Under Construction

It seems like it's been two years now, that two townhouse complexes next to us and across the street have been under construction. It's dragging on. These 4-5 unit developments have taken longer to build than a 190 unit monster a few blocks away. Yep, there's noise, lack of street parking, garbage, and a massacred tree, but it will look great when it's done. Here's what I saw on the ground at the entrance of one of the buildings.  It made me smile.

Treats for the construction boys. Play nicely and no more water fights! :) M.

Cycling with the Kid

Last summer my husband and I investigated all the different ways to ride your bike with your kid. Then we spent a whole lot of energy and time looking for used options, which never materialized and then the weather got bad. This year, I learned my lesson; if you can find it used quickly, go for it, if not, pay full price and enjoy! So look at me, it's mid April and I forked out a pretty penny ($275), but boy am I having fun.

Here is a run-down of some of top considerations I took to make my choice:

1. Trailers are great because your kid can ride in all kinds of weather, you can take more than one kid and a bag of beach toys, plus it's easy for you to haul them. Most trailers double as a stroller which can be handy when you reach your destination, although it can be a pain to fit through shop doors. However, you can't talk to your kids while riding and trailers tend to be the most expensive option. This would be good choice for moms and dads who commute and take their kids to daycare/school by bike.

2. Rear seats are a cheaper option, but the view ain't the nicest. In general, I found that most people didn't like this option because it was hard to balance.

3. Front seats have several benefits: your kid can "feel" what it's like to ride a bike, they have an excellent view, plus you can talk to them while you ride. The extra bonus, your kid can push all the crosswalk buttons on your route and ring the bell. Balancing is surprisingly easy, even if it looks weird to have a kid attached to your handlebars. Another consideration we took with this option was that we could load our bikes on the bus/skytrain and in our car more easily than with a trailer, that way we could go to the dikes in Richmond, Stanley Park, and Barnston Island. One disadvantage might be that if it starts to rain, which is often does in Vancouver, your kid will get soaked, but isn't that kind of fun anyways?

We opted for the IBert which has received good reviews. It's a bit pricey, about $175, plus I had to make some adjustments to my bike, but it was well worth the price. It is SO much fun! I was riding along with my son to the farmer's market this weekend and a lady who was watering her front yard yelled at me: "Don't you love that bike seat?" "We love it!" I yelled back with a yipee!

If you want to see a zillion other happy Iberts click here! or me and the kid.

The World Cycles

It's about time I write a bit about "The World Cycles" on our street. Danu opened his bike shop just after we moved in a few years ago. He's super friendly and you can tell he's really passionate about bikes. Not only does he offer top-notch service, he has a fantastic collection of old Schwinns, newer bikes for all different uses, and any other bits and pieces you might need.  On any sunny day, there is a constant stream of people whizzing down the hill in front of our house, testing out his vintage bikes. You'd be hard-pressed to see one of them without a giant smile on their face.
Danu rides the ride, if you can say that. He commutes from Lynn Valley on his retro-fitted electric Schwinn to save his legs for mountain biking on his days off. (lol) As for me, I already had a pretty good old Rocky Mountain, but I wanted that cruiser feel, so Danu set me up with a set of wide handlebars and voila! This season, I'm going to add on some "paniers" for my farmer's market yummies, and a nice seat for the boy. Trust me, it's worth a little detour on your wheels to come check out The World Cycles.