This morning, I took a train to Seattle to teach at a conference. It is one of the joys in life. I bike to the train station, work on a crossword as the scenery passes by, and then bike around Seattle which, by the way, seems to be made entirely out of hills.

Today, I entertained myself with a new distraction, the subtle art of the roll up. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a “roll up” is when a cyclist folds, or in some way “rolls” up, his or her pant leg to avoid it getting caught in the chain. Roll means fold. It’s so clear. A thoughtfully folded pant leg is a style I don’t often sport because my bakfiets has a chain guard. However, today I took a commuter bike on my trip to Seattle, and with 3 hours to kill on the train, I mastered some pretty awesome roll ups. Check them out. Let me know what you think.
 
TRADITIONAL: Nothing fancy. Textbook functionality for keeping the pant leg out of the chain assembly. The style most often used. More...

Sundays Parkways is a Portland Department of Transportation event where a loop of city roads are closed to vehicles to create a space for pedestrians, cyclists, and community booths.

The last Sundays Parkways happened on Father’s Day, when Portland closed off 7.5 miles of roadway in North Portland. I would like to thank Portland for doing so specifically for me, Daddy-Travis. The route was great, joining together several neighborhoods with events and sights along the way. Families on bikes were most notably seen, however, Sunday Parkways drew a wide audience of cyclists, walkers, and runners.   

As a family, we rode the loop that included Peninsula and Arbor Lodge parks. We pedaled past Peninsula, knowing that we would hit it on the way back so on we went. Throughout the route we rode over chalk drawings and statements of celebration for the day. More...

Looking for a road trip in the next couple of weeks?

Explore the nature of summer along this 440-mile self-guided driving tour that begins just 28 miles north of Seattle.  The Cascade Loop Scenic Highway circles through the heart of the North Cascades mountain range, along the semi-arid Columbia River Valley, past glacier-fed Lake Chelan, through the North Cascades National Park, National Wilderness and Forestlands, and into the Puget Sound where Orca whales play and beachcombing abounds.  It is an adventurous scenic highway.  The Cascade Loop is a path into nature, a road through quaint friendly towns and a rest stop at the end of your day with comfortable lodging and delicious Northwest cuisine.  With nature just a step away, it’s easy to regain your senses.  Refresh yourself amongst the nature of the the Cascade Loop Scenic Highway.  For a free 68-page Travel Guide visit the website.
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Cirque du Cycling, the Portland bike parade, came and went like…well…a parade. People lined up and down Mississippi Avenue to witness the spectacle of collected bike groups. Our family rode with a group of cargo/utility bike users. Aside from all being larger bikes, this group shares the belief that bikes are superb vehicles for moving large objects from place to place. James--seen in the photo below with his dog Louie who sits in a custom made box atop his Xtracycle--made our banner, which pretty much summed up our group’s thinking: WeGO Cargo! More...

Group member and landscape architect Just Smart Design submitted this photo complete with notes about what's growing! Submit your photos to our EcoMetro Sustainable City Pool. More...

I want to add the phrase “everyday cycling” to our language. I first heard this when I was a guest on the KBOO Bike Show in Portland. Before the show, I head co-host Tori Bortman use everyday cycling, and being the word geek that I am, I asked about the nuances of her phrase. A discussion ensued, and I am now convinced that everyday cycling needs to be part of our language.

There is a sizable group of people who fall under the term everyday cycling, myself included, but my riding habits are usually described as bike commuting. Until now.

Image used with permission of metrofiets.com. Pictured: Ella Ross and Phillip Ross. Picture taken by Maile Leithea. Check out the Metrofiets photostream! More...

Several years ago, when I first got a call about working here at Celilo Group Media, I had just torn the Zipcar coupon out of the Portland book that very day (there isn't a coupon in Seattle There is a code for $50 in driving time in the ad on page 41, and look for a coupon in the 2010 book). Had I heard of the book? Of course I had! Did I ever redeem the coupon...er, no.

It wasn't just calculating the cost of gas, insurance, and upkeep that finally made me take the leap and sell my car--it was realizing that I drive so infrequently that spiderwebs connected the window to the steering wheel like something out of a cartoon. My bike was carrying me a dozen miles a day for free while I paid for spiders to practice tightrope walking between leather and glass. I sold the car and patted myself on the back (plus bought a pair of new shoes). And then, immediately, I missed an opportunity because I didn't have wheels. More...

This video, which is making the blog rounds, shows Denmark police stopping cyclists, hugging them, and handing out free helmets. No word yet on why, but it's certainly good for biking spirits.

Via BoingBoing  More...

The Wheel American Family explores living by dutch bike with three children. In this installment, the kids point out that it takes friendly drivers to make Portland a biking mecca.

A few days ago my eldest son, Kael, turned to me on our commute home and said, “Have you ever noticed how nice the bus drivers are?” I asked him what he meant. Kael went on to say, “Whenever we are at a super-duper busy street, they always stop to make sure we can pass.”

He’s right. They do. This is especially true when we are trying to cross Killingsworth. The traffic is so steady that a space rarely occurs. But just wait for the timely Tri-Met bus and we’re off. I spent the next few days attuned to my son’s observation and it was clear—the drivers in city vehicles are marvelously nice. Do they take a driver’s courtesy course to get employed by the city of Portland? I wonder.

Following are some examples of friendly moments that make the jungle more livable. More...

It is sunny as I write this, sitting on my porch, kids playing in the yard. It's one of the few days this week when the sun came out, giving rise to some hopeful feelings, and just in time. I just went through a riding slump.

Commuting by bike is hard. Well, the actual process of riding is not hard. However, there are variables that exacerbate the situation: weather and kids--and both are unpredictable. Our mornings were cold, sometimes icy. No matter what the time of day, the rain seemed to come just as we started, as if in defiance of my family’s desire to pedal. And even though my children want to ride our bike to and from school, those cold, wet, miserable days did take some cajoling.

I am through the slump and even with the unpredictable weather (and kids), commuting by bike is still simple. A basic existence. More...