Strider Bikes are running bikes designed for children, ages 1-5 and have several advantages over tricycles and bikes with training wheels in teaching the balance and coordination skills necessary to making a smooth and speedy transition to a two-wheeled bicycle when the time comes.

As Strider Bike inventor Ryan McFarland notes if a child can walk, they can use the Strider.  Toddlers don’t actually sit on the low-slung seat of the Strider; they walk it along and feel stable. Later, they will put their weight on the bike, sitting down and lifting up their feet as they ride for a few yards. At that point, says McFarland, “They have a taste of what it means to balance and ride a bike.”

The Strider bikes are made of durable materials, but unlike most tricycles and bikes with training wheels, they are lightweight enough that a child can easily maneuver them. The Striders make an easy transition to off-road riding and one can find on You Tube videos of 3 ½ to 5 year olds doing tricks on their Striders at a BMX park.

The one complaint I’ve heard about running bikes is that they don’t have pedals and thus don’t teach pedaling skills. McFarland admits that, but he counters that argument by pointing out that learning to pedal takes about a minute for a child who is ready to make the transfer to a real bike. The balancing skills take much longer to learn and have been mastered already in a natural way while riding the Strider. He also points out that a bicycle with training wheels steers and behaves like a tricycle and does not teach the skills for truly balancing a bike. It is also usually too heavy for a child to manipulate. (That is doubly true for a big box store bought bike. The weight of our neighbor boy’s bike was 2/3’rds the weight of the boy himself.)

Holiday GIVEAWAY of a STRIDER BIKE

A running bike from Strider™.  would make a wonderful Christmas/Chanukah present for a special child on your list! We are THRILLED to be able to offer one as A GIVEAWAY from STRIDER! The bike that Strider is giving away is a limited edition purple colored bike (only one of 200 made!)

Want to win a STRIDER running bike? Simply make a comment below and tell us why you want this bike for a child in your life! We’ll choose randomly from among the best comment and Strider will send it to you. (US Address Only) HURRY! Contest will run until DECEMBER 19th only!

How many of us have wonderful memories of that special childhood relationship with our bicycles? We remember with affection bikes with banana seats, white baskets with plastic flowers, tassels off the handlebar, a bell with a nice loud tone and the feeling of freedom we felt as we rode down the street with friends or accompanied by just the family dog. Good memories of your childhood bike probably are a part of why you ride today. (A British study actually shows a relationship between adult bike use and happy memories of childhood cycling. ) A pleasant easy-going bike ride is often summed up with the phrase, “I feel like a kid again!”

              Now you have a child of your own and you want to get them a bicycle that you hope will be the beginning of a life-long love for their bicycle. There are bikes available for preschool-age children at Big Box stores for as little as $39 (+ extra costs they may add on at the register) and at your local bike shop for a brand-name bike for about 3 times that amount or more. As your child grows, so will the costs of their bicycles. The question is: should we make the decision to buy a child’s bike on price alone? OR are there more things to consider? Do we want to give them a bike well-designed for long years of use and many accumulated miles of riding or a bike that has had as many costs taken out of it as humanly possible?

I have previously discussed the problems with buying a big box-store (Wal-mart, K-mart, or Toys ‘R’ Us) assembled bike. But it is a good idea to consider what the issues may be as you consider buying a bike for your child, grandchild or niece or nephew as the Holidays are here.

Ten Reasons to Buy a Good-Quality Bike for Your Child:

1. A good quality kids bike will last for many years so it can be passed down to subsequent siblings, and even some cousins after that. A low-quality bike may break down before the child outgrows it, and may not be repairable. A bike bought from a local bike shop will often have a one year warranty, and if you want that from a Toys ‘R’ Us type bike, you will be charged extra and it will have lots of conditions.
2. A bike that is built by a big box store clerk may be assembled incorrectly. At the worst, the bad-assembled- bike will not be easy to ride, at the worst, riding it can actually cause damage to the bike or it may be unsafe, causing possible injury to your child. Another note, the ironic thing is that a store like Toys ‘R’ Us will charge their customers extra for assembling the bike, but a local bike shop charges nothing extra for assembling a bike bought at their store. Guess who does a better job?
3. Hand brakes can be so cut-rate as to be worthless on cheap bikes that have both coaster and handbrakes. (And by law now, bikes for young children that have handbrakes should also have coaster brakes, because of this very issue.) This can obviously be a safety issue. A child’s bike from a bike shop will have higher quality brakes.
4. To save money, bikes from the Big Box stores are often made out of low quality steel. This means the bike will rust more easily, often starting with the chrome-plated steel wheels.
5. Lower-quality bikes are often more heavy (up to 25% heavier than a brand-name bike) than they should be for a young child. This will make it even more work to a young child trying to pedal it up a slope or even to manuever and balance it. The problems with a light-weight child balancing a heavier bike can lead to more falls, sometimes with the bike falling over on the child. (Ouch!)
6. A good bike usually has more adjustability in the seat post, which may gain you an extra year of use. Cheap bikes often don’t have a range of more than an inch or two. Seat posts on cheaper bikes may not adjust smoothly either.
7. On a very inexpensive bike the clamp that holds the handlebars in place is low-quality and the handlebars may be become loose and wiggly over time. This can be a safety issue.
8. The chains will be of lower quality which will make pedaling more difficult. The chain guards are often made of brittle plastic which can crack and break easily, especially if you live in a cold climate.
9. When a bike does need a tire change or a repair, an inexpensive bike may have a non-standard size tire and the parts may be very difficult to find. Sometimes such bikes easily break, and you will end up spending enough money to fix it that you might as well have bought a LBS (local bike shop) bike in the first place.
10. If you are eco-conscious, you should think about how disposable cheap bikes have become.The next time you visit the local landfill, look into the scrap metal recycling area. It will be full of discarded cheap children’s bikes (it’s a great opportunity to make note of which bikes to never buy!) Alternatively, a good quality brand-name child’s bicycle that has been reasonably well taken care of will actually have re-sale value after your child or children have outgrown it.

Scoot-style bikes like the Giant Pre have no pedals, but these bikes are popular as a first bike because the children really learn how to balance the bike and skip the training wheel phase.

Between these two price ranges are bikes for kids priced around $100 made by Schwinn and Diamondback and the like available at sporting goods stores, Wal-Mart or even at Amazon.com. From my limited research of reviews, I’d say the quality fits between the above extremes. It will be better quality than the $40 bike, but not as nearly as good as the bikes you will find at your local bike shop. Pay attention to customer reviews written after the kids have actually ridden it for a few months, not just those who are thrilled with it the day the child gets the bike.

I will note that thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a lot of the worst problems that were inherent in American kid’s bikes in the ‘80’s and 90’s are not as much of an issue. In one sad case back then, a kid holding the handlebars had them come off in this hands and he was impaled on the handlebar stem as he fell forward. Yes, the CPSC are trying to do their job, but you should still do your homework to save yourself and your child problems down the road.

Here are just two sites where kids’ bikes are reviewed:

Here are the recommendations from Bicycling Magazine’s for kid’s bikes.

Some mid-range priced children’s bikes are reviewed here in a positive light. This is a start, but even some of the recommended bikes on this page  get iffy reviews from dissatisfied customers on other sites.

If you note the Mike and the Bike book in the photo above, you can find more information about that book and its sister book, Lucille and the Wheel here.

“It’s so different from all the other sports I’ve tried. You can go longer and faster. I just love biking!”

It was one of those serendipitous moments the day that Kathy and her 12-year old daughter Nicole spotted a postcard advertising a  women’s ride at their local bike shop. The ride was the Venus De Miles Women’s Ride in Longmont, Co. It intrigued them both and they thought they’d love to ride it together as mother and daughter. The problem was, Nicole didn’t have a bike and Kathy wondered if a 35 mile-loop would be a bit too much for her even if she did find one.

Kathy had used her bike to get around and to ride recreationally when she was in college and in grad school. She even enjoyed mountain biking, but after she had children, she used her bike only for short trips into town. She had recently bought a second-hand road bike and was just getting back into cycling. Nicole had been gamely trying several different sports trying to find one she liked, she was just as willing to try out cycling. A neighbor loaned Nicole a bicycle and as Nicole remembered, “We trained hard.”

On the day of the Venus de Miles ride, Kathy was still a bit worried about Nicole as they began the ride, but they soon found themselves in a nurturing group of older women who rode alongside them the entire way. Nicole enjoyed chatting with them and the other riders encouraged her as she rode. Kathy remembers that moment during the Venus de Miles ride when Nicole turned to her with a triumphant expression on her face. “Mom,” she said, “I think I’ve finally found my sport!”

Nicole is loving life on the bike. (Photo courtesy of Maureen Sullivan of Sullivan Studios)

Two weeks after that, Nicole and Kathy rode 50 miles in the Buffalo Bicycle Classic. Nicole’s love of cycling didn’t diminish. She wanted to buy the bike she had been borrowing and was able to work out a way to earn it with her babysitting earnings. Nicole and her mother joined the local women’s cycling group, the Venus de Miles Bicycle Club in Boulder and during the Colorado winter, she went spinning with the club and at her local rec. center. She hopes to sign up with the Black Sheep junior cycling team and pursue the sport. Nicole has even started to think in the long term and when the time comes to choose college, she will be looking to see which offer scholarships for a cycling team.

Nicole and Kathy have found a sport they can enjoy together. (Photo by Maureen Sullivan/Sullivan Studios)

The mother-daughter time spent together on their bicycles has been another great perk. Kathy couldn’t be more pleased with how their experience during the Venus de Miles ride has affected her daughter: “It’s amazing the way things fell into place for her; the support has been great. She was excited and people saw that. It’s great to have that kind of support and get young women involved.”

You can see our list of women’s only rides in the US  or we have a list of women’s only triathlons.

Kids and their bicycles should go together like peanut butter and jelly, like popsicles and summer afternoons.  Do you remember your childhood bicycle and the places it took you? It may not be that simple for our children as it was for us. Too many of them are more attracted to playing computer games than to being active outdoors, even on a summer day. It takes more effort on a parent’s part to help our children enjoy an active lifestyle and find the joys of cycling. A set of books to read to your young children that gets them excited about bicycling can get them off to a great start.

Michael Ward, who has been a Grammy-award winning guitarist and songwriter (and former member of the Wallflowers) became an avid cyclist, and was inspired to write the children’s book, Mike and the Bike, which was followed by its companion book, Lucille and the Wheel.  The books are poetic and fun, perfectly aimed at the 3-5 year old age group. “The whole idea of the Mike & Lucille books,” says George Starks, publisher of the books, “was to make something fun for preschool and kindergarten kids and introduce the concept of bicycling as something fun to do.”

A Mike and the Bike book signing at Mellow Johnny's in Austin, TX.

Although the books have a great introduction by Lance Armstrong and are narrated by “Voice of Cycling,” Phil Liggett, their focus was not necessarily on elementary age children who might be old enough to enjoy watching the Tour de France and are old enough to spend more time on their bicycles. It is for that age of children that a new active lifestyle program has been set up on Mike & the Bike’s website: The Mike & the Bike website will not only offer a fun kid-aimed way to follow the Tour de France, but will have a downloadable fitness program meant to inspire children to get outside and have fun bicycling or even walking around their neighborhood. The website also wants to promote a summer reading program and good nutritional habits. A little extra motivation is offered in the form of a downloadable literacy & fitness log for children and their parents to fill in and then enter a special sweepstakes. The prize? A fun day on your bicycle in the park with professional cyclists!

(You can check out the Mike and the Bike website here. The website’s new program promises to be up and online soon!)

Mike offers such safety tips as proper helmet fit!

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Jessie and her children’s Book Review of Mike and the Bike & Lucille and the Wheel

Michael Ward is a musician turned avid cyclist. He has made a huge effort to help engage young children in biking. He wrote Mike and the Bike and Lucille and the Wheel to further the cause. He has worked closely with Lance Armstrong Foundation to help those living with cancer. Lance Armstrong provides the forward for both books.

These two books are fun and my kids really enjoy them. Both books include a CD that has several funky techno songs that kids can song along with. The Mike and the Bike website offers games, activities, information and more for free!

Phil Liggett, “The Voice of Cycling”, narrates both stories. He has commentated 32 Tours de France among countless other cycling events. I loved hearing Phil read the story to me and my kids – he has a voice like no other!

The first book, Mike and the Bike, introduces us to Mike and his beloved bicycle. We follow him as he rides through his town and dreams of all the places his bike can take him. He even goes to bed with his helmet on one night.

Mike and the Bike meet Lucille and the Wheel is the second book and my favorite of the two, by far. Lucille is a longer story and has more substance. In this book Mike meets his new neighbor, Lucille, who also loves to ride. Lucille is very handy when it comes to fixing bikes and she even teaches readers how to change a tire. The book  follows the two as they go for a long ride and become fast friends

Overall, I really liked these books and so did my 3 and 8 year old children. It was a bit remedial for my 10 year old but he still enjoyed reading them to his little sister. These books and the activities on the website are geared toward kids Kindergarten through 3rd grade.

If there weren’t enough reasons to love these books on their own, beginning this summer, the Mike and the Bike team is launching a summer program to encourage exercise and learning! There is more information about these programs and how you can earn money for your kids schools on the Mike and the Bike website

By Tara R. McKee

“The couple that exercises together stays together.” (The Schofield mantra)

For Jon and Leslie Schofield, their romance began on bicycles. “Our first date was a mountain bike ride,” Leslie remembers. It was on the mountain trails of Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort in Utah. The active life was part of who they were as individuals and as a couple. Mountain biking and running together was part of their courtship and something they continued to do together after they got married.

A marriage evolves and theirs was no different. Children came along and they juggled his full-time job, her part time job, and childcare responsibilities with their urge to continue a physically active life. So they divided things neatly to allow each to work out while the other watched the children. Leslie drew the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedule and Jon had the other half of the week. Leslie’s bike spent more time in the garage as she put in her early morning time running. Jon ran and mountain biked and then he got a road bike and immersed himself in local competitive cycling with criteriums, long endurance races and triathlons.

It was during this era of their parallel training lives that Leslie began cycling with her neighbor Bev Ronnow, who was a very accomplished road cyclist and then Leslie competed in her first triathlon. Jon smiles as he remembers Leslie in the triathlon using her full-suspension mountain bike with slick tires: “She blew the competition away, passing people on their tri bikes with their aero bars.”

Soon after, she bought a road bike and she learned her road biking skills at the wheels of her friend Bev. When their oldest child was old enough to babysit, the couple would slip out of the house on the occasional weekend morning for a ride together. Jon was into competitive cycling at the time and he remembers those rides: “It was kind of good and bad for our cycling relationship. I would think ‘I’m not going fast enough. I’m not getting a good enough workout.’” He also realized that the training he was doing took a lot of time. Among the other responsibilities that divided their lives, these his-and-hers training schedules which included his hard core training for races meant they were spending a lot less time together.

Then they had an epiphany about their relationship: “About two years ago we realized we had a really good thing together and a passion for the bike,” Jon recalled.  “To one extent I like getting a workout with my buddies, but then realize I’m missing out on the best relationship I had, (the one) with my wife. I had to evaluate: what’s more important: my family and my wife and our relationship or upgrading to the next racing level?”

That summer they put the intensity they had for training into their relationship. They used cycling to bring them together again. They trained for the Spudman Triathlon together. Leslie: “We had our whole schedule. We trained every single day together. We did all of it together: biking, running and swimming.”

Leslie is fast and competitive, but Jon is even faster on the bike. It took an adjustment to cycle together. Leslie explains their method: “On a flat it’s great if I can draft off him. Yet going up a hill, he’s obviously stronger than me. If he needs to do training, he will loop up and around and do a couple intervals then come back with me.”

Working out together has many rewards, a stronger marital relationship and a few unexpected bonuses. They raced in LOTOJA (The 206 mile Logan to Jackson race) later that season as a two-person relay team and Jon still remembers it as “one of the most fun racing experiences I’ve had as a team.” Leslie adds, “We took ‘second place’ and the next year we took ‘third’ but improved by 21 minutes. It was intense…so fun. Maybe we should do it again, Jon!”

They have a new balance for working out now. Jon doesn’t care as much about being so competitive anymore yet he does get out occasionally for a hard ride on his own or with friends especially during the winter or in the dark when Leslie prefers running to cycling. “We have felt in our own minds that we don’t need to be quite so competitive, we can find a balance and just do it for fun and still enjoy it and ride together more recreationally.”

On Sunday mornings in the summer they have a new tradition. They leave the house just as it begins to get light and they ride up one of the mountain canyons to a ski resort for a breakfast of pancakes or French toast which they enjoy while sitting at an outdoor table in the fresh mountain air. Sometimes they are joined on the ride by other couples. Leslie’s face lights up as she talks about it: “We tell the kids we may be a little later. It’s just a date in the morning. I love that.”

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them. –James Baldwin

Gloria and her daughter Rachel enjoy spending time together on their bicyles.

Teenagers may tune us out now and then, and two-year olds may willfully ignore our direct orders, but never doubt they are truly influenced by the things we do. Do you try to eat a healthy diet? It is truly having an impact on your children. Studies have shown that children’s food preferences are strongly linked with that of their parents, and more so with the mother than with the father.* Daughters are even more likely than sons to be influenced by the mother’s nutritional example. The mother’s habits and attitudes about food, dieting and self image have a huge impact on her daughter. This study may just be reaffirming what you already knew.

Kristin and Brynlee bond on their bicycles.

When you think about your childhood, your mother and food, what images come to mind? Do you believe it is true for you? In my case, my mother had made our nutrition and the family’s food choices a huge focus. She was into organic and natural foods and our school lunches differed wildly from our classmates making us feel very uncool. We ate sandwiches on homemade bread that was held together by the peanut butter, apples from our trees, and for a treat, a carob chip cookie. However to this day, I actually prefer eating healthy and whole foods, but long ago, I traded in the carob chips for good dark chocolate.

If you get on your bicycle and ride for exercise or to get from one place to another, that too, is having an influence on your children. A few years ago, The Wall Street Journal published the results of a study that showed that not only were a mother’s nutrition habits strongly influencing her daughter, but so were her exercise habits.** It is a true case of “daughter see, daughter do.” Evidently, exercise habits do get passed on in families. The importance of modeling good exercise habits is especially important for your daughters because compared with your sons, their exercise levels drop dramatically after age 9.

JoLynn and her three daughters are lookin' fine as they roll through the park together!

If you exercise independently, you are still serving as a role model, but exercising together is also very important. Bicycling is a great exercise to share with your daughter. It is something you can do together to share some precious one-on-one time. Cycling is excellent because it is an informal, less competitive activity where girls don’t have to feel self-conscious about their abilities. “Take Our Daughters to Work Day” has become a very popular way to teach our daughters about the value of a good career. I propose we start “Take Our Daughters (& Sons) on a Bicycle Ride Day” to pass on the values of a good, healthy life.

* Family Pattern Similarities and Differences Among Family Members by C. Kies and T.L.Dunlap in the  Journal of the American Dietetic Association
**Leading by Example:Research Explorers Moms’ Role in Girls’ Health and Nutrition by Tara Parker-Pope, Wall Street Journal, September 26, 2006

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need, can hit hard.” –Sloan Wilson

"One of the greatest things about being a teenager is the sharing, the closeness, and the great times you have with your friends." - Unknown

By Tara R. McKee

When I was young, my sister and I were given an awful lot of freedom to go where we liked and play for hours as long as our mother had a rough idea of where we were. A generation ago, that was typical. In contrast, I was a different type of mother: my children’s lives were more structured with sports and extra-curricular activities. My kids spent a lot more time in the family car being driven to their various activities. They spent a lot less time off on their own with only a vague promise of being home before dinner.
I don’t believe I am in the minority here. We, as a generation of parents are also fearful about our children going various places, unmonitored, until they are much older. Can we tell the real difference between a real concern for their safety and unreasonable fear? Here’s a fact I was shocked to hear: the crime rate is about the same as it was in 1970, a generation ago. Children aren’t more likely to be abducted now than in 1970. BUT, we do have 24 hour news coverage and several different cable channels. The news channels are under much more pressure than they ever have been to fill that time, so abductions get much better media coverage than they ever did.

"We cannot tell the precise moment when a friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop there is at last a drop which makes it run over. So in a series of kindnesses there is at last one drop which makes the heart run over." - Cindy Kirk

So what are the true facts? Lenore Skenady, author of Free Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts from Worry, points out the the statistics that a child has a 1 in 1.5 million chance that they will be abducted and killed by a stranger. Compare that to the number one cause of death for children: as passengers in car accidents.
There are also occasions where our children are so used to being driven, they will ask for rides to the homes of friends who live less than ½ mile away. Are they lazy or just conditioned to expect cars to drive them everywhere? If the weather is fine, and safety and distance aren’t a concern—ask them: why not walk or ride your bicycle?
I had this epiphany one day when my eleven-year old daughter and her friend walked to a restaurant about 1/2 mile from their houses. The girls asked to be seated, ordered from the menu, paid their bill and tipped the waitress appropriately, and came home. This small little excursion was an eye opener for me. I needed to encourage more independence, let her have fun, and let her transport herself.
Self-confidence is gained when our children are given more autonomy. Pre-teens and young teens love a challenge, they love being together without constant supervision. If they have proven that they have the sufficient maturity, give them more independence and responsibility. If they have the road sense they need to get around by bicycle, they ought to be encouraged to use it to go more places.

Susie and Lauren spread their wings on their bicycles.

Lauren and Holly got in some fun Mom - Daughter time on the Co-Motion. They had fun trying it out and learning how to use it. You can check this bike out at Bingham Cyclery.

As a feature of Cycle & Style magazine, we periodically will review bicycles, accessories, or types of biking. In this case, one of our favorite local bike shops, Bingham Cyclery introduced us to the Co-Motion tandem. The owner of the store had mentioned how much fun he had riding it with his 6-year old son around the park. We thought we’d like to take it for a spin as well. 

Sisters Susy & Julie put the tandem through its paces.

We had an opportunity to test the Co-Motion Periscope Torpedo tandem bicycle one Saturday afternoon. It was an especially fun bicycle to ride and it was very easy to get the hang of riding a tandem bicycle. We had two sets of mothers and daughters, and two pairs of sisters to try out the Periscope Tandem. The adjustments to fit the littlest girl  to our 5’10” girl were easily made in seconds. The tandem was much lighter than we expected. It was an enjoyable, sweet ride! I was impressed with this tandem’s ability to be an incredibly versatile family bicycle. The bikes are also adaptable in that bicycle trailers can easily be added on as could a trailer bike, sometimes known as tag-along bicycles. 

Angie and little sister Lizzie got the hang of the tandem on their first try!

Most organized rides have a tandem classification and for those of you who are competitive, Co-Motion offers tandems that are ready for a race—some with a light aluminum frame and carbon forks to dampen road vibration as well as high-end componetry. If you want to enjoy true teamwork in your next fun ride or race then do it on a tandem! 

Susy and Lauren thoroughly enjoyed riding the tandem.

Tandem cycling is a popular sport and pastime for the visually impaired who can be paired with a fully sighted rider and fully compete in all types of races from long road rides to track races, ride on off-road courses, and of course, enjoy rides with family and friends. 

Co-Motion Cycles is located in Eugene, Oregon where they make high-end tandem bicycles as well as single bicycles. They build standard geometry bicycles and custom-made bicycles—most of them are made of cro-moly steel or aluminum. Co-Motion can make tandems to order: a bicycle for three (a triple) or four (a quad) can be seen in their website’s photos. 

Thanks to Bingham Cyclery for the use of their Co-Motion Periscope Bicycle!

Julie and her 5 munchkin workout buddies

Here is a story that was submitted by one of our readers. She decided to do a triathlon after having her last of 5 kids. She overcame obstacles that would have stopped most of us. She borrowed a bike from her sister and her 8 year old’s swim goggles. Julie found a local triathlon that she wanted to do and went for it 100%. She borrowed a bike and threw her kids in a stroller for her running and bike trailer for her bike rides.  She found a way around the obstacles and just did it. Her story is simple but still inspirational. She is like many American moms and may even inspire you.

By Julie Alexander

One month after giving birth to my last child I decided I wanted to get back in shape. I didn’t have a bike and I didn’t have a nanny to watch my infant and 3 year old. But I heard the voice of Forest Gump in my head “Run Julie, run” so I ran. I pushed my infant and 4-year old around in the stroller for my run workouts.

I slowly started to add biking to my workouts. I borrowed a mountain bike and attached the stroller to it. Wow! It was painful for the first few rides but slowly it got easier.
I was fortunate in that my Mom has a swimming pool in her yard. She watched the kids while I swam mini laps in the pool wearing my 8-year old’s goggles.

It took 3 months and lots of determination but I felt I was finally ready for my first triathlon.

The day of the race I was pretty nervous but excited.  I worried that it was going to be too cold once I got out of the water but as I transitioned to the bike that fear quickly faded.

First triathlon- getting to the finish

The running course turned out to be up a hill for half and down hill for the other half. I found consultation that it wasn’t straight up the whole time, it wound its way up the hill through a series of switch backs. Eventually I got to the top and turned around to go down the same way I had come. I take pride that I ran the whole thing without walking. It may have been the pace of an old man but I still ran the whole thing.

Finally, as I rounded the last corner I could hear the crowd and see my kids cheering me on. I had a hard time not breaking into tears as I crossed the finish line exactly 2 hours and 13 minutes after I had started.

I would like to say “Thank you” to My husband for his support while training and at the race. I also want to say Thank you to Mande for letting me use her FAST road bike as well as my mom and dad for coming and watching. I couldn’t have done any of it if it wasn’t for the invitation and encouragement from  Jen and Becca. After the pain subsided, I realized that I was hooked. I’ll be back next year and I may even do more races between now and then. If you are thinking about doing a tri, jump in!. GOOD LUCK and START TRAINING. I overcame obstacles and you can too!

Here are My Times-

1. Swim: 00:14:48.697
2. S2B Trans: 00:03:50.213
3. Bike: 01:04:15.310
4. B2R Trans: 00:01:44.28
5. Run: 00:48:34.120

Total Time: 02:13:12.578

PS. My it looks like weight loss and adrenaline rushes can inspire people. My chubby hubby and all of our siblings are going to do it too. We may even have the three older boys do the kids race. I can’t wait.

Julie and the bicycle that reacquainted her with “a little black dress”.

We must be the change we wish to see in the world.

Monhandas K. Gandhi

Students biking to school

By Tara R. Mc Kee 

Today is the first Wednesday of October, also known as:  Bike & Walk to School Day! If you have school children, encourage them to walk or bike to their school. If they are young, walk or bike with them. It’s an easy way to push for a more livable, walkable and bike-able neighborhood and community. Schools around the country (and the world) are participating in this event which raises awareness of pedestrian and biking issues that affect the most vulnerable of our communities: our children. Some schools make it an especially fun and appealing event for the children to participate in! And some schools underscore the point by extending it throughout the year.

• Parents and parent associations can do a lot! Make it fun! Put up fun, encouraging signs or balloons along the way. Have a mini-event at the school—whatever you think will help get the students excited!

• Invite local community leaders to walk or bike with the children. There is nothing like underscoring the point of having a walkable community, by having your local politicians literally “walk the walk.”

• Want to keep it going? Encourage your school to do something year round—some have a special walk or bike to school day once a month. Our local school has designated every Wednesday as a “Walk-to-School-Wednesday.” (Catchy, isn’t it?)

• If the school administration gets behind the program, it can really succeed. Several schools in Boulder, Colorado had 90% participation on their “Walk & Roll” days. One elementary school’s principal challenged his students to arrive every day at school without a car. At the beginning of each month, he tried a new form of car-free transportation: a foot-powered scooter, a skateboard, and a unicycle. The students really enjoyed the challenge and made it their own. Last year, for International Walk to School Day 2008, they had zero cars in the parking lot!

• Keep it safe—and fun! Put together a “walking bus” or “biking bus” so the children can go in a larger adult-chaperoned group to school.

• Enlist the neighborhood’s cooperation by handing out information door to door and encouraging them in a positive way to drive especially careful during school hours.

• Safe Routes to School is a national program meant to aid communities to get the necessary sidewalks and bike lanes to make walking and biking to schools safe and appealing.  Their website is very helpful in for getting your community working on making the streets safer for children and more livable for everyone!

An example of what one school is doing for National Walk to School Day.

For more information, see these great websites: www.walktoschool.org and www.saferoutesinfo.org

Share with us! What did the schools in your neighborhood do for International Walk (or Bike) to School Day?