Comment

Comment by Andrew Bedno on March 4, 2010 at 11:39am

Affirming that I love this idea.
1. Any registered user on ChicagoCriticalMass.org could create an info page for this, then I'll tweak and publish it.
2. Parents in Rogers Park are very game. I proposed every summer Sunday, and can help make it happen there.

Comment by Jason Greenberg on March 3, 2010 at 1:50pm

Todd, Jane, Liz, Jamimaria & other joiners-

Hi! I'm so glad my friend Britt told me about the Kidical Mass Rides!
Its great to find folks (and their kids) with similar interests...

My two kids and their friends (all 9 yr olds and 7 year olds) have long toured the blvds with me from Logan Sq to Humbolt Park and over to the skate park under the highway too. Count us in to join in the Kidical tours and I'd love to come early to help support set-up and be a safety monitor/helper to the tour.

Also, my kids are old enough and well-trained enough to ride their own bikes now, but I do have a burley trailer and an add-a-bike-trailer that I could loan to anyone who has a kid(s) they want to take on the ride if they could just get their hands on the right equipment to keep them attached to their own bike...If that helps someone,let me know ...

How else can I help? You guys are great for setting this up!

Comment by Jane Healy on December 26, 2009 at 3:06pm

Stay with the time slot you've got. Half an hour isn't going to make or break it.

J

Comment by Jane Healy on December 26, 2009 at 3:05pm

Poo. It didn't post. Here's the link:

www.streetfilms.org/tykes-take-the-streets-kids-art-bike-parade/com...

Comment by Jane Healy on December 26, 2009 at 3:03pm

Kind of a cool approach:
Streetfilms | Tykes Take the Streets: Kids Art Bike Parade


This could be a fun way to get kids to participate.

Jane

Comment by Todd Allen on December 26, 2009 at 2:41pm

Thanks Jane for all insights! I've only done a couple rides oriented towards kids and I expect this is fairly new to most of us. For most things I'm the sort to just try things and learn by error but in this case we really need to get it mostly right from the start.

As for the start times, for the first two announced rides we settled on a start time of 9:30 AM. Do you think we should try and push that back to 10:00 AM even if it has already been submitted to some print media?

One of our concerns for staring early was to minimize scheduling conflicts for those that already have busy Saturdays. Hopefully we'll get enough feedback to eventually settle on the best ride time.

Comment by Jane Healy on December 26, 2009 at 12:27pm

Timing:

Saturday mornings can be a great choice, just be aware that you don't make the time slot too early. It can be hard to get kids dressed, fed and organized before 9am. More than one child makes this even more challenging. Add in commuting time and I'd recommend a start time of no earlier than 10 am.

Comment by Jane Healy on December 26, 2009 at 12:22pm

I posted some stuff about leading kids on bike rides on the CCM listserve, but was asked to post it here. So here goes.

Things to keep in mind when riding with #s of kids:

-Kids under the age of about 9 (3rd-4th grade) have a hard time anticipating traffic or understanding risks, car speeds, etc. If riding in the city, be sure they are either attached to an adult (tandem, trailer-cycle, trailer, kiddie seat, pillion) or that they have an adult riding RIGHT next to them. After having done hundreds of miles with young children, I strongly encourage the former unless you are riding on a bike path or trail. You cannot imagine how hare-brained little kids can be at times. Young children are easily distracted by the view and can literally run into parked cars or conversely, suddenly lurch into traffic. They are also prone to stop without warning. Be sure to stress to solo-riders that they COMMUNICATE. Adults need to do the same. A lot. (Me: "Okay, we are coming to a busy street, get ready to stop." "We're stopping now..." "STOP!")

-Make sure kids have water on hand. Most kids bikes do not have water cages so you need to find some way to carry water for them (panniers, an extra trailer, etc). Bring along a Sharpie so that you can label water bottles so you don't have arguments about which bottle belongs to which kid.

-Be sure kids are dressed properly. Cold kids are miserable kids. Wet kids can be miserable, too (depends on the weather and the type of rain/snow). Even heat can be a problem: My then 2 year old daughter started vomiting at Bike the Drive a few years ago when the temps were in the 90s. Turns out she was suffering from heat stroke! What do you need to bring? bandaids/first aid kit? sunscreen? bug spray? a coat? extra mittens?

Winter specific: Willow has generously donated a bunch of balaclavas to my group; they've become a hot item in the neighborhood. You can't believe how much nicer these make winter biking. Being able to cover your nose/lower face is important. Snow pants are also a godsend for little kids on bikes. Cold feet can be avoided by wearing snow boots, but for kids who can't afford them, having some of those chemical hand/foot warmers are great to hand out. You can buy them at Walgreens or at hardware stores.

-Choose locations that are kid magnets (playgrounds are great). Having a destination--and allowing kids to play for a good long time once there--makes biking fun and not a chore. I plan on at least 45 minutes at the destination point. If we are going to the pool, we go for 2 hours.

-Make it fun.

-Go over rules/expectations before you take off. Keep it as short and sweet as you can. Engage kids by making them do active responses (eg. Show me how you signal a right turn! Good!) Have the older kids model proper road rules. You'd be amazed at how quickly the little ones pick it up.

-Think about snacks. Do you need them? Depends on the length and amount of time for the ride, what time you start at (eg. can you expect kids to have eaten lunch or dinner yet?) and the age of the children.

-Safety vests make you look official which cuts you some slack with motorists, they aid in visibililty, and they work day or night. You can pick up really cheap ones on eBay for about $5/each. Vests that have horizontal stripes are more visible when on a bike than vests that only have vertical stripes. My local Target is carrying a very good one for about $7 a pop. Also, remember that kids are small. Adult sized safety vests can be enormous on children (to the point of being dangerous by dragging on the wheels).

-Kids generally ride cr*ppy bikes. Check for functional brakes first. Make sure wheels are true enough to roll well, and are pumped up fully. If the bike ain't safe, it ain't going on the ride!

-Did I mention to make it fun?

Jane <---mom to 3, leader of the Friday Night Bike Club (which now has 35 participants...although not all at the same time... yet...)
www.bibc.us

Comment by Todd Allen on December 21, 2009 at 6:39pm

BTW, as far as help for organizing either of the above mentioned rides, over the next couple months we need to make and test routes and we need to publicize the rides. The morning of the ride, help with balloons, cookies and whatever stuff we can do for the kids. A tire pump and basic bike prep station would be good.

During the ride we will want a ride sweep, corkers, and alert helpful people watching out for trouble. Having someone taking photos would be great too.

I plan on bring my trailer/PA system and any help finding music and/or a performer would be great too.

I'm sure there is much more. At the next BBN meeting I expect volunteers to start committing to some of these roles but the more anyone else can step up earlier the easier it will go.

Comment by Todd Allen on December 21, 2009 at 6:20pm

Jami, it would be fantastic if you could come out and do your balloon magic. I have a small helium tank with inflator nozzle that I was planning on bringing which should be good for a few dozen balloons.

This past Saturday morning at the Bicycle Boulevards NOW! meeting, the impatient and demanding folks voted to organize a couple trial Kidical Mass rides.

Sat. march 20, gather 9 AM for 9:30 AM departure, ride til 10:30 AM. Starts & ends at "the bunny park" playground in Palmer square.

Sat. April 17th, gather 9 AM for 9:30 AM departure, ride til 10:30 AM. Starts & ends at fountain square park in Lincoln square near cafe Selmarie.

The dates & locations were chosen to allow sufficient lead time to get listings in Momentum magazine and other print media.

Personally, I think a fixed location & time will eventually be needed to build a solid ride, but until there is a consensus on that I think these one off rides will be a good way to test the waters and build some experience. I hope others will pitch suggestions for more rides.

In addition to balloons, any other ideas of how we can make this a festive spectacle would be great. Facepaint? Stuffed animals? Fancy helmet hats?

BTW, the next Bike Boulevards NOW! meeting is Sat. Jan 23rd at 10:00 AM, Ciclo Urbano. All are welcome.

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