Japan (Part 1): Jumping Into the Bike Trip (Takamatsu and Shodoshima)
I always claim that one of the most challenging parts of each bike trip is getting to the airport. This trip was no different. With a 2am departure and two children things were a bit tricky. But the kids were troopers. They went to sleep for a few hours at home before being woken up suddenly to come down to catch the taxi. Neil was sleeping so hard I didn’t think he would wake up. I transferred Kai easily to the carrier where he continued sleeping. On the way to the airport I kept on thinking – what kind of parents are we? Waking up their kids in the middle…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Cycling & Cycle Touring, Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids
Pender and Galiano: So Much More to Discover
We don’t plan much in advance. The reasoning is somewhere in between a spirit of adventure and an unwillingness to commit in advance. Anyway, when a friend emailed around asking who’d be interested in making a reservation for camping on the May long weekend, FOUR months earlier, in January, my first thought was “there’s no way we can commit to that” and then “we’re not the kind of people that book four months in advance”, and so on. But then I started thinking that maybe we should engage with our wilder side, step out of our comfort zone… Maya suggested the location – the newish campground at Shingle Bay on…
How to Pack Your Haul a Day in Two Regular Sized Boxes
Recently we bought a Bike Friday Haul a Day cargo bike and cycle toured with it in Greece for five weeks. We flew with United Airlines, which wanted to charge us $200 per bike, per direction. I knew that the Haul a Day frame can be dismantled, so I was curious if our bike could fit into two regular boxes or suitcases. This would allow us to avoid the outrageous bike fees. When we ordered our bike from Bike Friday, I asked them if they could ship it to us in two regular sized boxes. As I have experienced in the past, they make an effort to help their customers…
Greece: Cycling Through Seven Islands with the Double Fours
Do animals have a belly button? How can a volcano be sleeping if it doesn’t have eyes? What do fish eat? Where is the shadow of the sea? How come the rules in Greece are a bit different? Where are our bike boxes? Why is Kai sad? Which side to ride on? Which side is the right side? This is just a fraction of the questions we got from our four year old while we were cycling together in Greece over five weeks. It didn’t matter how many times we told him he should be cycling on the right side, he still kept on asking about 500 times a day,…
Bike Friday Haul a Day: Introducing Big Bird
Recently we had a new addition to our family – the lovely Kai, now six months old. Since we intended to continue cycle touring as a family, we started searching for a solution that would serve our expanded needs. As plans materialized for a five week cycle touring trip to Greece, we switched into high gear. We decided to buy a Bike Friday Haul a Day, a custom-made cargo bike made in Oregon. Ordering the bike was a new experience for me, since one can customize all the components, and even the colour and the many available add-ons. A few days on the phone and email and we had our…
Around Lake Michigan with a Three Year Old on a Bike (Video)
In May we went to a family wedding in Chicago and decided to stay on and do an 11 day bike trip around Lake Michigan. It was the first long bike trip on which our three year old son Neil biked part of the way by himself. The route was very flat and included many bike trails, some of which used to be old railways. We crossed the lake by ferry, cycled in four different states, stayed with friendly families through Warmshowers and took the train back to downtown Chicago. We hit a heatwave so we swam in the lake a lot and to Neil’s delight we made a stop at…
- Cycling & Cycle Touring, Gulf Islands and Sunshine Coast, Kayaking and Canoeing, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids
Savary Island: Forgotten on a Small Island
We had one week that we could take off at the beginning of September. The options seemed more limited than usual. At 32 weeks pregnant we didn’t want to go very far, or do long biking or hiking trips. In addition, most of the interior of BC seemed be on fire and we didn’t want to cross into the US in case of a medical emergency. We tried to think of things we wouldn’t normally do. Then I remembered a few people recently mentioning Savary Island and its magical atmosphere. We started researching and we got curious. A tiny island, just off the shore of the Sunshine Coast, off the…
Whistler and Pemberton: Smokin’
We had cycled the Pemberton Slow Food Cycle Sunday twice before, and were looking forward to doing it again this year. With a three year old on the back seat, the drive from Vancouver just seems getting longer and longer, so we decided to make a weekend out of it. We met up with two other families with kids, in Whistler by the Meadow Park Sports Center. From there we cycled the 4 km’s or so to Alta Lake, and spent most of the rest of the day there, on the grass, swimming, and lounging. We borrowed a stand up paddle board from a friend of a friend. It was…
Every Day is ‘Just Another Day in Paradise’ While Cycling Around Maui (Video)
In February 2018 we set out on a three week cycling adventure around Maui with our three year old. After hearing how touristy Maui is we were surprised to find some of the quietest roads we’ve ever ridden, deserted beaches and endless views at every bend. Maui literally took our breath away. It was a magical experience and every day on Maui truly felt like ‘Just Another Day in Paradise’.
Agassiz and Chilliwack: Farm Tour Biking & Cold River Swimming
After a one year break we decided to do the Agassiz Farm Tour again. The problem was that Neil really had a hard time falling asleep the night before (which seems to be a pattern this summer) so we left Vancouver pretty late. By the time we started riding in Agassiz it was almost noon, which was actually good timing for having lunch just a few kilometers later at a cheese farm. The toasted sandwiches were yummy (although the bread was just regular supermarket bread) and we also had a delicious soup. We thought we’d keep some room for the next stop which was supposed to be tacos de carnitas, but…
