Bikes We Like – LIKEaBIKE
29 July, 2008
Perhaps some of you think about ways to involve your family in the hobbies you enjoy. For me, my biggest hobbie/interest/passion outside of my family itself is cycling. So, I often think about how I can go cycling with my family more easily and more often. Enter the LIKEaBIKE.
As yet another option for family transport, the LIKEaBIKE teaches kids as young as two how to ride a “big kid bike.” The LIKEaBIKE sits your child low so his legs reach the ground. This way, junior can push himself around on his own – no need for pedals or training wheels. Read more about it and see a demo on the product info page: http://www.likeabikeusa.com/aboutlikeabike.aspx
Nothing brought out my inner two-year-old (“I want it! I want it!”) as much as this did when I first saw it. Precision German handicraft at its finest. I plan to buy one later this year for my first child and use it for every child after that.
Where you live
29 July, 2008
An article in the Salt Lake Tribune caught my eye this morning. It talks about a study that uses drivers license data to determine correlations between where you live and how much you weigh. They take your height and your weight to get your body mass index, and then they figure out where you live, and then they used census data to figure out how walkable your neighborhood is. It seems that if you live in a home in a walkable neighborhood, you are more likely to weigh less than someone you lives in a car dominated neighborhood. It is an interesting study on a subject that needs to be thought about by city planners and politicians alike. The results seem to me to be common sense. If you are comfortable walking or bicycling, you will weigh less than if you don’t. If you have a destination such as a park or shopping, you are more likely to get out and walk or bike. We have gotten away from common sense and broad views in our planing and our way of thinking in this area. With any luck, high gas prices will force a shift away from sprawl and towards more walkable and bicycle friendly communities. (If you want to talk to someone who has done some real research on this, chat with our friend over at Sans Auto. He is finishing up his Doctoral studies in this very subject.)
