A DIY kid seat for a Kona Ute longtail bike. Photo taken in bike racks at Trillium Charter School on N. Interstate Ave.(Photos © J. Maus)

I’m not sure what is about my daughters’ school, but the bike racks are always full of distractions for a bike geek like me. Remember the mini-tall-furry bike? [...]

You’re not likely to find a bike like this at your local shop.(Photo © J. Maus)

The other day, in the bike rack of my daughter’s school, I noticed a very practical children’s bike. It had everything a bike needs to be used as a real transportation vehicle — a chain-guard, generator lights front and [...]

Marion Rice and daughter Gleneden

[Editor's note: This article is by our Family Biking columnist Marion Rice. Marion previously wrote about how to keep kids warm and dry on the bike. Today, she offers up her tips and thoughts about what to do when your little ones don't feel like hopping on the bike [...]

I’ve just added more books that were recommended by readers. Thanks, and enjoy! — Elly

Kids love books about bikes!(Photo © J. Maus)

The kid’s bookshelf at the BikePortland Bookstore is growing rapidly. We’ve rounded up a stack of recommendations that have come to us from biking families all over Portland.
These new additions are all picture books [...]

Bike Gallery owner Jay Graves takes an employee (his son Simon) for a spin on a Madsen cargo bike at the kickoff event last night.(Photos � J. Maus)

Last night at the Hollywood Bike Gallery store, Portlanders got their first chance to kick the tires of the new Madsen Cycles cargo bike.

Jared Madsen.

Jay Graves hosted the [...]

Marion Rice and daughter Gleneden

This article was written by our Family Biking columnist Marion Rice. For previous articles in this series, and for links to other articles and photos on family biking, check out the Family Biking Page.

A warm and dry kid is a happy kid.(Photos � J. Maus)

We may be enjoying an Indian [...]

Eager to ride.-Watch video below- (Photos � J. Maus)

This morning, despite a steady stream of rain, hundreds of Abernethy Elementary School kids took part in a new spin on the the traditional walk-a-thon fundraiser; they did a bike-a-thon.
Dubbed the Tour de Ladd, organizers of the event closed a loop of streets adjacent to the Southeast [...]

The ride began with a roll through downtown Hillsboro.Video report belowPhoto Gallery(Photos © J. Maus)

With crowds much larger than organizers expected, the first annual Tour de Parks, held yesterday in Hillsboro, was a smashing success.
My family and I made the trek out West (thanks to the MAX) for our first foray into the [...]

This month at The Office of Transportation’s Bicycle Brown Bag series is a discussion on family biking.
PDOT employee Timo Forsberg will host a panel of biking parents for what is sure to be an interesting chat.
Here is more information:

Parents on Bikes: Bike & Walk to School Day all year-round!
School. Work. Shopping. [...]

I took my 5 1/2 year-old daughter to school this morning and was overjoyed to see the bike racks over flowing…

Not enough space for all the bikes at Trillium Charter School in North Portland.(Photos © J. Maus)

Are you biking your kids to school this year? Have you noticed more family bike traffic than usual? [...]

Ready to ride.(Photo © J. Maus)

Kidical Mass continued to stoke the family biking revolution with several rides all over Portland tonight.
I joined a healthy group of families at Peninsula Park for a pleasant, few-mile ramble over to Arbor Lodge Park where the kids played, the parents chatted, and everyone nibbled on potluck offerings.
Did [...]

What’s not to love about Kidical Mass?(Photos © J. Maus)

Kidical Mass — that kindler, gentler, more family-friendly version of Critical Mass — seems to be catching on in Portland.
It started last April in Eugene and then made its Portland debut a couple months later.
And now, the ride is spreading from its downtown Portland [...]

Martina and Carl (age 6) take a break on the Springwater Trail.(Photo: Todd Fahrner

When the Fahrner family (Todd, Martina, and son Carl) wanted to get away for a little weekend vacation, they did what many other American families do — they packed up their vehicle and set out for the open road.
But unlike most families, [...]

A common sight this weekend.Photo gallery(Photos © J. Maus)

Over the weekend, my two daughters and my mom (she’s visiting from California) joined me on Cycle Oregon’s Weekend Ride.
The sold-out event was based at the beautiful and bike-friendly Fort Stevens State Park situated on the northern tip of Oregon’s Coast. The park is family biking [...]

Kids and bikes: what’s not to love?(Photos © J. Maus)

The Portland Wheelmen Touring Club has unveiled their schedule of family-friendly rides.
Ride organizer Ann Morrow says the club’s Family Rides are designed especially for novice riders and/or families with children in bike trailers, on tag-alongs or on their own little bikes.
“It’s a great form of [...]

Marion Rice and daughter Gleneden

[This article was written by our Carfree Families columnist Marion Rice. For previous articles in this series, and for links to other articles and photos on family biking, check out the Carfree Families Page.]

My kids love it when I pick them up on the bike with a cold drink and [...]

[ June 25, 2008; 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 6:30 pm; ] Belmont Bike Art Racks Potluck
Sunnyside Environmental School, SE 34th Ave and Salmon St
6:00pm - 8:00pm, 6:00-8:00 PM *or show up at 5:00 to volunteer*
The Belmont Bike Art project will install art bike racks in the on-street bike parking on Belmont. Come to a fun potluck and vote on the sunflower design that neighborhood [...]

Photo GalleryVideo below(Photos © J. Maus)

It’s like Critical Mass without the attitude or the age.
Portland’s first Kidical Mass ride (an import from Eugene) was a big success tonight. About 40 people (and about half were little ones!) showed up for a short loop through downtown.
Ride organizer Angela Koch, the Safe Routes to Schools director [...]

Marion Rice and daughter Gleneden

[This article was written by our Carfree Families columnist Marion Rice. For previous articles in this series, and for links to other articles and photos on family biking, check out the Carfree Families Page.]

Some of you may wonder what this post has to do with family cycling, but I assure [...]

[Note: This article was written by Marion Rice. See the other articles in her Carfree Families column.]

When are kids ready to go it alone?(All photos © J. Maus)

My son is five (turning six in August) and has had his own “big boy bike” for about a year now. It mostly sits in [...]

[Please note that we've changed the name of our family biking column from "Carfree Families" to "Car-Less Families". This is the third article in the ongoing series written by Marion Rice. Read the others here.]

(Photos © J. Maus)

From my perspective, there is nothing better than tooling around town with my toddler on the [...]

[Note: This article was written by BikePortland.org's Carfree Families columnist Marion Rice.]

The Folz family (Allan, Carie and Cody) used their tandem/child-seat/trailer combo to participate in a bike move last summer. (All photos © J. Maus)

There are many different bike set-ups that will get you around town with kids. In fact, there are so [...]

Paul Adkins and family (notice the kids in the trailer!) in Eugene.(Photo courtesy Paul Adkins)

The city of Eugene (about 100 miles south of Portland) has come up with a kinder, gentler, and younger spin on Critical Mass — “Kidical” Mass.
The idea came from bike advocate Shane Rhodes. Rhodes — who manages the Safe Routes [...]

Editor’s note: I am excited to introduce Marion Rice (you might remember her from this story back in November). Marion is a mother of two (ages 5 and 2), is married to “the coolest guy ever who bikes as much as he can and is into Xtracycle dating”. She’s full of [...]

Lots of bikes at Sunnyside Environmental School in Southeast Portland.(Photos © J. Maus)

The Portland-based Bicycle Transportation Alliance hopes that friendly competition is what will get more Portland schoolkids walking and biking to school.
They’ve just opened registration for the first-ever Walk + Bike to School Challenge. The event, modeled after their highly successful Bike Commute [...]

(Photo: urbanMamas.com)

The popular local parenting blog, urbanMamas, is looking for tips on family-friendly bike set-ups.
They’ve published an email from one of their readers who writes:
“We have a 2 year old and a 7 year old and are wanting to get the family bike setup on a budget. We were thinking of looking on Craigslist [...]

Sacha White built this mixte as a birthday gift for his 8 year-old daughter.(Photos © J. Maus)

Everyone in the handmade bike industry must wonder where framebuilding phenom Sacha White gets the inspiration for his always impressive bicycles.
Judging from his famous tricycle that won Best of Show at the 2006 NAHBS (and is currently in [...]

Mini-vans are sooo last year.(Photo © Jonathan Maus)

Eleven Portland-area elementary schools have received grants from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to improve and sustain their Safe Routes to Schools programs.
The schools (see list below) have received a total of nearly $600,000 from the federally funded program that works to make it easier and safer [...]

Busy bike racks at Trillium School in North Portland.(Photos © Jonathan Maus)

Two recent experiences have left me thinking that more and more Portland families are ditching the family car and replacing it with the family bike.
Yesterday morning, when I pulled up to the bike parking area in front of my daughter’s preschool, it [...]

Someone just sent me a link to a story in my old hometown newspaper, the Orange County Register.
The article, Giving up car revs family up, details the transformation that occurred in a family from Santa Ana, California when they ditched their ailing, money-pit of a car and started riding bikes instead.

The Cave Family running some [...]