I think when people hear about our challenge to live on 4,000 miles, they immediately see it as hindering our way of life–I know I thought it would at first.  It’s true that I have to think a lot more about where I go, but it’s really been interesting to see how often going by bike actually expands our possibilities.  I know I’ve said this before, but it’s still such a surprise!

We had quite the weekend.  Friday night we had a birthday party to attend at a local playplace.  It was only about three miles away, so biking was a no-brainer.  It could (and should) have been a route that only went through neighborhoods, but alas the cul-de-sac craze made such a route impossible.  We had a nice ride anyways and it was cool to take the opportunity to show off our bikes at a place where there were lots of parents (and probably not many that had seen such a thing).

A friend of ours had given me a tip that our local science center was going to be free on Saturday; it’s a bit pricey and I’m kind of a cheapskate, so I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity.  We also had some stuff to return to the library, so we had to add that to the agenda as well.  The ride was beautiful–surprisingly, we made it to both places while staying entirely on residential roads.  This was a great learning experience, as it really highlighted the importance of route planning.  Though I’ve grown to nearly always prefer biking for family outings, it’s an even easier choice when you know you will be riding through quaint little neighborhoods the entire time.

We had a little picnic and then spent a long time at the science center, so we were pretty exhausted when we decided to head out.  We were riding through Baldwin Park to get on the trail when we noticed the main streets were closed off.  Uh oh–a Christmas parade.  I’m a borderline fanatic when it comes to marching bands; I’ve actually watched Drumline several times of my own volition.  Parking wasn’t an issue and traffic leaving wouldn’t be either, so why not stop?  It was as simple as stepping off the bikes and locking them up, so I was able to successfully make the pitch to the family and convince them to stay.

I can say with a pretty strong degree of certainty that this would not have happened if we had driven.  First of all, anytime we have tried to do more than one activity during a family outing, everyone gets grouchy.  I don’t know why this doesn’t happen with biking –it’s some kind of phenomenon!  Secondly, no matter how strong my affinity for marching bands, I would not have been able to convince the family to make this impromptu stop if parking and such had been involved.  We, of course, had a fabulous time and enjoyed every second.  Was it life-changing?  No.  But it would have been one less family memory–that has to matter even in the grand scheme of things.

The parade put us in the spirit and we decided to skip part of the trail and opt for riding around looking at lights instead.  So just like that, we had successfully spent an entire day (and boy do I mean an entire day) out and about by bike.  This is something I wouldn’t have even been able to wrap my head around only a few months ago, and now it is completely second nature.  So yeah–it amazes me.

I’d like to take this opportunity to point out that Xtracycle is running a fabulous sale on the Radish (you can read more than you ever wanted to know about my Radish set-up here).  They also had a couple of lovely screen-printed snapdecks that they were throwing in–I believe there were only two.  I can say with absolute confidence that you will not regret it.  Seriously–when is the last time you got so excited over grocery shopping that you took a picture??  Go on and jump–you have no idea what wonderfulness is waiting for you!