Finding balance

I'm still finding my balance in the new normal of current life. When work first slowed down, I thought for sure I'd be blogging more. But sitting still and focusing is not an easy trick after years of being on the move all day, every day. As a dog walker biking between customers, I had to optimize my schedule and routes for maximum efficiency and then hit each day at top speed, carrying enough food to fuel me, and planning enough break time to eat it.

As you might guess from the photo, this particular joyride happened a couple weeks ago, when mornings were still chilly enough for three layers and bandanas still kept my ears warm instead of transforming into face masks. Now daily temps are hitting 70 degrees and above, and I'm yearning evermore to be outdoors, not to mention how much I miss my canine customers. But I digress....

Even though the meager 13 mile ride fell far short of meeting my daily needs, it was still a thrill to peruse Tualatin Hills Nature Park again, a familiar haunt when my young adults were younger. One of them even rose in the ranks there over the course of several years from volunteer to intern to employee, teaching nature camps. I appreciated having the time to move slowly and behold with awe nature's art show. 

This 222 acre oasis of nature in the city is a slice of wooded paradise and home to an array of wildlife. I spied two fawns from this bridge, though they were faster on hoof than I on  camera. If you live in the Portland metro area, I highly recommend visiting, especially with children. You can even drive there and park your car if you don't want to bike or take the Max blue line, which has a stop right at the top of the trail, 158th & Merlo. Be sure to wear your cloth mask, as it can be a challenge to keep six foot social distancing on some trails.

Besides the awesome trails, twisting and towering trees, wildlife sightings, and nature center, what I appreciate about the nature park is its role in reminding us that humans do not own this earth, we share it. Moreover we have destroyed countless acres of woods like these to suit ourselves, ravaging animals' habitat in the process. While preserves like this one allow us to experience joy and inner peace, we are, as a species, out of balance with the natural world.

 

I leave you with these photos for enjoyment and inspiration, including a deer who graced me with her presence long enough to capture on camera on a previous visit, and a reading recommendation for an op-ed article discussing the relationship between our imbalance with nature and COVID-19.

Stop and smell the roses

With apologies for the misleading post title, I invite you to please enjoy these floral photos of spring (there aren't actually any photos of roses posted, and you couldn't smell them through your electronic device if you tried). Getting around carfree has brought me closer to nature, both physically and in the sense of deeper appreciation. Since I'm not cruising past nature inside a car at motor vehicle speeds, I more readily enjoy the sights, sounds, and even smells of nature. They fill my heart with love for Mother Earth, yet another reason why I love being carfree!

 

 

 

 

Keeping life in perspective

After the last joyride, I was excited to plan my next adventure. While Portland is noted for its extensive park system, Washington County boasts its own fabulous green spaces and trails. I settled on Rood Bridge Park, one of the largest, where I once visited years ago with extra time to spare between scheduled visits for two nearby customers. I mapped out a familiar route to get there and a longer route home, making certain to get enough pedaling mileage.

Once upon a time about a decade ago, biking 7 miles round trip to the library and back was cause for celebration. Nowadays if I don't bike at least 20 miles in a day, I have too much pent up energy to fall asleep at night. Between walking dogs and biking between customers, I am (or rather was) physically active 6-10 hours on any given day. My work leaves (or rather left) me happy, fulfilled, hungry, and exhausted by the end of the day, and always made for interesting exchanges at routine doctor check ups when asked if I exercise at least 20 minutes a day, three times a week.

😂😂😂

Once past the eerily deserted, caution-taped playground, Rood Bridge looked the same as I remembered. As much as I am worried about loss of income and sad about missing my canine and cat customers, I was delighted to have unlimited time to meander this segment of Rock Creek Trail, walking my bike through most of the woodsy areas, over protruding tree roots. The trees, as always, brought me solace. They stand firmly grounded while swaying with the breeze, inspiring me to do the same during these times of profound change.

The stillness of the pond, aside from oscillating ripples of raindrops and trailing streams behind swimming ducks, was also a source of peace and comfort, a reminder of being one with the earth, part of the great circle of life.

The beauty of nature around me or perhaps of me being contained within nature, reminded me to keep worry in proper perspective - in balance with gratitude for cherished memories, with hope for more joyful times ahead, and with acceptance and reverence for the here and now, taking each day is it comes. And so, with those inspired insights and serenity in my heart, I put foot to pedal and made my way home, renewed and ready to tackle the more mundane tasks of everyday life

 

Finding myself at a crossroads

Friday's ride definitively convinced me that I need to keep taking daily joyrides - for both my physical health and my mental well-being - well, actually let's just say for my SANITY in these extraordinary, crazy times - and most of all JUST FOR FUN. After all, don't we all need a little fun in our lives right now, along with an excuse to take a break from checking the news?

After scrolling around on GoogleMaps, I settled on setting out to find a nature preserve by the name of North Abbey Creek Natural Area. The route would be simple enough, following Kaiser Road beyond the city setting into the greener countryside. With businesses closed and more people staying at home, now is a less terrifying time to travel rural roads that tend to be narrow, without bike lanes and with fast cars, including at least one impatient, irate driver in a big truck. 

I was not disappointed! There was hardly any traffic at all, and the din of civilization melted away into a sweet silence, broken only by the sounds of birds chirping, squirrels chattering, and horses whinnying. It was the type of quiet that invited me to exhale deeply and allow a feeling of peace to enter my heart. The type of quiet that compelled me to imagine that peace could be possible elsewhere in the world, if not today, then someday. The type of quiet that made me feel like part of the circle of life, like family with the animals and plants, at one with the universe.

The route's steep uphills were balanced out with coast-able downhills, though I must have cruised right past the nature preserve not recognizing the turnoff. I did find quaint old farmhouses, relics of the past, neighbors to gleaming mansions at the end of gated, long, winding driveways. I soaked in the beauty of fields and forests, the majesty of sprawling oaks and towering pines. There were no humans in sight, aside from a few in passing cars, though there were signs - literally, wooden roadside signs - to indicate their presence. One grouping proclaimed: "Trash abounds - near and far - please keep yours - in the car." Another set that made me chuckle read:  "Vodka's great - so is beer - neither one - is welcome here."

Ultimately I turned around at the intersection of Kaiser and Brooks, which got me thinking about the symbolism of these times being a crossroads in my life. Just a couple weeks ago I was pedaling up to 40 miles a day in between dog walks, getting around 6-8 hours of physical activity daily. I love my work and my commutes, but the schedule left me with little time or energy to just explore. Now here I am with not much else to do (not counting my to-do list) besides explore - both biking routes and alternative sources of income. In both cases, who knows where I'll be heading next. Wherever it is, I intend to embrace the ride with a positive attitude in spite of whatever challenges it presents.

Joyride - anxiety antidote for troubling times

So it's been a few years since my last post, you might have noticed or not. Life got busy and complicated and busier and more complicated and then bam, the sh*t hit the fan, and here we all are together in a pandemic.

Like a lot of folks, I am mostly out of work, namely dog walking and other pet care, a self-employment enterprise that has kept me moving on my feet or on my bicycle seat the better part of every day of every week, traveling from customer to customer. More about that later, but feel free to check out my 220 5-star reviews at www.rover.com/sit/anneev.

Anyway, yesterday morning I woke up to the same nightmare we're all waking up to each day and found myself simply overwhelmed by anxiety, mind racing, muscles tense. I breathed deeply, did my stretching, tried to talk myself out of it, kept busy with household tasks and organizing projects. The distraction helped but was not a cure.  

😬

Around 2pm I ran an errand, and by ran, I mean pedaled, of course, and no real surprise, started feeling better. Since my normal daily commute is around 20-35 miles, this short jaunt was just a tease. Hence began the inner dialogue and debate on the way home about what to do next. Dishes filled the sink, organizing projects sat disorganized, vegetables required cooking, laundry begged laundering, to-do list needed doing, plus the clouds were threatening rain at any moment.  

But the pedaling felt so good, physically, mentally, emotionally releasing and relieving. Damn the rain and to hell with the imaginary deadline for questionably critical tasks! If I raced home, no doubt I would make myself crazy again rehashing the news and social media sooner than any household chores or "to-do's" would get done. So I hung a right, deciding to follow Evergreen Parkway to the end and back, a mostly flat route I used to travel regularly, but haven't frequented in a while.

By the time I reached the west end of Evergreen, I was practically giddy. So giddy that rather than turn around, I turned south and just kept going until I hit downtown Hillsboro, posing for another goofy selfie in front of Hillsboro Civic Center. The plaza was empty, but the memory of it filled with farmers' market booths and shoppers brought me joy. By then my fuel tank (tummy, that is) was rumbling, a cause forwarded by the farmers' market memories, and only a few hours remained in the day before my early bird bedtime, so back toward home I pedaled.

On that last leg of my 17 mile detour, I decided to revive this blog and the Suburban Bike Ninja Facebook page because, hey, why not?  I've finally got time available, and at the very least these chronicles will serve as my own little diary of daily life and happenings in the historic spring of 2020. Further motivation springs from the possibility that some reader (maybe you?) is inspired to test out their bike as an anxiety antidote. Stay at home orders don't prohibit outdoor exercise, so give it a try - for your mental health, for your physical health, and just for fun. Share your thoughts and experience in the comments or on Facebook. And of course, wash your hands, don't touch your face, and keep 6+ feet between you and the next human! Happy pedaling 😁

CELEBRATING 5 YEARS CARFREE!

At the time of writing this description, December 2015, we approach our 5 year carfree anniversary – wheee!  It’s been quite a ride, mostly on 2 wheels.  Meet our family, enjoy our love story, and be inspired to quit driving (if your city’s infrastructure safely allows), get fit, and have fun traveling outside the box….

 

WHO WE ARE

Our household is composed of

2 parents, 5 teens (no kidding, 5 kiddoes, ages 13-19) or …

3 earning income, 4 studying/supporting

4 adults, 3 minors

5 of driving age, 2 not

6 able bodied, 1 handicapped

7 suburban bike ninjas, 0 drivers!

We are employees, interns, volunteers, world schoolers, committee members, advocates, activists, actors, film producers, bloggers, bookworms, nature enthusiasts, dog lovers, dungeon masters, vegans, fun fanatics, and generally busy community members.  Not driving does NOT mean being stuck at home!

HOW WE GOT HERE

The biggest caveat to our story is LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.  We moved from the Phoenix metro area to the Portland metro area in December 2009.  LOCATION was the ultimate factor that made not driving a safe and realistic choice for us – a location with decent sidewalks, good bike lanes, accessible mass transit, conveniently located community amenities, and a growing culture supportive of active transportation.  Not that everything here is perfect, but things are headed the right direction, and a darn sight better than what we left in AZ at the time.  From our minivan-dependent life in a sprawling car-centric metropolis where we sped along highways daily (often for an hour or more) and drove kids’ bikes to the park for a safe place to ride while parents had none to pedal themselves…

2010 - YEAR ZERO – FROM HANDICAP PARKING SPOT TO BIKE RACK

The first year in OR – call it year zero – our minivan’s gas consumption dwindles from weekly to monthly refuelings, in part due to conscious effort to keep outings/activities as local as possible and in part due to more walkable/bikeable grocery shopping.  Mom and kids enjoy a lot more exercise and outdoor time, and by the first hints of spring, Dad surprises everyone by getting on a bike.  Back in the early 2000’s, his doctor’s orders pursuant to a spinal condition were: “No standing for more than 10 minutes at a time, no sitting upright for more than 5 minutes at a time.”  That condition left him for many years with few options other than reclining, oxycodone for pain, and oversized portions of food to feed a growing depression.  Newly available microsurgery in 2008 was helpful enough to put an end to oxycodone, but was not a cure-all.  Could have been the wind on his first ride, but it was as if new life was breathed into Dad, who realized that biking hurt less than walking and remembered from his long-ago days as a bike commuter that it’s a lot more fun than driving too.  By fall, someone jokes about ways to save during family budget planning: "Well, we could get rid of the car." A pregnant pause, a thoughtful silence, glances exchanged, another examination of the numbers, more conversations, protests from some, long looks at maps, first attempts at mass transit, bike trailer shopping, gear check, a plan to ditch the minivan, and soon we’re parking at the bike rack instead of in the handicapped spot.  Although the minivan still sits in a parking space awaiting its fate, we declare December 25^th our carfree anniversary after a successful convoy to the library with the new bike trailer and a sighting of two eagles on our ride home.

2011 – YEAR ONE – RIDING ON THE SIDEWALK

On hand-me-down and second-hand bikes, on foot, by bus and light rail, we learn to make our way around town and farther away to downtown Portland.  We bike on the sidewalk because the kiddoes are small-ish, Dad’s physical handicaps make him a bit unstable, Mom was taught growing up that the sidewalk was the proper place to pedal, and who in their right mind would actually want to share the same road space with large, loud, dirty, noisy, scary cars when the sidewalk is so conveniently and reassuringly separated from them?  Dad’s weight plummets by more than a hundred pounds, and Mom enjoys the best physical fitness of her life, and only getting better.  Before the end of the year, Oregonian reporter Casey Parks publishes a story (including video interview) about our car-free lifestyle, so even though we’re just getting started, we’re feeling pretty cool as well as stronger, healthier, and happier.

2012 – YEAR TWO – SUBURBAN BIKE NINJAS

After everyone’s online and Mom’s on-road bike education from the League of American Bicyclists, plus a few close calls on sidewalks, we migrate from sidewalks into bike lanes.  And learn that bikes really can make left turns in traffic!  For some of us, this shift in self-confidence means faster and farther travel by bike, while smaller family members are less keen about getting off the sidewalk.  We are surprised to receive an Alice Award in May from the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) for “outstanding achievements and dedication to building the future Oregon where bicycling is safe, convenient, and fun.”  For us, the award feels like a call to action, especially after being dubbed “Suburban Bike Ninjas” in the awards video.  We start posting more on social media, attending committee and public meetings about transportation system decisions, and delivering CSA shares by bike trailer as nonprofit volunteers.  Overall, 2012 is a 2^nd year of getting stronger, healthier, happier, and more efficient in our non-driving travel.

2013 – YEAR THREE – TAKE THE LONG WAY

Since using the bike lane on larger arterials is a bit spooky for some, we revise our routes to avoid traffic, taking longer, more creative routes on multi-use paths and quiet streets.  Turns out the longer rides not only feel safer, but also equal more fun and exercise.  We explore new, farther destination in addition to new routes.  The parents get a chuckle listening to the teens discuss polite ways to turn down car rides from friends because they actually prefer walking to being driven.  We sign up for the National Bike Challenge to discover that we’re averaging over 1,000 miles of pedaling monthly yielding an estimated >1,000 pounds CO₂ saved by not driving, all while having an incalculable amount of fun.  Winning our independence from the minivan changes our perspective on everything.  We find ourselves with a growing intolerance for distracted drivers, a shocking outrage at the true costs of driving to the environment and public health, an unwillingness to accept the “acceptable losses” of a car-centric transportation system, and an associated willingness to speak up louder for safe and connected active transportation options.

2014 – YEAR FOUR – A VIEW FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX

Our viewpoints become more and more bike-centric.  The passing cars (and the cars we pass during rush hour standstill) seem somehow foreign and the idea of traveling inside one seems almost alien to us.  We can hardly fathom how much time we once spent driving and recoil at the thought.  As everyone is growing up and heading off in different directions with different interests and different friends, we wonder how we would have managed by minivan.  For years we had lamented the one car family dilemma, when the real solution turned out to be replacing four wheels with fourteen.  The kitchen never stops fueling our travel, and some days it’s difficult for some of us to eat enough.  There’s no thinking twice about seconds.  But who can complain about that?  We all feel a deeper connection to nature communing with the sun, wind, and rain, and listening to the music of the birds and the trees as we travel, to say nothing of encounters with coyotes, owls, beavers, raccoons, and more.  The mainstream acceptance of roadkill in the bike lane is inconceivable to us, and we ponder the role of the transportation system in an overall culture of violence.  Needless to say, it all makes for interesting dinner conversation in between many bites.  Did I mention how much we’re enjoying the vegan fuel as well as the fun of the ride?

2015 – YEAR FIVE – … ALREADY?

We are all busy working, interning, volunteering, taking classes, being social, speaking up at advocacy events, grocery shopping, community gardening, doing basically anything and everything we used to think required a car to get there.  Quite frankly, we wouldn’t know what to do with a car if someone gave us one.  Our most frequent use of cars these days is checking reflections in a parked car’s window to make sure helmets are on straight before departing the bike rack.  We are experts at finding the safest bike routes, mapping mass transit trips, dressing in layers, and carrying enough extra socks on rainy days. We enjoy the most stamina and best physical fitness (yet) of our lives. More than anything we are grateful for biking’s role in Dad’s return to life from a gloom of pain, depression, and obesity – the biggest and most wonderful change from 5 years ago! And the most important reason why – in addition to falling more deeply in love with biking, nature, and fitness – our carfree family story is truly a love story!

Bikes, Bites, Books...and BEYOND

When we learned about National Bike to School Day, it sounded like a perfect occasion for Resources for Health to reach out to homeschoolers.  In our experience, the term "homeschooler" is really a misnomer for students who learn primarily outside the school setting, but quite often someplace other than home.  In fact, it's not uncommon to hear talk of "car-schooling" from parents who manage lessons while taxiing kids to park days, music lessons, friends' houses, museums, sports, and so on.  So while the reasons for homeschoolers to bike (or walk) are the same as those for schoolchildren, there are so many more route options when the world is your classroom!

Being the first year and all, attendance included just the seven of us. We launched nonetheless from Evergreen Park, decked out for high visibility on the road. I'm not quite sure how seven cyclists could not be highly visible, but in addition to safety, the vests work like beacons to raise awareness of bikes as transportation options...for every family member or even the whole family all together.

While everyone cooperated for photos, a school bus conveniently passed in perfect juxtaposition for the shot at left (also providing an impromptu learning opportunity to discuss the meaning of the word juxtaposition.)  Wonder what those kids on the bus were thinking when they saw us? 

We changed the route a little from what was advertised and traveled to the library first, four miles from our starting point.  The public library has always been our primary resource for homeschool learning, not to mention community events, children's programs, and social and volunteer opportunities.

Hillsboro Main Library has the added advantage of accessibility via multi-use path through Dawson Creek Park, allowing us to travel the last half mile adjacent honking geese instead of honking cars.

Look how everyone stays in formation to share the path!  This single file requires more advanced coordination than a typical classroom line ...and it's lots more fun.   
Speaking of fun, allow me to point out just how thrilled we all are to have Dad bringing up the rear here.  A few short years ago, he was barely able to limp from handicap parking space to  nearby building to watch the kids perform in a homeschool play, let alone join us on a field trip - even traveling by minivan!  Of course  surgery played a role along with physical therapy and alternative pain management, but the bike has been his most effective tool for rehabilitation.  We're still saving for a recumbent trike to accommodate remaining physical limitations, but special adaptive handlebars from Hillsboro Bike Company are working as a great alternative in the meantime.

Next stop: fuel.  After exiting Dawson Creek, we rode about another mile to reach New Seasons Market at Orenco Station.  If you follow us on Facebook, you might recognize this location showing our bucket panniers or trailer brimming with veggies.  If we haven't met our needs at Sunday farmers' markets, we typically find the most local and best quality produce in town here to feed seven hungry (almost) vegans (except for honey from Dairy Creek Farm).

After a brief respite, re-hydration, and re-stocking of food-fuel supplies, we set out toward home with a side trip past the community garden.  Second only to the library, the garden is our next most important learning resource.  Coincidentally, this learning zone begins right about where an elementary school zone ends.  I really can't say enough about garden-based learning, so will simply include this one link for your further reading pleasure and enlightenment.
 

For the next section of our journey, we avoid traffic again by back-dooring it out the dead end road onto a path that leads to a back road that leads to another dead end road that connects to a multi-use path through the park to the next low-speed, low-traffic road.  Yes, indeed, this is why they dubbed us Suburban Bike Ninjas!  Here in the 'burbs it sometimes takes some extra planning, pedaling, and off roading to avoid high-speed, high-traffic streets for the benefit of everyone's comfort as well as safety.  Maybe you can understand how it's unsettling for a 50 pound kid to share the road next to a 5,000 pound vehicle traveling 50 miles per hour?  Not to mention buses, 18-wheelers, and distracted drivers.

We take one last break at Orchard Park along a short segment of Rock Creek Trail.  And indeed, Orchard Park also serves as one of our natural "classrooms," where we've applied science and math concepts to civic engagement.

At right, Mikal finishes locking up after the 8.7 mile round trip. Everyone else has already run inside to make food. 

It's always encouraging to see a crowd at the bike rack.  Still, ours won't be there for long, because after lunch comes recess.  It's a little over 3.5 miles to Pirate Park to meet friends, and the route is trail for almost the entire distance.

There were other bikes at the park besides ours, and ironically we arrived faster than our friends traveling by car who ran into construction and traffic delays on the road.  Just goes to show that biking can be a faster, more convenient choice as well as a healthier, more enjoyable one. 

Now to bring this long story to a close: we played at the park for two hours, with four kids and Mom (Dad and Viv opted out of this trip) rounding out just over 16 miles to that point. 

Still not finished, Mom, Viv, and Jacob rode 4 more miles that evening to and from Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.) training.  Ending the day on a symbolic note, our simulation exercise involved using wooden blocks and levers to lift a car pinning an imaginary victim beneath. It took good leadership, teamwork, and a lot of muscle for a successful rescue.  It may take the same type of community response to unpin humanity from beneath car culture.  But these victims aren't imaginary and we all need to take part in our own rescue.