The Bike Life (part 2)

Being unemployed, I decided this past weekend that I'd start helping Emily in the morning by getting Adin to school. Consistent with my newly-adopted bicycle lifestyle, the most sensible way for me to do this was using his InStep bicycle chariot Emily got at Target. I mentioned this sweet whip in my last post, but allow me to illustrate...

It's surprisingly easy to set up, attach to my bike, and tow. Adin loves this thing, and treats it as his personal chauffeur/road fort. It's become my "daily driver" for the boy. Most moms and dads have a minivan, so I consider this my Dodge Caravan (that's O.G. for those of us who grew up in the 90's!)  

The real magic of this voyage is where we travel to, and the fact that it's my first activity in the morning after breakfast.

*Sidebar about breakfast*... I'm a breakfast fanatic. Let me emphasize: FANATIC. I have to eat a big breakfast right after waking up or I Hulk out. This always consists of a mixing bowl-sized vessel of Cheerios with skim milk and a banana cut over it, a tall glass of orange juice, an egg/ham/cheese bagel sandwich (Thomas' 100% whole wheat bagels), and maybe a Yoplait Light yogurt cup if I'm feelin' it. All of this is followed up with a massive French-pressed coffee (no less than 20oz) and I am ready to hammer out the day. I've been eating breakfast like this for years.

Our apartment is at the top of a fairly large hill on Green Mountain, Lakewood. When we set out for Adin's school, the first leg of the trip is a steep hill. Even towing the chariot, I can send it on the bike. This sets a false sense of "easy rider" for the trip to school, because the next looong stretch is all uphill. So tanked-up on coffee, with Adin in tow, I'm cycling like a madman to keep the stoke up for about 2 miles. It's a beautiful part of the city though, since you can see all of the Front Range and downtown Denver and the neighborhoods are really nice.

When we arrive at his school, he's all excited for breakfast. Specifically, he's amped out of his mind for chocolate muffins. Every parent and their kid who sees our ride does a quick spot-check and I can tell they're thinking, "jeez... why aren't we doing that?". It really makes me think about the convenience tradeoff between vehicles and bikes, and how easy it is to choose the quick trip over the quality time that takes effort.

So in the past week, we've made this trip four times (M, Tu, W, Th). I plan to keep it up, while looking for other ways to use the chariot for transportation and errands. On Tuesday after dropping him off, I cruised down to King Soopers and picked up groceries...

I thought I had over-shopped for the amount the chariot could hold, but the volume of that bad boy really surprised me. This could unlock all sorts of potential summer jobs for me without a car. One of my small business ideas...

We'll see how this entrepreneurship of mine pans out. In the meantime it's great exercise, opportunity to spend time bonding with Adin, and less reliance on a car. The bike life will be continued for sure.

Link to the morning home>school>home ride - (http://whassupwithtrex.blogspot.com/2010/05/mapmyridecom-general-road-cycling_07.html)