30 Days of Biking, and so on

Waiting for the splash at the Aquarium

Last week was spring break at my son’s school. I’d planned to stay home with the kids, which is just as well, because I got sick. Between that and a trip out of town, I didn’t ride a bike for a few days, which is as long as I can remember going without riding in the last year or so. But April is 30 Days of Biking, and this year I’d signed up early. I still owe Family Ride a thank you for turning me on to 30 Days of Biking, which I’ve done twice now, starting with the official April version and most recently with the bonus round in September.

The California Academy of Sciences installed cargo bike-friendly parking right in front. Mwah!

On Sunday, although it was technically still March, we kicked things off with a morning visit to the California Academy of Sciences. When we came out we saw another family bike fleet parked next to ours, and I was even happier when I learned later that I’d guessed right as to whose it was. You don’t see a lot of Bakfietsen (short or long) in San Francisco, so maybe it was too easy, but I’m easily pleased. Like ours, it had a cover for the rain, which after a brief hiatus has returned to San Francisco. But kids in box bikes never need to fear the weather.

I didn’t really notice last year that 30 Days of Biking kicked off with April 1^st, the day that you can trust nothing on the internet. This year for the first time we pranked our kids, offering them what Matt called “a new breakfast” which consisted of bowls of uncooked steel cut oats. Our son, who’d stayed up too late last night, looked confused. “Is this really edible?” he asked, as his sister gamely began eating it (she’s still too young!) When we said “April Fools!” he was delighted. I wish he were so cheerful every Monday.

Rain? What rain?

It was pouring this morning, not the best official kick-off to 30 Days of Biking. It didn’t really matter. I had already upped my game this year, upgrading from $10 rain pants that leaked all last winter to $40 rain pants that are, perhaps unsurprisingly, four times better. My daughter was happy to have a chance to wear her Muddy Buddy to school, and I was happy to be back on the bike. This far 2013 has been a little stressful. But rain is probably the most I have to fear from this month’s rides, and I’m pretty sure I can handle it.