Extreme Makeover – Bike Edition

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Shawna

Welcome to Extreme Makeover…the Bodacious Bike Edition that is. Scout has graduated from her balance bike to a pedal bike. And it was a very quick transition, three times around the block with a little help from me and she was off! Problem was it was on her brothers old bike and although it wasn’t screaming BOY she didn’t like the look of it very much. So the makeover began!

Here’s what it looked like BEFORE we started, orangish red rocket bike….

And here’s the AFTER, watermelon pink, ladybug bedazzled, baby basket and flowing ribbons.

I helped put some newspaper over the spokes and chain and let her do all the spray painting. She was amazed that I gave her free reign on this. This had to be her favorite part…she’s been aching to spray paint something, hopefully this doesn’t give birth to the neighborhood graffiti artist.

Next she put on 2 sheets of ladybug / sparkly flower stickers that she picked out at the store.

Then we cut some ribbon and I tied them onto the handle bars.

And last but not least she held the wire basket while I zip tied it to the handle bars. We scored at the thrift store and got it for .75 cents!

Once it was finished she promptly loaded the basket up with her dolls and music box. She had me wind the music box so it played while she road up and down the road. She sounded like a little ice cream truck. I didn’t tell her this though for fear of her turning this new bike into an entrepreneur adventure. I could see her selling otter pops out of her basket to any poor kid who was willing to give her a buck.

Oh how I love this little one…

Here’s some footage of Scout learning to ride a bike…

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Today I also did a guest post over at Tales Of A Mountain Mama. It’s about one of our favorite spring activities, petroglyph hunting. I also included a fun craft idea for the kids. Go take a peek! Mountain Mama is a rad site written by Amelia. She covers all things outdoors and is a great resource.

bike, bike ride, bike riding, biking, extreme makeover, makeover, before and after, redo, little girl, gas sucks

Snow Biking And Modifying Your Ride

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Shawna

Meet Elijah…He is from the outdoor recreation capital of Jackson Hole, WY. His bike ride to school each morning is different from most kids. It usually involves temps below zero and snow packed roads. His ride is modified with homemade studded tires compliments of his adventure prone dad.

Elijah and his buddy wear full face helmets to protect their faces from the ice and packed snow that is ideal to ride on.

“We got fat mountain bike tires and screwed broken (cut off) screws through the tire from the inside then mounted and inserted the tube. You have to be careful because these things can rip your pant leg (or maybe car upholstery if you put them in).”

Modifying your bike tires to ride on the snow isn’t your only option. Snow friendly bikes are now on the market. They’re known as fat bikes. The frame is built to accommodate a much wider tire, up to 4 inches.

Snow biking is rapidly growing in popularity in the Jackson area. Nearby ski resort Grand Targhee is the first in the U.S. to endorse snow biking on their nordic trail system. And Snow King ski resort directly in the middle of Jackson will be hosting a snow mountain bike race this weekend February 11th.

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If you’re nearer to sandy beaches than you are to snowy mountains no worries. Fat bikes are ideal for sand riding too. Here’s a vid to wet your appetite…

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Looks fun eh! If our tax returns weren’t already spoken for this would be a nice addition to our recreation gear.

Here’s a big thanks to Elijah’s mom for sharing the pics and info and supporting a healthy extreme sport addiction in her kids!

Have you ever ridden a Fat Bike? Your thoughts?

fat bike, snow biking, snow bikes, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, ski resort
Grand Targhee, Snow King, nature for kids

Caterpillar Hitches A Ride

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Shawna

On our bike ride the other day we came across 3 Woolly Bear Caterpillars!

They were each making their way slowly across the asphalt road. We stopped to play with them for a while and Scout decided she’d help them cross the road on her bike.

When we got home we got on the computer and looked up “woolly bear caterpillar” at eNature.com.

This is what we found out…

We weren’t woolly bear magnets like we thought. They are often found crossing roads and paths on warm days in late fall.
According to superstition, the amount of black in the caterpillar’s bristle coating forecasts the severity of the coming winter.
Actually, the coloration indicates how near the caterpillar is to full growth before autumn weather stimulates it to seek a winter shelter.
For being such a fun and beautiful caterpillar it doesn’t turn into anything too extraordinary. (Tiger Moth)

It was 2 hours well spent on a beautiful Fall day!

If you liked this post you may also like:

Dog vs. Praying Mantis

Wolf Spider

nature for kids, nature, bike, bike ride, caterpillar, woolly bear caterpillar, fuzzy caterpillar, Fall

Sanity Restored After A Bike Ride

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Shawna

I’m going to admit it, there are some days I want to run screaming from our house. When our four kids are full of energy and inside the house with nothing to do they start torturing each other. Eventually there are cries of, “Mom she won’t stop copying me!” or “ Mom he won’t get out of my face!” and then there’s someone tapping my shoulder nonstop saying, “um Mom um Mom um Mom”. That’s when I SNAP!

“TIME TO GO OUTSIDE!”

After a morning like this we decided to take the kids on a bike ride around Mantua Reservoir. We took the GPS along so we could catch some geocaches along the way.

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How’d you like Hiccup’s knock knock joke? Ya we try to teach our kids the basics first.

This was a perfect trail for small kids, pretty flat the entire way. And it was wide enough for bike trailers or strollers. We came across people fishing, running, biking and hiking. Pets are welcome on a leash.

when we got home they were little angels and kissed us goodnight with sleepy little eyes and smiles on their faces. The End (ahhh)

Don’t forget to subscribe to our youtube channel and you can also follow us on facebook or twitter! We’ve been posting more pictures and daily events there. Have a great weekend everyone!

nature for kids, bicycle, bike, geocaching, kids, outdoors, bike ride, bike riding, mountain bike, mountain biking, biking, exercise, geocache, outside, trail,knock knock joke

Save Some Gas And Pedal

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Shawna

Oh goodness. Once again the news was overwhelmingly negative today especially about the outlook on gas prices. Our family vehicle gets a whopping 14 mpg, yippee! I was so frustrated I originally titled this post “Trade In Your SUV For A Bike”, but then I realized that was a little extreme. So I thought I’d share with you a little more mild approach to saving gas and connecting kids with nature at the same time.

I’ve had my eye on these Xtracycle bikes for some time now. They claim to be the do everything family cargo bike.

Doesn’t it look like fun! I’d add a bell and a basket to mine of course.

The back wheel is set back further than normal bikes and it has a long board on the back that can have a number of different attachments for carrying kids, groceries, your family pet, surf board, guitar, Christmas tree and on and on.

So I’m not listing our family wagon in the classifieds just yet, but I am going to let it spend a little more time in the driveway.

My goals are to:

Be conscious of the bike friendly days and take advantage of them.
Shop local keeping in mind whatever I buy I have to haul back home in the bike trailer. (maybe I’ll spend less $)
Plan Ahead (load up what items we’ll need and leave early so we have plenty of time to get to our destination)
Be Prepared by Having tube repair equipment ready

Now for those of you that really are thinking about ”Trading In Your SUV For A Bike” take a look at this inspiring family. They are car free and have four children…yes FOUR! They live in the bike friendly city of Eugene, Oregon. bike-family

source

Here is my favorite quote from the article,

Some days, when it’s raining or cold, getting on a bike doesn’t sound like fun, but Monica insists that once they’re riding, her attitude changes. “It feels good on my face and on my hair. My kids are giggling and talking and closer to reality. And we’re getting exercise. Everything about it feels really good.”

Let’s end on that shall we.

Strider Running Bike on SALE! $99 plus free shipping. Just in time for summer – Wheeeee!!

Playoutdoors has the newest looks for kids on bikes

nature for kids, bike, xtracycle, gas prices, gas, bicycle

Nature For Kids

Encouragement and ideas concerning wholesome outdoor recreation

Category Archives: Biking