flat tire tip: match your valve with the tire logo

I acquired most of my bike maintenance skills at a lovely bike co-op called the bikerowave. One of the things that impressed me about the bikerowave was that there were so many knowledgeable volunteers, happy to share their knowledge with me. The things I learned there has probably saved me hundreds of dollars.

One volunteer there - was a persnickety old-ish man who was very particular in his tastes. He liked certain brands of bikes, in certain years... and poo-poo'ed everything else. Among his idiosyncrasies, was insisting that every time a tire was installed on a bike, that the logo from the tire match up with the valve stem.

When asked about this - he always replied that installing tires this way just "satisfied his aesthetic standards." To that end, it is a nice way to make everything is nice, and neat - if you think people are paying attention to the alignment of your tire logos... that is ; )

Only recently did I learn that there is another incredibly valuable reason for installing the tires on your bicycle this way.

It helps you diagnose flats!

Note the logo of the tire aligned with the valve

After 3+ years of commuting, I've noticed that the types of flats I get are more of the "slow + annoying" kind and less of the "fast/catastrophic" kind. The latter is often easy to diagnose the cause of the flat, e.g. nail, screw, huge piece of glass, tube explosion, etc.

The former (slow + annoying) can be somewhat difficult. If you find yourself getting flats for no apparent reason, there very well may be something embedded in your tire. A great way to find this out is to examine the tube after you remove it from your tire.

Pump up the tire and see if you can see, feel, or hear air coming out of it. For subtle and tricky flats, submerging the tube in a small basin of water will typically yield the source of the flat. Sometimes it takes a few passes through the water before you see the small bubbles trickling out.

Once you identify the problem in the tube, use your valve as a reference point and find the corresponding place on the tire where you think the origin of the flat is. This is almost impossible if you DON'T match the tire logo up with the valve.

This morning I got a flat, found the whole in the tube, then used the location of the tube to try to identify where the flat was coming from in my tire. It worked like a charm... there was a tiny piece of glass just barely poking through. Because I had the logo matched up with the valve, I was able to track down the source and remove the glass. Because it was so small, it may have been impossible to find the shard of glass by sheer visual examination or carefully running my finger through the inside of the tire.

So the next time you get a flat, line the logo (or writing) of the tire up with the valve. It'll help you prevent future flats by identifying the cause, faster!

a tale of two roads/routes

A family bike ride can be made or broken by route selection. Saturday afternoon we went for a ride to a regional fast food establishment that people are kind of crazy about. Without much thinking (on my part) we took a major arterial road, with a bike lane to the restaurant. I take this road every day as part of my commute and find it very easy to ride. But riding with a bike trailer and spouse, I found it to be quite a different experience. Not nearly as enjoyable. I could see it in my wife's eyes that my hasty route selection had made for less than idyllic ride.

Cause let's face it... when we go for family rides we're all in search of that "blissful" ride with the sunshine, birds chirping, butterflies dancing, and all other utopian notions that accompany the fun that comes when the entire family is on the bike.

After we ate - I started to rethink our route home. While we could've easily retraced our steps and hustled home... I didn't want to do that. Sure, going back down the road with a bike lane was direct, but was that how I wanted to ride home? With very little effort, I devised a route that took us through the city center, and along a residential road almost all the way home. As you can see from the picture, the residential road took us slightly further south than we wanted, but the peaceful ride more than made up for the 1/4 mile detour. George squealed in delight on the way home. My wife added her vote of approval, the ride home was "the family ride" feel we were looking for.

Some thoughts for next time and family route selection:

Bike lanes are good for individual riding, commuting, and direct trips. They are not as nice for family riding because of traffic volume, and it is difficult, if not dangerous to ride two abreast.

Residential roads are nice. The traffic is slower, and cars expect to travel at slower speeds. We had a minivan drive patiently, slowly behind us for several blocks without trying to pass us (though they could have if they were in a rush). I doubt you'd get the same offer on a major street. The less direct/detour is far worth it. Let's face it, if you are on a family ride, are you really in a rush anywhere? The residential roads allow you to ride next to your family members in a much more calm environment.

Routing has never been easier with online mapping tools like google maps, google earth, and mileage tracking sites like gmaps pedometer (our route linked) that allow you to share your routes (or record them for future use).

What are your experiences with family bike route planning?

Mud, Sweat and Gears

My new obsession is entertaining notions of family bike touring. To me, nothing sounds like more fun. I know that George is just barely knocking on 8 months old right now, but when he's eight years old - what are the possibilities? There are plenty people out there touring with their children, but finding information about these adventurous souls can be difficult sometimes.

Enter Bicycling Magazine stage left... While I love to roll my eyes every time I get this publication because it panders (too heavily) to roadies and the lyrca crowd. Every issue has one or two nuggets that are good to read.

Last issue provided an excerpt from Mud, Sweat and Gears: A Rowday Family Bike Adventure Cross Canada on Seven Wheels

Now this is a guy I can relate to. His wife isn't as hardcore as he is, though supportive. Three sons, 9, 7 and 1.

They started out in Portland and made it halfway across Canada, jumped on a plane and finished around Nova Scotia.

My favorite excerpt from the book is his account of eating the "Trucker's Paradise," the token "so disgustingly large dish that we'll give you an amazing prize for finishing it," ala the old "96'er" in the Great Outdoors. They ordered two! I'll let you find out for yourself what happens. From the small bit in the magazine, this seems like a lighthearted read and definitely worth your while if you are into family bike touring.

another great resource for bikes & parents

For those of you who are looking to efficiently organize the copious amounts of information on blogs/websites (that you are interested in)... you've got to get yourself a google reader.
There is simply no better way to stay on top of all the websites you regularly read. In stead of stockpiling them all in your "toolbars menu", you just have one site to visit. It's amazing.

Anyway, my google reader frequently recommends sites I might like, and I found one that I'll definitely be reading frequently. It's called Bikes as Transportation.

The very first article I stumbled upon (and may be of interest to KBD readers) is an article about bike touring with an 18 month old. I can't wait to sink my teeth into this blog and see what kind of juicy morsels get stuck in the cracks.

One of my co-workers just bought a bobike and I hope to convince him to do a review and put pictures up of him and his cute daughter.

Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts on adjusting to cold weather riding and other fall adventures.

bruised knees, bruised egos

I saw this woman on my way into work the other day. I've seen her bicycling with her child before, and cursed myself for not catching a picture. This time I got it!

Some people would see this and say to themselves, or to the mother, "shame on you, exposing your child to risk."



Somewhere... somehow... bicycles and bicyclists allowed themselves to be portrayed, labeled and branded as risk taking imbeciles on par with adrenaline junkies who base jump and dive with sharks.

When you start bicycling with your children, then people really pull off their gloves and they let you know what a meth-smoking, irresponsible parent you are.

This post is grounded in a couple of experiences. First, my sister Dawn got yelled at by a bunch of people when she was bicycling, WITH her child, in the street. People told her she should be on the sidewalk. I could write a ten thousand word essay as to why bicycling on the sidewalk is no guarantee for safety, and why you are exposing yourself to additional risks that are not present on the street. There is a long standing belief that bicycles belong on the sidewalk, this is simply not true.

Children, yes - should learn to ride safely, both on the sidewalk and street and should certainly be monitored when learning to ride.

The other experience happened to Ashley and I. We went on a trip by bike to Costco and had to cross a busier street. We safely crossed the street, but had to stop in the middle of the median/center turn lane to wait for a few cars to pass. This woman looked at me like I was Abraham ready to sacrifice Isaac. She gave me the dirtiest look, and mouthed, "that is a baby."

As if I needed a reminder that I was transporting my first and only child around. George was not in traffic, nor was he in danger. But this woman really wanted us to know that she disapproved of us taking our baby on a bike ride.

These experiences, and others... have led me to believe that if you are going to be a part of any lifestyle or past time that isn't the norm, then be prepared for people to look down on you.

We live in such a risk averse, sterile, germaphobic, anti-bacterial world. Parents are scared of letting their child walk one block to school, meanwhile you can hear their arteries thickening as their poor child is neglected a basic human right - exercise and fresh air.

George is about 7 months old, and I'm already aware that I'm an example to him. I want to set an example that is one of courage - courage to live in a way that is healthy, happy, and rewarding. People will likely look down on us as I take him to school by bike, or pick him up from a sleepover on my bike. Part of me thinks it's jealousy, and an other part guilt. People know that they need to be living healthier lifestyles.

We know that we can't continue to consume gas the way we do. Our economy, the environment, our infrastructure - won't support it. We can't continue to shelter our children under the "guise" of safety by transporting them everywhere in a car.

I grew up in an era where I played with lead paint in my toys, where my mom breastfed me while she drove her car, and I walked to school.

While I'll always be concerned for the safety of my child(ren), I'll never equate safety with a car trip.

bike trailer 101

Last weekend we had our first foray into bicycling with our child. Now this blog can be built on actual evidence, rather than "hearsay and conjecture," Lionel Hutz's favorite kinds of evidence. It was a total success, and I'd like to go over some of the nuts and bolts of the event, for anyone interested in recreating this experience.

First, the facts:

a. George is approximately six months old.
b. Our trailer is a Burley Bee
c. George's car seat is a Peg Perego Primo Viaggio

George - excited as I am?

Many people want to know, "how old does your child have to be to ride in a trailer?" The Burley website says that a child should be strong enough to hold their head up unassisted. Most of the reading out there says that trailers are intended for children as young as 10-12 months. It's really a floating figure, and if you have any doubts you can always consult with your child's pediatrician... also stated by Burley.

Because our Bee is designed for children a little larger, we decided to look into securing his car seat into the trailer. I didn't know how, or if this would work, so we were a little curious about the outcome.

It turns out that the Bee is designed really smart, and totally allows for all kinds of alterations to how you use it. With little effort, I quickly realized that securing the chair would be as simple as securing his chair when we use it in other cars, without the base.

When we use George's seat in our car, we just click it into the base. But when in other cars (when we haven't brought the base), it sits on top of the seat, and then you bring the lap part of the seat belt over George's lap, and into the two little slots on each side the seat, designed to secure the strap (picture below).

Overhead view of the car seat secured in the trailer. Note how the nylon strap holds the infant car seat in place

We did the same sort of method with the car seat in the trailer. We used a ratchet type nylon belt to loop in between the frame and up and over the car seat. The results were surprisingly sturdy. This allows you to quickly tighten and loosen the strap, which is important when trying to put your child in the trailer, or take them out. With very little effort and ingenuity I was able to fasten George's car seat in the trailer that made me completely certain it wasn't going anywhere.

Doubling the nylon strap around the frame allowed us to cinch the child seat in the trailer VERY securely

I would imagine that this type of set up would work well for most Burley's and other child trailers where the inner roll cage/frame is exposed.

Now that we've got security down, I want to look into enhancing visibility of the trailer for both day time and night time use. I've emailed the guys at Bike Trailer Shop and I'll let you know what I find out.

a b(ee)iking we will go!

We finally took the plunge! We bought a near new Burley Bee on ebay. Unlike other people, I've had great luck on eBay (knock on wood). I bought it from a guy who had over 2000 transactions with a 100% approval rating. Good grief that guy is awesome, I thought my 16/100% status was robust. But I digress...


So why did I pick the Burley Bee you ask? Well, it's quite simple really:

1. It is a Burley. I trust their products. I've seen them in action, and they are good enough to have spawned countless impostors. For me, that is the sign of a good product.
2. It is their economical brand. In these tough economic times, you have to save somewhere
3. It has everything you need, and nothing more. Can convert to a stroller, if you want, but is primarily a bike trailer. That's what we wanted. Some of the other trailers out there are much more customizable, but honestly, we already have a bob for everyday stuff + jogging, and I'll give you a $1M if we ever used something like this. I think you pay more for the ability to put all their fancy doo-dads on the trailer, but we're bike folk.
4. Technically this should be a subset of 2, but we're still kind of toying with the idea of winning/acquiring a Madsen, so we didn't want to put all our eggs children in one basket trailer.
5. It seats 1-2 kids. Just in case George has a sibling. : )

That's about it for the rationale. I'll let you know as soon as we get it. Pictures and adventures to come!