share of sliding, a few injury-free falls, and lots of laughter we all made it home safely.   Erika and I discussed whether we would ride to school in the morning, we agreed to wait and see.

Friday morning, we were surprised and disappointed to learn that school had not been cancelled.  Being unsure of the road conditions, I offered the kids three options for getting to school. One - Walk.  Two - Take the city bus. Three - Try it on the bikes and see what happens. Of course, we could have just driven, but what fun would that be?  Both kids immediately started jumping up and down yelling, "Walk! Walk! Walk! We can have a snowball fight! We can play in the snow on the way." They reasoned. We put on our snow gear. I put extra shoes and socks in a messenger bag. I made hot chocolate for the kids to drink on the way.

We set out at 8. I told the kids that since we were walking, we would just take Broadway which would be about a mile shorter than our regular bike route.  The kids wouldn't hear of it.

"Broadway's boring and it smells like car exhaust." Argued Annarose.

"There will be more snow to play in on our regular route." Chimed in Max.

They didn't care that it was further to walk, fine with me.  We tromped off through the snow on the way to school. On Maupin near Greenwood, we ran into Erika and Violet who we usually ride with each morning.   We talked to them briefly, then they headed off on their bikes. The kids ran along chasing and pelting each other with snow balls. We made a few stops for sips of hot chocolate and to strip off extra layers of clothes.  We made it to school about 5 minutes after the second bell. We were a bit tardy, but we had a really fun walk. Dr. Vandover, our principal, was very understanding, appreciating the importance of taking time to smell the roses, or eat the icicles, as the case may be.

So far, in all this snow and ice we have driven one day, it was the first day back to school after the big ice storm. I was worried about road and sidewalk conditions. I decided we would drive and scope out the roads for the next day. As we pulled out of the driveway, both kids said they felt guilty leaving their bikes at home. We talked briefly about going back to get the bikes. Not knowing the road conditions, I decided to go ahead and drive.  The next day, we were back on the bikes.

Yes, we are still riding and have everyday, but one. We have ridden in very cold conditions, rain, snow, sleet, and ice. It really isn't that hard. Anyone can do it. It doesn't require any expensive equipment. You just need a little common sense, healthy dose of adventure, and a bit of planning.

Tips to help you ride all year through

1) It's all in how you look at it.  Don't think of it as too cold, snowy, wet, whatever.  I always think of it as an "arctic adventure", a chance to see what you can do, push your limits, see what your made of.  Sometimes the only thing you can change is your attitude, you'd be amazed by what changing your perspective can do.

2) Dress for the for second mile.  As you bike/walk along, you will generate body heat. If you are overdressed, you will be uncomfortably hot before you know it.  The first few minutes of your ride/walk, you should be little cool. Don't worry, you will warm up soon enough.

3)Layers, layers, layers. You have probably heard this before.   But it's true and bears repeating. Dress in layers, for maximum warmth and comfort. Layers allow you to easily customize your clothing as your body heats up and cools down with exertion.  For cold weather riding, I usually wear long johns top and bottom; jeans and a shirt; a sweater, sweatshirt, or fleece; and a wind and water proof uninsulated shell/top-layer. This mix gets me comfortably through all but the most extreme (low-teens and below) cold conditions. I can unzip or take off outerlayers, if I get too hot or as weather conditions change through the day.  On extreme cold days, I will top off my layers with an insulated coat and insulated (Carhart) cover-alls. I recently made the mistake of wearing my heavy coat and cover-alls one morning when it was 17 degrees, I was sweating before I was a mile from home. I had stop to unzip my coat and the top of my coveralls to cool down. I had shed the coat completely by the time I was downtown.

In winter, it is really easy to overdress, because that initial shock when you step out the door seems soooo cold. Resist the urge to overdress, and you will arrive at your destination at the end of your ride comfortable and happy.  Years ago, I read in Outside magazine that you should "Dress for the second mile" when participating in winter sports, keeping in mind how warm you will be in the second mile will help prevent overdressing.

4)Head, neck, hands, and feet. Winter biking requires extra attention to your extreme extremities. Your head, neck, hands, and feet will get cold.

The best cold protection of your head is a balaclava. A thin, usually black, "hat" that covers your head, face and neck. This will keep your head, ears, face, and neck warm. You can fold it up when you don't need face protection.   If the balaclava isn't for you, you need a warm hat that covers your ears and fits under your helmet and a neck gator or scarf.

When it is really cold, snowing, sleeting, or raining, eye protection is very important. I love ski goggles, they are fun to wear, don't fog up, and look totally goofy.

The biggest complaint we hear from bike brigade kids is cold fingers. Good mittens or gloves are extremely important.   After years of winter riding and experimenting with many different types of gloves/mittens, my all time favorite is a pair of hunting mittens I absconded from Tim.  They are made of blaze orange fleece offering great visibility when signaling. The insides have black glove liners. The index fingers and thumbs fold back making it easy to buckle helmets, manouver zippers, and handle bike tools, all without having to remove the mittens.

Make sure to keep your feet warm with warm shoes or boots and some extra socks. They make booties that go over your shoes, I have never used them so can't attest to their effectiveness.

5) A nice warm drink.  When the weather started getting really cold, I fitted the kids bikes with Bar-Hoppers (handle bar mounted cup holders, available at Klunk) and got each of them an insulated travel mug. Each day before we leave, I fill their cups with hot cocoa for the ride to school. On really cold days, there's nothing like some nice warm cocoa to keep you warm.

6) Handling your bike in snow and ice. Riding, like driving, in ice and snow can be tricky and dangerous. And, like driving, a little extra time, caution, and common sense can get you where you want to go.

-Ride safely for the existing conditions. It takes everyone, including cars, longer to stop.  Ride more slowly than usual and start braking well in advance of stops.

-Wear bright colors and use your blinkies a lot., even during the day. This is always a good idea when riding, but is especially important in winter when the days tend to be overcast and gray and it gets dark early. I have started making everyone in our family wear hunting vests when they ride. I am amazed at how much more visible it makes us.

-Your bike handles differently in ice and snow. If it's possible, ride on areas of the road that are clear of ice and snow...duh. Snow makes it harder to pedal, but can offer some extra traction if it isn't hard packed.

-Your bike will likely fishtail in slushy snow, hard packed snow, and tire tracks. Try to avoid these parts of the road. Keep your bike geared low to increase your traction. Hang on and keep pedaling.

-If the road looks wet, assume it's ice or black ice. Pedal straight across and try to avoid making turns on ice if you can help it.

-You will find most winter road hazards at intersections where gutters meet leaving more water/ice/slush/run-off for you to navigate. Try to steer clear of these hazards and try to avoid turns in these areas, if possible. If you must turn, make sure you steer wide enough to avoid the hazard.

-In snowy/icy conditions, you need to ensure your safety by making sure you are riding far enough out in the road to avoid snowy/slush/ice/trash that has been pushed to the sides of the roads by snow ploughs. This may require riding further out in the lane than normal.

- Be assertive and ride where your are safest and avoid winter road hazards.  It's your life and your safety don't be afraid to protect it; even if that means inconveniencing some cars and slowing traffic flow a bit from time to time.

-Remember: if you put yourself in the danger zone by riding too far to the right or riding too fast for conditions and have an accident, you will really back up traffic, and worst of all you'll be hurt.

<http://www.icebike.org>
<http://www.bikewinter.org>
http://www.snowybike.org

For sale: 2005 Subaru Impreza. It's a great little car, we just don't need it.

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:45:00 GMT

LCDC2-10/01/07-For Sale: 2005 Subaru Impreza, we just really don’t need it – Gina Overshiner

Kid’s responses when we pointed out LCDC was almost over:

"It was a piece of pie." ~Annarose Overshiner, Age 7

"What? It’s over? So? Big deal." ~Max Overshiner, Age 9

Well LCDC2 is over. We did the Business Traveler taking one weekend car trip to follow the Tour of Missouri to JC and on into St. Louis. Driving the car to see the bikes, hmmm. That was an awesome weekend! We took the bikes with us and rode around St. Louis. We rode from the Chase at the corner of Kingshigway and Lindell to Union Station to see the races. The kids got their t-shirts autographed by loads of racers, including Alberto Contador (Tour de France, 2007). The racers were really accessible and friendly. When we told them that we rode our bikes to school everyday, several of them said that was how they got started with cycling. Max returned home from the races with the need for speed and often sprints up Maupin on his way home now.

One super cool thing, as we made our way back up Lindell, which was part of the race course, we were allowed to ride on the course while the racers were in other parts of the city. The course was a 10.6 mile loop. The race officials just told us to get off the road when we saw the lead vehicle coming. So on that Sunday afternoon, we had Lindell all to ourselves. We rode serpentine down Lindell crossing back and forth across six traffic lanes, just because we could. We offered autographs to the bystanders, but they weren’t very interested. When the racers came around, we would get up on the sidewalk to cheer them on, then back in the street when they passed.

It was amazing getting to ride in St. Louis with Tim and the kids. After all, St. Louis is where I really started riding seriously for transportation, where I bought my first bike cart to haul baby Max in, where I rode my first Critical Mass, and where I became aware of and involved in cycling advocacy. It was a bit of a homecoming for me to get to ride those streets again sharing it with Tim and the kids on their own bikes made it really special. It was so cool to point out the cycling improvements that have occurred in St. Louis over the six years since we moved away. Remembering sitting around with fellow massers talking about ways to improve cycling in St. Louis and dreaming about starting the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation, then seeing what they have done…too cool. But I digress. After reading Eric’s blog about his experience going to Tour of MO in St. Louis, I kind of wish we had tried the train thing….looking back it would have been totally doable. Live and learn. There is always next year.

Our days pretty much went like this. Ride the bikes to school, drop off the kids, ride to work, pickup the kids, goof off downtown, ride on home or wherever we needed to go…piano, friend’s house, store, Klunk, whatever. On the weekends, do whatever we wanted to do on the bikes. First weekend, ride to Katfish Katy’s to go camping (No Rachel, they don’t always have parties until 3am. Also, if you camp over the levy…sites #29 and 31A are especially nice…that dampens the noise quite a lot. We bike camp there frequently.) Second weekend, downtown a lot for the Roots-n- Blues-n-BBQ-where’s-the-BBQ?-Festival. Third weekend, drive to JC and St. Louis for Tour of Missouri. Awed by racers. Ride in St. Lou. Fourth weekend, hang around the house mostly. Fifth weekend, hang around home, relax.

Yesterday, Tim, Annarose and I rode to Westlake’s with the bike cart and bought mums and pumpkins for the front yard. We fit five pots of mums in the bike cart, a pumpkin in my collapsible basket, a pumpkin in Tim’s bike trunk, two small pumpkins in his panniers, and a pot of mums in Annarose’s basket. What a lovely way to ride. In the afternoon, Tim and I went on a date. We left the bikes home and walked downtown, holding hands and chatting the whole way. The afternoon was bright, breezy and warm, a lovely day for a walk. Walking, your pace is much slower than on a bike, you really get to see and appreciate things you miss whizzing by at 10 mph. Getting there and home were all as much a part of the date, as the date itself. In the evening, the four of us walked to Gerbes for ice cream and videos.

To sum up, it was a great month. With the exception of Max not being able to go to Michael’s house, his best friend lives 16 miles south of town, and one or two work related things, the car has not been missed. In fact, we have been toying with the idea of selling it since last May, when we realized that we just don’t need it. With the exception of August, when we drove pretty much, because it was so hot and miserable, we only drive about once a week and that’s more out of a feeling of obligation than anything. We’re making car payments; we might as well use it.

I tried talking to the kids about selling the family car yesterday. I didn’t want them to feel they had no say in the matter, even though they really don’t. Annarose’s response was: "Yeah, yeah, you’ve been talking about that for months, so just go ahead and sell it alreay." Max is more sentimental: "We’ve had some good times in that car. It’s kind of like a member of the family." Of course, this is also the kid who complains of carsickness every time we take trips longer than five miles - "Can’t we go home and get the bikes? I feel like I have to throw up. I hate being cooped up in the car." We will still have the work truck. As long as none of us gains much weight, we can all fit if necessary. For long trips, we can always rent a car or take a train, plane, bus. What the hell? We can just take the bikes, or our feet, for that matter.

If you know anyone who might be interested in buying a really nice zippy little late model (2005), low mileage Subaru Impreza that’s still under warranty. Let me know.

The Grocery Store

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 06:00:00 GMT

"Life is like riding a bicycle. You have to keep moving to maintain your balance." ~Albert Einstein

Annarose spent Friday night at Ella's house in East Campus. Saturday morning, I rode over to pick her up. I planned to run a few errands on the way home, so I brought my big Chrome bag to have room to carry everything.   While we were riding, AR commented that she was hungry.  We decided to stop downtown and pick up a treat before running our errands.  After ordering coffee and pastries, I realized I had left my checkbook at home. Dang! So much for errands on the way the home. We left and rode home where I dropped off Annarose.   My gears had been slipping a bit lately, so I wanted to run by Klunk to have Karl adjust them for me. I could have done it myself or had Tim do it, but we had been swamped lately.  I also planned to run by Michael's to pick up some art supplies for a project we were working on. Then, reluctantly, to the grocery store.

I had let our food stores get low. We were down to one kind of cereal that no one really liked.   Cans of beans and artichoke hearts filled the pantry. The refridgerator contained lots of condiments without much to put them on. Even the freezer was almost empty with three partial bags of corn, some old Boca burgers, and half a bag of frozen fruit. I dreaded when the kids told me they were hungry, "How about some capers with ketchup and saurkraut?" I offered with a smile. Their crestfallen faces told me it was time to go grocery shopping. I couldn't avoid it any longer.

It's not that I mind grocery shopping or that it's hard on the bike. With being a mom and trying to run a small business successfully, it's hard to find the time for a proper stock up. I resigned myself and headed out to run errands leaving Tim at home with the kids. First, I went to Klunk to find Karl swamped, he asked me to bring the bike back around 4 when he closed for the day. Then over to Michael's for our art supplies. Then Hy-Vee. Gerbes is much closer to our house. I prefer Hy-Vee for big stock up trips; they have good produce and health food sections.

I worked my way around the store stocking up on everything for the next few weeks. The cart was overflowing and getting difficult to push around corners. When I had to start from a stop, I really had to lean into it to over come inertia and get the cart rolling. I called Tim to see if he needed anything I may have forgotten. "Could you pick up some Mendota Springs?" He asked. "Sure thing" I replied heading to the soda aisle. I got 4-12 packs putting them on the bottom shelf of the cart. Who knew when I'd be back at the store?

Then Tim called me. "I just put in a load of laundry. We need laundry soap." "OK, I'll get some laundry soap."
I went to the laundry aisle and got a 100 oz bottle of laundry soap. I was starting to get a bit concerned about fitting everything in the bike cart. Being a seasoned bicycle shopper, I knew it would be close, but it would fit. Besides, I had my collapsible basket to hold the two gallons of milk. Then I remembered that we were out of toilet paper. Now toilet paper doesn't weigh much, but it takes up lots of space...crap - no pun intended. I contemplated the toilet paper situation. Clearly I couldn't fit 48 mega rolls in the bike cart with all these groceries, I settled for 12 double rolls.

Tim called again. Max wanted me to pick up some fudgsicles. OK. I headed to the freezer section feeling wreckless. How much could I fit in that little cart? My record to date was 17 bags, two gallons of milk, two 12 packs, and laundry soap. Maybe I'd pick up a turkey and a slab of ribs just to make things exciting.

I headed to the check out line and started unloading my groceries fantasizing about the good old days when the cashier did this leaving me free to read magazines. Several people got in line behind me, saw how much stuff I had, and went to a different line. Finally, some woman with too much free time got in line behind me and stayed.

"Wow. Someone's going to be happy to see you when you get home with all those groceries." She commented with a smile in her voice.

"Yep." I replied. While I am an incessant chatterbox around friends and family, I am not a check out line chit-chat kind of person.

"I hope you have someone to help you unload all those groceries at home." She pursued.

"Yeah, I have two kids. I'm sure they'll help." I replied flatly.

"Teenagers?" She asked.  Clearly, I must need all this food to feed two strapping teenage boys and a house full of their friends.

"No, they are younger kids."

The cashier and bagger had started talking about whether they could fit it all in one cart, or whether the bagger would need a second cart. So far, they were making it work with just the one cart and gloating about their ability to do so.

Then we got toward the bottom of the cart, produce...great. "Is this parsley?" The cashier enquired. "No, cilantro." I replied.

"What are these?" He asked holding up a bag of fresh fennel bulbs.

"Fennel" I answered.

"Is this spinach?"

"Uh-uh. arugula." I answered feeling a little embarrassed. Not only had I broken some unspoken grocery store rule by buying too many groceries at one time, I had apparently committed a second breech of grocery store etiquette by buying lots of freaky UPC-code-free produce that no one recognized.

Finally the checking was over. The bagger and the lady behind me waited in breathless anticipation of my total. How much will all her groceries cost? The cashier announced "That'll be $254.71" handing me the two foot long receipt. I could feel the lady and the baggers silent gasps. 'I can't wait to tell my friends about this' they seemed to be thinking.

"Do you need help out to your car, Ma'am?" He asked hopefully.

"No thank you" I replied. I absolutely did not want help out to my 'car'. I could just imagine the break room talk about this one. 'She spent so much on food she couldn't even afford a car to take it home in.'

I was a little nervous as I headed out to the bike, would it fit? What would I do if it didn't? Could they hold the groceries for me while I took the first load home, then come back for the second load? That'd be embarassing. I guess I could call Tim if I had to. I started loading the cart, the 12 packs on the bottom, prop the toilet paper up against one side, then start loading in the bags. I had my doubts, but it all fit with the 2 gallons of milk going in the collapsible basket. Now to get home.

As with every destination, there are lots of ways to get from Hy-Vee to my house. The most direct, heavily trafficked, and flattest: Broadway. Slightly longer, slightly less trafficked, and slightly hillier: Ash.  The hilliest and least busy: West Rollins. I opt for Rollins for lots of reasons.  Mostly because I like the anticipation that comes with wondering if I will be able to make it up that huge hill between Stadium and College Park with a cart so heavily laden.

Everytime I make this trip with a cart full of groceries I have this slight feeling of dread that I might not be able to make it up that hill. I envision myself stuck in that valley unable to get out...pushing a bike with a fully laden cart is way harder, almost impossible, than riding with one. This dreaded daydream involves me just not being able to make it up the other hill for some reason. I will sit down on the curb next to the road, stranded there.   I will be thankful for the groceries, because at least I will have some food so I won't starve to death. I figure I can just sit on the curb eating for a few days until I eat enough of the food to lighten my load and make it up the other side of the hill. Of course, I realize that this is completely absurd. One of my friends lives a block from this valley, my house is only 3/4 miles away, and I can always call Tim for a ride. But it's fun to think about these types of goofy things.

Needless to say, I made it up the hill and home with no difficulty.

I disconnected the bike cart and left it home for Tim and the kids to unload.. Try that with a car. Then I took off for Klunk. Karl stayed open late and replaced my rear derailleur cable for me. Thanks Karl, you rock! It cost less than $15 and my gears are shifting like a dream.

Wow! My kids could never do that

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:34:00 GMT

LCDC2 – 09/29/07 "Wow! My kid’s could never do that!"–Gina Overshiner

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right." ~Henry Ford.

"Life is a smorgasbord and most poor bastards are starving to death." ~Lucille Ball in Mame…I think.

From time to time, I get into conversations with parents about cycling with my kids. We talk about where we ride, just about everywhere. How far we ride, pretty far sometimes…I think 27 miles is our highest single day mileage to date. We talk about the weather conditions we ride in…all – temperatures over 90 and under 20, snow, rain, wind, hail. We talk about their ages, 7 & 9. The other parents are always impressed that my kids do these things.

More often than not, the response I get from the other parent is "Wow! My kids could never do that!" Invariably I think, "You’re right. Your kids could never do that, because you just said so." These are not parents of children with disabilities or health problems; they are parents of children with very unimaginative parents. It saddens me that so many kids, and people in general, are limited simply by the fact that someone (often themselves) told that they can’t do that…and they believed it.

One thing I have learned riding bikes with my kids is that you can do anything (within the confines of the laws of physics) if you really want to, you give your self a little extra time, and you remember to pack some water and snacks. We ride to and from school daily on our bikes. We run errands on our bikes. We go to friend’s houses on our bikes. We go to the movies on our bikes. We go camping on our bikes.

When it’s hot, we sweat. When it’s cold, we bundle up. When it rains, we get wet. Big deal. Regardless of the conditions or the distance, we always manage to get back home where we belong. Sometimes we wish we were home "Right now!" but we’re not…so we keep going till we are. When we are especially miserable: we make up games like who can make the best barfing noises. Or songs like "If I ever lose my brain, I’d ride my bike, in the rain". Or sit down and rest for a bit. Or fantasize about how warm and cozy we’ll be when we finally make it home. Or we just keep going "only a few more miles, we can do that!"

I am always amazed at what my kids can do when I give them the chance. Ironically, the worst experiences are the ones that have become part of our family lore, like veterans and their war stories. There’s the time Annarosie and I got caught riding home in a hailstorm when she was 4. She was crying and yelling "ouchie" as hailstones pelted her. I kept assuring her "Hang on sweetie. We’ll be home soon." As we rode through the rain choked streets, I could barely see, because of the rain and the tears. My heart was breaking as I listened to AR cry and I questioned my sanity for riding bikes so much with the kids – we avoid riding in hail at all costs now, lesson learned. The time we got caught 5 miles from home as a cold front moved in. We made our way through the blustering wind and driving rain fantasizing about hot cocoa while making barfing noises, as we made our slow and chilly progress across town. The time Max’s crank froze up on the Katy trail at 11:30PM as we rode back to Katfish Katys from Rocheport. Tim encouraged Annarose and I to ride on to camp. He and Max walked the three miles back sharing stories and observations about how scary the trail looked in the moonlight. It isn’t always quick or predictable or comfortable or fun. But neither is life.

My kids aren’t super human or unusual or anything like that; they are just kids who have been given the chance. If your kids "Could never do that!" It’s probably, because you have never given them the chance. You should, you might be amazed. I always am.

Attack of the gasholes

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:33:00 GMT

LCDC2 – Attack of the gasholes –Gina Overshiner

"Bikes are bigger than cars, because on a bike you are in the whole world. In a car, you are closed up in a little metal box." ~Max Overshiner, age 9

As you may have gathered by now, my kids and I ride bikes to school each day with a group of cycling parents (a.k.a. The Lee School Bike Brigade). We average 11 bikes, three with bike carts, each day. Somedays there are as many as 20 of us, on one or two occasions there have been more. We ride together in a pack for fun and safety. We are NOT hard to see, actually we are quite hard to miss. Up until last week, we had not really had any problems with cars to speak of.

For some reason, starting last week, Thursday, to be exact, the gasholes were out. They seemed to be everywhere. I don’t know if there is some special gashole season or if the change of weather has brought out the worst in car drivers. Maybe they are mad at us, because we get to have fun enjoying the wonderful fall mornings. While they are cooped up in their cars. Whatever the reason, we seem to be dealing with them almost daily. It makes riding somewhat less pleasant and more dangerous than usual.

Our first run in was last Thursday, 09/20/07. I messed up my coffee to food ratio that morning and was feeling amped and jittery by the time the kids and I headed out for school. I was really hoping the morning ride would help calm me a bit. We met up with Erika and Violet at West Blvd and Stewart, then over to Maupin and Greenwood to meet up with Mark, Sid, Simon, Jody, and Jasper. It was a lovely morning. We had a nice time chatting as we rode. We made our way to East Parkway and Crestmere to meet up with Shannon, Pete, and Lily, then on to school.

We rode the tunnels, exiting on Elm, like we do everyday. We rode up Elm in single file, careful to leave room for cars to pass, while bunching to take the lane at intersections. At the Elm and Hitt, we patiently waited for a safe opening to turn left. This is a complicated intersection, because the cross traffic on Hitt does not stop. And you are on an uphill incline making it harder to get started on a bike, especially if you are 6 or 7 or 9 or 11. We patiently waited and waited. The traffic on Hitt was heavier than usual this morning for some reason. As soon as it would clear one direction, three more cars would appear coming from the other direction.

Just as we were about to make the turn, Gashole #1 (black four door sedan), decided he’d waited long enough and pulled up on the left side of us, in the parking lane, to go around. Apparently, he just couldn’t wait any longer. He had to stop, because of the oncoming traffic. We all started yelling at him "Hey that’s illegal. You need to wait your turn!" He looked over, as did the little boy in the back seat of his car. The driver, Dad, would not acknowledge us, but pulled out really fast to get away from us.

We were incensed. After a quick nod of agreement from the rest of the Bike Brigade parents, I took chase. I stood in the pedals and cranked hard. I followed him up to Locust where he turned right, toward Lee School. Apparently, he was taking the little boy to Lee, CIS, or CDC, three schools right at the intersection of Waugh and Locust. I was sure I could catch him. I would explain about cyclist’s rights to the road and why what he had done was really dangerous. I would ask that he please just give us the time we need at the intersection next time. He turned left on Waugh. I felt sure I could catch up to him. He was trapped in a series of school zones, but I lost him. Dang! If only I hadn’t been pulling the trailer.

I returned to school to inform everyone that I hadn’t caught him, but did get the license plate number and would send it along to MO Bike Fed. We discussed other routes from the tunnels up to school. We wanted to avoid that intersection at Hitt and Elm, it just gets too hairy sometimes since the cross street traffic doesn’t stop. We decided to take Elm, Sixth, Locust the next day.

Next day, everything went fine on the way to school and home afterward. AR had a sleepover that evening at Ella’s house in East Campus. We packed up AR’s suitcase and headed over to Ella’s. We took our usual route to school, foregoing the tunnels, in favor of riding Stewart straight up into campus. We crossed campus, getting back on the street at 9^th and University.

We rode east on University from the intersection of 9^th to Hitt, one block from one stop sign to another. As we neared the stop sign at Hitt, I rode out to the left of AR to take the lane. This is a safety move to keep from getting forced into the danger zone between a car and the curb at intersections. As I did this, Gashole #2 (red Jeep Cherokee) pulled out into the oncoming traffic lane to pass me. When he realized that he couldn’t get in front of me, as we were both at the stop sign, he gunned it and raced across the intersection. Thirty seconds later, Annarose and I were sitting behind him at the stop light at University and College. Good thing he saved all that time. I was tempted to knock on his rear window and wave, but didn’t.

Early the following week, the Bike Brigade was approaching school on Locust. Half of us had crossed the intersection at Waugh and Locust and were already in the official school zone. Locust has the right of way here, no stop signs. In one long stream, the rest of Brigade was following close behind. Gashole #3, (white sedan) was waiting to turn left on to Locust from Waugh. She apparently decided that 5 bicycles was the limit on a through street into a school zone. She didn’t have time to wait for the other 6, which were right there. She turned right into the middle of our group of cyclists. Luckily, our kids and parents are good riders and no one got hurt. The clencher? She is a Lee School Mom who was dropping her kids off at the front door…half block in a school zone from where she had been waiting so impatiently.

The next day, Gashole #4, (silver SUV) He pulled up next to us in front of school, then turned right into our line of oncoming cyclists to park his car without turning on his blinker. Max was riding there when he turned, with some quick evasive moves he missed getting hit.

Friday, 09/28/07, in the interest of safety, we had changed our route through downtown yet again. We were all feeling a little less joyful, a little more shaky by this point. We now take the tunnels all the way into to Flat Branch Park and ride up Cherry Street. This is a bit hillier and a bit out of the way, but the kids are all strong enough to handle the hill and the extra distance.

So Friday, as we approached the red-light at the intersection of 9^th and Cherry, we bunched up to take the lane. Some of us were already stopped, while the rest were slowing behind us. Someone called "Car back". No big deal, we were at a red-light after all. Then Gashole #5, (dark green SUV) came up behind us and didn’t stop, but pulled up to pass. I wondered what she was thinking as she came to a stop in the lane next to us, the opposite lane of traffic. Luckily, there were no cars coming that way. Shannon and I knocked on her window. She looked confused, and a little scared, as she tried to get the window open.

Shannon and I said, "Hey, we are taking the lane, because we have a red-light. We are trying to keep ourselves and our kids safe." She looked really confused. "It isn’t safe for us to get caught between a car and a curb at a red-light so we are taking the lane. You should have waited behind us."

"Oh," she replied "I didn’t know that. I am so sorry. I really am."

"It’s OK." We answered, "Thank you for your consideration, we really appreciate it. We really do." ‘Really really appreciate it, you have no idea, how much’ I think to myself.

I recognized her as a local business owner; I am sending her a thank you card.

I am sure that she just wasn’t really paying attention. There were 17 of us riding together that day; a large and very visible group, impossible to miss. I am sure if she had been paying attention and thinking, she would have stopped behind us instead of trying to pass at a red-light. Actually, I am sure most of the drivers we dealt with over the past week or so, are nice people who just weren’t really paying attention.

That’s a big part of the problem though, isn’t it? Inattentive driving. Being in a car separates people from the world around them and makes it easy to be inattentive to what is happening outside. Most of the time it’s not much of problem, but when it is it can be really dangerous.

It’s hard to be inattentive on a bike or when you are walking, because you are moving and interacting with the world around you in a very real way that forces you to stay focused. In a car you are sitting in a little chair in a little moving room not really doing much of anything, but listening to the radio, daydreaming, shaving, putting on make-up, talking on your cell phone, reading, reaching around for something you dropped, eating, cleaning up the coffee you spilled on yourself…

As a society, we are embrace this. Why?

Annarose - Dealing with drivers

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 05:32:00 GMT

LCDC2 – 09/22/07 – Annarose Overshiner – Dealing with drivers

I always try to explain to my kids why I tell them to do the things I tell them to do while we are riding. I explain traffic rules and what to watch for while they are riding. Max has had this stuff drilled into his skull since he started on his own bike three years ago, but it is much newer to AR, who only started riding a two wheeler last June.

The other day Annarose and I were riding along chatting about what really irritates us when we are riding.

Annarose commented, in her ever-eloquent fashion, "I hate when I look over my shoulder and car is just driving along really slow right behind me. Why don’t they just pass me?"

I explained. "Well Posey, they are trying to be helpful. They think that by slowing down for you they are being nice. Unfortunately, they don’t realize how dangerous it is, because it makes the cars behind them think that the cyclist is holding up traffic, when it is really the car that won’t pass that causes the problems. I’m sure they don’t know annoying it is."

She said "I hate it. I mean who wants a big, ugly, polluting hunk of metal with four wheels riding right on your tail!"

Getting faster

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 05:17:00 GMT

LCDC2 – Getting faster - 09/20/07 – Gina Overshiner

LCDC miles: I lost track

Kid miles: I lost track

After Wednesday off, due to a school field trip with Max’s fourth grade class, I was working in McBaine again. After multiple trips there and back, I finally have it figured out.

I fueled up with high fiber cereal, two squares of chocolate, an apple, a hard-boiled egg, a cup of coffee, and lots of water.

I herded the kids out the door for our daily ride to school. After a heated discussion (a.k.a. – Gina’s tirade about cycling and cars – watch for the transcript here soon) with fellow cycling parent’s after which my friend, Esther, gently teased me that I really need to get an issue I feel passionate about. I stopped by the bank to deposit a check, set my stopwatch, and headed out for McBaine.

With a Camelbak full of water, my ipod playing my favorite tunes and my passions stirred with memories of my morning soapbox exposition and related thoughts. After my tirades, I always find myself reviewing everything, and regretting of, what I said thinking about what I said wrong and worrying about who I offended wishing I would learn to keep my big mouth shut. Hasn’t happened yet. Unfortunately as I move deeper into my forties the chances of my suddenly gaining control and composure are looking slimmer and slimmer. I was stoked and ready to ride hard. It is amazing how a fire in your belly can make you perform better physically. It was great to get out on the trail and just crank. Surprisingly, the trail was quite empty and I was able to ride fast without passing many folks along the way.

I made it to the jobsite in 40 minutes; 4 minutes better than my fastest time! That included the long steep third mile climb up the gravel driveway from the river bottoms to the top of the bluffs over looking said bottoms. As well as one major slow down to let an oncoming cyclist pass while maneuvering around a retired couple and their dog on the trail. This is an average of about 20-mph. It’s amazing what you can do when you aren’t pulling a tool-laden trailer. I ran to tell Tim and the guys about my amazing time. They weren’t as excited as I was, go figure.

I took my milk crate of work clothes, boots, and sunscreen out of the shed and went around back to change and slather up with sunscreen for a day of working in the sun. This jobsite is in the country; it is one of only four houses on a family farm of 150+ acres. When changing from cycling clothes to work clothes, I find a secluded spot behind an out building or a clump of trees, strip down and change. In case you hadn’t figured it out, I am not high maintenance…multiple seasons fighting forest fires greatly decreased my dependence on modern ‘conveniences’.

I spent much of the day hauling supplies, 2x8s, 2x6s, 4x4s, and bags of mortar for the deck construction. Steve, Mike and I found a shady spot and sat on the ground for lunch. Tim was at Lowe’s returning some extra lumber and picking up more joist hangers. He took the truck; the lumber returns were too long for me to haul in the bike cart. I had packed a high protein, complex carb laden, low fat/low sugar lunch. High performance foods for the ride back to town. As I unpacked my lunch Steve said "Let me guess. Sardines, almonds, cheese, hard boiled egg and an apple."

Stupidly stunned by my culinary predictability, after all this is what I eat everyday, "Close," I replied somewhat defensively, "But I have oysters, not sardines, and don’t forget the crackers."

Tim returned with joist hangers, deep-fried chocolate puddings pies, and ice cold Cokes. Yummy. The pie brought back fond memories of fire camp. Firefighting is labor intensive, the forestry service advises you to consume at least 5,000-6,000 calories a day…not as easy, nor as fun, as it sounds. Everyday in fire camp they gave us these sack lunches made of high calorie, highly processed (fresh fruits and vegetables don’t keep well), government surplus foods. One year, they packed frozen burritos wrapped in foil each day with little packets of salsa. We couldn’t figure out the logic, were we supposed to put them in the fire to cook? Partially thawed freezer burritos are really yucky; you should try one sometime or you can take my word for it. But I digress. I didn’t want to risk being sick to my stomach for the ride home, so I had half a Coke and a small part of a chocolate pie.

The ride back to town was almost as good as the ride out, I made it in 43 minutes, my second best time, despite the heat and fatigue from working all day. Woo-hoo. Picked up my kiddos and headed home.

We stopped at Main Squeeze for smoothies and cookies. They have a new vegan peanut butter cookie with little chocolate kisses all over the top. It is amazing…great flavor, soft but not gooey cakey texture. You have to try one. Unless you have a peanut allergy, which could be dangerous; in that case, stay away from them. After Main Squeeze, we walked across the street to 9^th Street Video…the best video shop in the world. They have just about every movie you could ever imagine; not like the big chains that have 20 copies of every block buster film of the last six months but not much else. After getting our movies (Triplets of Belleville, The Buster Keaton Collection, and Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd – in case you were wondering). We headed down to the tunnels and home with a detour at the new park between Locust and Elm. It’s a big hit with all of us. Thanks City.

The Lee School Bike Brigade

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 05:14:00 GMT

LCDC2 – 09/22/07 – Lee School Bike Brigade – Gina Overshiner

Warning: This is a feel good piece that involves a mom bragging about her kids and their friends.

"Never underestimate the ability of a few caring people to change the world, indeed that’s all that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead.

I just wanted to share this cool thing with everyone; because, well it’s cool and it involves 9 LCDC participants, and a few folks who deserve some recognition. As you probably know by now, there are 44 participants in this year’s LCDC. Did you know that 9 of them (20%) are Lee School students and parents?

On the first day of last school year, Max, Annarose and I decided to try to ride to school and home on our bikes everyday. We bought a map of the USA and charted our daily miles in hopes of making it to New York City by the end of the school year.* There were several other Lee School families who rode their bikes frequently as well. For Bike, Walk, and Wheel Week last year, I talked the families I knew who lived between our house and school into riding to school together each day that week.

During BWWW, we averaged 16 moms, dads, and kids riding to school together each day. It was so cool to look around and see all those bikes riding down the street each morning. We had parents with kids in carts and on tag-a-longs, kids on their own bikes, and parents riding along keeping an eye out for everyone. I felt sad thinking ahead to the end of the week, when everyone would go back to their regular routines of driving their kids to school. But guess what? No one did, everyone finished out the last three weeks of the school year riding together.

Sid (7) and Simon’s (11) dad, Mark, re-arranged his work schedule so that he could ride to school with his boys, because they liked it so much. Each morning, Mark would (and still does this year), leave early to go to the office, then ride back home to get the boys, ride them to school, then ride back to work for the rest of the day. That’s dedication.

The best part? When I emailed everyone at the beginning of this school year about riding together, they all wanted to do it again. We started the school year riding together. Mark is doing the same crazy morning back and forth, four days a week so he can ride with his boys. Three of the kids who were on tag-a-longs last year are on their own bikes this year. We have some new families who have joined us this year. We average 13 folks riding each day, but have had as many as 20 riding together. One morning as we arrived at school, a friend called out "Here comes the bike brigade." The name stuck.

In addition to our little westside bike brigade, there are many other students riding to school these days with their parents. The bike rack that used to empty most days is full every day with kids parking their bikes along the fence, because there isn’t enough room. Dr. Vandover, our principal, has offered to request a second rack. Each day after school, the bike rack is the place to be with kids and parents visiting while gearing up for the ride home.

Nine of this year’s LCDC participants are bike brigade members who ride to school together each morning and home together many afternoons. They are Violet (10) and Erika Kroll; Chad, Pete (6), Lily (3), and Shannon Cannfield; Max (9), Annarose (7), and me. Mark, Sid and Simon’s dad, tried to participate, but prior commitments precluded it. Jody, Jasper’s dad, is new to Lee this year and joins us each morning after dropping off his younger son at Montessori school. Jody wanted to participate, but some work commitments prohibited it. Despite not being able to participate officially, these guys ride most everywhere on their bikes with very few exceptions.

*Due to the heavy snows and extreme cold last winter, we had to drive quite a bit in Jan and Feb. We didn’t make NYC, but we did make it to Pittsburgh - 850 miles, approximately 150 short of our destination

In the interests of science

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:54:00 GMT

LCDC2 – Sixteen foot poles on 24 foot ladders - 09/12/07 –Gina Overshiner

LCDC Miles:170

Kid miles:80

I was up and out the door by five this morning, I had to run over to a jobsite to pick up some tools and materials I needed. I love being up and out before dawn on these cool fall mornings. The sky was still velvety blue and full of stars, the eastern horizon had not even started to lighten up yet. The weather was cool and exhilarating.

I still can't believe August is really over. August was hell this year. It was so hot. We worked outside everyday, sweating in the 100+ heat for weeks on end. Normally, I get up and run at 5AM, but this August, I quit. It was just too demoralizing to walk outside at 5:15 to find the temperature and humiditiy already in the high seventies. Knowing this was the coolest part of the day, knowing I would be working and sweating all day as it got hotter and hotter, just got to be too much. I took a running sabbatical. I kept telling myself September would come and with it cooler weather. I am still have difficulty believing it is really happening.

Being out on this wonderful cool morning riding my bike and feeling chilly outside was especially invigorating. I got to the jobsite, collected the tools I needed, and headed quickly back home to wake the kids. Today was Max’s first day of choir and we had to be at school by 7:45. We had plans to meet Violet and Erika at 7 so we could go downtown for breakfast. I dropped Max at school, leaving AR and I with an hour to kill.

We wandered around downtown looking in shop windows and chatting about stuff. It was so nice to have some Mommy – Posey time before school. Unfortunately, the phone kept ringing. In case you hadn’t figured it out, Tim and I run a our own business, a little remodeling and renovation company. We were currently working on two jobs. I was scheduled to start another this morning. Despite the invasion on my time with Annarose, I had to take the calls. I am one of the bosses and that’s was you do, especially when things are not going as well as they should...the grout cracked again, we don’t have enough lumber, pieces are missing from the tub kit, the enamel isn't curing right...and on and on. So much for Mommy – Posey time, sorry kiddo.

After dropping Posey at school, I headed home to pick up some bills I needed to mail. I looked at my odometer, somehow I had already ridden 10 miles and it wasn’t even 9...what’s up with that? I mailed the bills and headed off toward the jobsite. I debated which route to take...Ash or Chapel Hill? Taking Ash, I could avoid riding up Chapel Hill, one of the tougher hills in town. I was hauling a fully loaded trailer after all – toolbox, DeWalt screwgun, 16ft extension pole, two gallons of paint, tuckpointing tools, paint brushes, tool belt, messenger bag, etc...easily a hundred pounds. Honestly, I’d have to be a fool or a masochist to take the Chapel Hill route. Hmmm, what to do? What to do?

I’ll take Chapel Hill, what the hell? As I was heading down West Blvd, I passed a guy on his bike on his way to work probably. If I had to guess by his headgear (non-Sam Adams beer brand baseball cap), the extremely low set of his seat, his leisurely pace, his riding posture (completely upright with his arms crossed and hands tucked into his armpits) and the crappy make of his bike (it was a Murffy...Murray – Huffy), he was a ‘bars to bars’ guy. You know? Honky tonk bars to handle bars after one DWI too many. I know, I know, that sounds extremely snooty and high falootin’ of me. After umpteen years in the saddle and four years as an Investigator for the St. Louis County Medical Examinern's Office, you learn to read folks and their bikes. Being a proponent of friendly roads, I called "Good Morning" as I passed.

Shortly after passing Mr. Murffy, I was passed by another cyclist. He had LCDC written all over him. Quality bike (I don’t know the brand, but I recognize good geometry when I see it...this clearly was no department store ride), the gear – messenger bag, racing helmet, fancy space age sunglasses, clothes – street, light jacket...probably constructed from some lightweight high performance fabric...jeans rolled at the cuffs to keep them out of the chain and to expose red cycling socks. By the looks of him, I guessed it was Mike Denehey or one of his friends. He stayed about a block ahead of me. I kept him in my sites, we were obviously headed to the same place. I caught him at the Ped crossing at Stadium and Forum ready to ask the question whose answer I already knew.

I rolled up next to him waiting for the light, before I could speak, he looked over and asked "Are you doing the Low Car Challenge?"

"Yeah" I replied, "You?"

"Yeah."

"What’s your name?" I asked.

"Eric" he replied. One of Mikes’ friends, I knew it!

I told him I’d enjoyed reading his blog. We chatted a bit waiting for the light to change, made our crossing, and headed our separate ways.

I took Mills (one light south of Forum/Stadium intersection) over to Chapel Hill, avoiding the Forum/Chapel Hill intersection and shaving a little distance. I headed down Chapel Hill Rd toward Fairview. I picked up speed going down Chapel Hill. I wondered how fast I could go with all that extra weight, so I started pedaling really fast down the hill watching my speedometer climb as I excellerated on my descent. My previous fastest speed was 29.6, I watched the speedometer climb...30, 31, 33, 36...Ring, Ring, Ring. God damn this cell phone! I kept watching the speedometer ignoring the phone to answer it now would be suicide, or worse. I might have a wreck and hurt my bike. 37, 38.4! Wow! What a rush. The phone kept ringing as I crossed the bridge at the bottom of the hill. I comtemplated throwing the cell phone in the creek, but with my luck someone would find it and return it to me, so why bother? We all have our crosses to bear.

Going up the other side toward Fairview was much slower. I watched my speedometer descend almost as quickly as it had excellerated mere minutes before. 29.6...25...20...18...10...7...4.5 and hold steady there the rest of the way up the hill. I kept my head down, eyes on the road, and pedaled. Every few moments I would venture a glace up. How close am I to that next road? Can I see the stop sign at the top yet? When you can see the stop sign you know you're about half way there. Thus I guaged my slow painful progress. Pedal, gasp, pedal, gasp, pedal, gasp.

I made it to the jobsite. I reached for my phone to see who had called. My hand came up empty. What? Where is it? Nowhere, my phone was gone! Hooray! OK, I knew where I had lost it, because I last heard it ring as I crossed the bridge at the bottom of Chapel Hill. I prepared to disconnect the bike cart and head back down, when Dave volunteered to go get it. Not one to refuse a kindness, I let him. He returned less than five minutes later with my phone...dang.

We were doing final touch up work on an exterior paint job we had finished in August and staining the deck. This house is near the intersection of Chapel Hill and Fairview, it is built into the side of a very steep hill. You can stand in the back yard, look directly ahead, and see the bottom of the gate...it's steep. The house itself is tall - three stories on the back. Of course, we didn't miss anything on the low easy to reach parts of the house. We only had a few small touchup spots, but, of course, they were all approximately 35 feet in the air...I call them the 'high icky bits'. I had to use a sixteen foot extension pole while standing on top of a twenty four foot ladder to do the touch up. I don't know if you have ever been lucky enough to do this type of work, but it's rather awkward.  There isn't a lot of room on top of a twenty four foot ladder. I was working with two different paint colors, and rollers and brushes. I spent a lot of the day climbing up and down the ladder with tools and paint.

Joe's (Max's friend) dad called to see if Max could play with Joe after school. I told him that would be fine, Max could ride home with them on his bike. Joe has been riding to school with his mom and dad...good for you guys! Curtis, Joe's dad, said he had to go out later in the evening to pick someone up and could bring Max home then. I told him that I would need to come get Max on the bike, because he couldn't go in the car. I explained about the LCDC. "Oh." Curtis replied, "Well." We often get this kind of confused response, when making plans with friends during LCDC. People don't exactly know what to do or think about it. They usually think it's cool, but don't really grasp that you can't go in a car at all. I suggested that Joe ride home with us, and then Curtis could come pick him up at our house. That seemed OK, but Curtis was going to puzzle it out more. One of the key components in living car free is thinking and planning things out. We'd talk later at school.

I rode over to the mall to run an errand over lunch.  I worked the rest of the afternoon, up and down the ladder, again and again. At three, I headed to school to pick up the kids. Again, I contemplated routes. Ash? Chapel Hill? Being flatter, Ash would be easiest, probably quickest too. Chapel Hill would be harder, only an idiot would take Chapel Hill. I wondered, is the hill steeper east to west or west to east? In the interest of science, I headed for Chapel Hill. Having unloaded the extension poles, paint cans, tuckpointing tools, and brushes, the job trailer was about forty pounds lighter than it was this morning. This would mean my descent would be a bit slower. As I pedaled, I wondered if the weight reduction would be compensated for by the decreased wind resistance, after all I didn't have the extension pole sticking out of the top of the cart now.
To compensate for the reduced weight, I pedaled hard down the hill. 30...32..33...34...35.4 I topped out at 35.4mph going west to east. As I made my slow progress up the other side, I wondered, are the hills the same or not?  East to west was seems steeper. Really there were too many variables in the experiment to make an accurate assessment today. Well, there's always tomorrow, I assured myself.

I arrived at school to pick up the kids. Curtis was there on his bike. "I decided I would ride to your house with you, so I know where to pick Joe up later.   This will also give me the chance to get a few more miles in." Curtis explained. 'A few more miles in', "Wow" I thought, "What a concept." I was just under 25 miles for the day and really didn't care if I got a few more in or not. Sometimes I really take for granted how much exercise I have built into my days by biking everywhere instead of driving. We headed home taking the tunnels to Stewart, Garth to East Parkway, around to Maupin. The best street ever. Through the pinch point on West Blvd/Broadway. I stopped before the pinch points and explained to Joe how we navigate safely through each one. Then I had him follow Max while Posey, Curtis, and I took the rear. We arrived safely home. Joe, Max, and Posey had a great time playing outside until it was time for Joe to go home.

This is going to hurt you a lot more than it hurts me.

Tim and Gina Overshiner — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 22:44:00 GMT

"I wish this was a nightmare and I would wake up." ~Max Overshiner, Age 9
LCDC2 - 09/11/07
LCDC miles:145
Kid miles:74

OK, so Max had been asking me if he could ride his scooter to school for a few weeks. I kept saying no and putting it off; after all it's 3.3 miles to school. He was especially insistent on Tuesday morning. Once again, I said "No Max, it'll take too long. It's too far for you to scooter to school. We're running late. We don't have time for that right now."

Then he struck with, "What about after school? We'll have time then. You can carry the scooter in the bike cart and I can ride it home after school."

"True, but how we will we get your bike home? It's too big for the bike cart." I parried, looking at my watch and seeing that we were getting later and later...the cycling mamas and papas of the bike brigade would be waiting.

"I can lock up my bike at school and ride Annarose's ten-speed tomorrow. Then you can carry the ten-speed home in the bike cart, it fits you carried it home from Klunk yesterday. I can ride my bike back home tomorrow after school." He struck the death blow - touche'. Clearly this kid has inherited my completely convoluted planning capabilities. Maybe we should have named him Rube. It was getting really late by this time. I caved.

"Fine." I replied defeated, "Put the damn scooter in the bike cart, we have to go NOW." Just then, Annarose came up and put her scooter in the bike cart, as well. Apparently, I would be hauling AR's bike home in the bike cart this afternoon, as the cart would be full of ten-speed tomorrow. Being human, and thus fallible, I can only haul one bike at a time and the tires have to be 24" or smaller.

Scooters loaded in the bike cart along with all my tools and their book bags, we headed off the meet up with the rest of the bike brigade.   We met Erika and Violet at Stewart and West Blvd, then over to Maupin and Greenwood to meet up with Mark, Sid, Simon, Jody, and Jasper. As we rode, Erika asked about the scooters. I explained. "Wow," she commented "You are reallly accommodating."

I felt like an overindulgent fool who has no control over her children, but I had a plan. When we met up with Shannon, Pete and Lily at Crestmere and West Parkway, the inquiries about the scooter started again.   Still feeling a bit foolish, I explained lamely "I like to let my kids figure things out for themselves. Collect their own data." I added somewhat cryptically.

I dropped the kids at school and headed to the job site, a bathroom remodel on West Worley, in which just about everything that can go wrong has. The toilet hasn't exploded, so that's a good thing. Hopefully, Tim will come and work his magic and pull it all together.   At 3ish, I headed over to school to pick up the kids for their scooter ride home and my ultimate vindication.  I arrived at school and Max started by asking if Dad could come with the truck to pick up this desk that the school was throwing out. He thought it was really cool and wanted it for his room.  We had been trying to get the desk picked up for a while, so I called Tim. He was on the way to the hardware store, yet another glitch on the remodel, but he almost had everything fixed, as I knew he would. Yes, he could stop by to get the desk. We waited around to help him load it in the truck. I took the opportunity to put the bikes in, as well. Not that I wasn't looking forward to hauling the bikes in the bike cart for the next two days, but when opportunity knocks...

The kids had been riding their scooters around the playground while all this was going on. After Tim left, I had my first small taste of sweet revenge. Annarose rode up and expectantly asked where her bike was. "I loaded it up in the truck and sent it home with Daddy. I thought you wanted to ride your scooter." I told her innocently, relishing the concerned look on her face.

"Oh" she replied crestfallen "Yeah, I did want to ride my scooter home." Not very convincing, I might add.

I wanted to give their scooter efforts a fair chance, so there could be no excuses later. I took them to Candy Factory for a treat and a rest before the long ride home. Rested and hopped up on sugar, we headed down Cherry St. to Flat Branch Park and the tunnels. So far so good. It was slow going, but I had figured it would take a long time. They were having a great time riding through the tunnels and along the sidewalk on Stewart. They held their own along West Parkway and were showing no signs of slowing. I was watching their kicking legs waiting for the inevitable signs of fatigue. Max worried me a bit, because he has perfected this technique of switching legs thus allowing one leg then the other some rest and recovery time. As we headed up Maupin he was switching legs and bunny hopping, causing me to worry that my evil plan might fail.

The going was very slow, 3-5 mph, hardly faster than a walk. It is hard to ride that slow for three miles and more, especially with a loaded bike cart while keeping an eye out for your scootering kids and waiting for your ultimate revenge. You should try it some time. I did the whole thing in my lowest granny gear. Somewhere near Maupin and Edgewood, Posey started showing some signs of fatigue. She is an extremely tough kid, who will never admit defeat. "Are you having a good time Posey?" I asked sweetly. "Yeah" she panted. "Good, I'm glad." 'She'll crack soon' I joyfully thought to myself. I was worried about Max though. He was a block ahead, as usual, just kicking along and bunny hopping. This was worrying.

Then at the corner of Maupin and Lindell, it happened. Max cried out "I wish this was a nightmare and I would wake up!" I was confused at first.  Did my ears deceive me?   Was I having an auditory hallucination? "What?" I asked. He yelled it again while scootering through a puddlish low spot on the corner "I wish this was a nightmare and I would wake up!" "What do you mean Max?" I asked with relish. This was too good to be true. Surely he was talking about something else, he can't mean the wonderful scooter ride. Half a block later, Posey cracked, "Can we take a little rest, Mom?" "Well," I replied "If it's OK with Max, it's OK with me." "Max, Annarose wants to take a break, is that OK with you?" I asked. Then for an added touch, I said "If you want to keep going, I am sure Posey will be all right."

They both collapsed panting on someone's front lawn. The heavens opened up and the angels started singing, "Halleluia! Halleluia! Halleluia! Hal-le-luia!" OK, that didn't really happen, but I did experience a profound sense of satification in knowing that I am truly not the pandering fool that I had felt I was earlier in the day. I was glad to know that the scooter arguement was over once and for all. Having experienced the three mile scooter ride from school, the kids would not ask to ride them to school again. Just to make sure, I said with
an innocent smile "OK guys, it's time to get up and scooter the rest of the way home." ...only half a mile to go.

We made it home 40 minutes after leaving Candy Factory - it would have been around 15 on the bike.  The kids went immediately into Max's room and started propping pillows up on the headboard. They climbed into bed with their books and their gameboys saying "We need a rest!" "Don't you want to go play outside?" I asked surprised, I have never seen my kids this spent. "We will in a while, but we need a rest right now!"

In less than thirty minutes they were out on Garden Ct. with their buddy, Keenan, having scooter races and making up new tricks. They still play on their scooters most everyday, but they haven't asked to ride them to school since. Of course, it's only been three days.