The following is an article I wrote for the July issue of Family Pulse Magazine. You can view it online and find it all over Reno, Sparks and Tahoe.

Though summer was late in arriving in Northern Nevada, it’s finally here, and it’s great weather for cycling with the family. But for kids that are too small to ride their own bike there is some equipment and strategy necessary for having fun while rolling around the parks and events in Reno and Sparks.

Once your child can sit up on his or her own completely stable, and they are physically big enough to fit into a helmet, they’re ready for at least simple rolls to the park. Be sure to check with your pediatrician if you are not sure if your child is ready for a bike ride.

There are three basic options for carrying your kid with you on your bike. There are seats that mount to the handlebar, or behind you on a rear cargo rack, and trailers that follow behind the bike. Each has their advantages and disadvantages.

Rear Mounted Bike Seats for Kids

Vanessa Vancour and her Husband Matt haul their daughter Billie around on a rear mounted seat on their Electra cargo bike. “We bike a lot to down town,” she says. “A lot more in the summer.” The bike is modified with an Extracycle rack that extends the length of the bike and allow them to cary additional cargo. “This has taken her and a white water kayak in the back at the same time,” Vancour says.

Most driving trips are short local jumps to the store, school or daycare that are perfect for bikes. Vanessa takes a lot of trips to the grocery store with Billie on the bike. Most days I pick up my son Bowie from daycare by bike as well.

Traffic is a huge concern as well. ‘We try to take more the back roads, or what we call the scenic route,” Vancour says, “to avoid all of the traffic.” My routes with Bowie are fairly conservative as well. Don’t hesitate to use the sidewalks when necessary, or cut through parks to save exposing yourself to more traffic.

Kid Trailers for Bikes

I use a Burley Solo trailer for taking Bowie to and from day care. There are several advantages to the trailer including the fact that it has a water/wind proof cover which keeps him warm and dry. Also the trailer holds him and all of his gear including his car seat. Also, trailers hold a child low to the ground with two wheels so that even if the bike falls over, they stay stable and upright.

The disadvantages of the trailer are that it is heavy and has a bit of jerky feedback as you ride. It’s fairly far behind you so you can’t just reach back and check on your child. “We preferred this over a trailer,” says Vancour. “Just to have her that much closer.” Many people feel like their child is too exposed to traffic in a trailer, but it is a larger more visible object to motorists than just a bike, especially if you run a whip and flag for added visibility.

Front Mounted Kid Seats for Bikes

The third option is the European style seat mounted to the handle bars. My sister and brother-in-law, Carrie and Dave Bushá, use the iBert Safe-T-Seat seat for their son Elliott. “the steering is very stable,” Carrie says, “And the baby’s weight is in the right spot.”

Carrie and Elliott riding with the iBert bike seat

Advantages of this setup are that your kid has full unencumbered view of what’s ahead, “He loved being right out in front where he can see everything,“ Bushá says. They are really close to Elliott and can easily interact with him while they ride.

Disadvantages include having to modify your riding position and cadence depending on your bike. Since the seat is up in front of you, there could be interference with your knees, with more weight on the front tire, it can be hard to lift the wheel up over obstacles, and the mounting bracket is heavy and stays on the bike when the seat is detached.

Dave and Elliott riding with the iBert seat

Cycling with your kids is easier than you think. Any of the local bike shops will be able to help you pick out and order a carrier or trailer and helmets. And as with anything, don’t force it. My son was super into it from day one, but if they aren’t into it, hold off. Chances are your kids will quickly learn the joy and exhilaration of cruising on two wheels!

Resources for Biking With Kids

Front mount seats

1. iBert Safe-T Seat
2. WeeRide Kangaroo
3. Kettler Bingo
4. Yepp Mini

Rear Mount Seats

1. Yepp Maxi
2. Topeak Babyseat II
3. Co-Pilot Limo

Helmets

1. Giro Spree
2. Bell Splash
3. Nut Case Little Nutty

Just stopped by the Reno Envy store to have a chat with Scott and pick up the new trucker hats. Reno Envy is a sponsor of this media empire, and the exchange is that he keeps me stocked with trucker hats.

New Reno Envy Trucker Hats

These new ones are pretty sweet. The red one is real corduroy and has an adjustable back and is made by Great Republic. It has the old time baseball style fit. Comfy and cool. Order them online, or hit up the Reno eNVy in the West Street Market in downtown Reno, Nevada.

The green and yellow one is the good old Alternative Apparel hat he used before for the one pictured on my head below.

In the Hotel Essaouira, Marrakesh Morocco

Check out this article by UNR Journalism student Elliott Shaw about Scott Dunseath and the origins and future of the Reno eNVy brand, with a couple of video interviews.

“I was talking to a friend of mine and sending him some information and he asked me my address, so while I told him I said Reno, NV, and I just said it a little differently,” Dunseath Said. Both men looked at each other and made the connection. Reno, NV, became Reno, envy.“We both kind of caught on to it, and for a while it was just a joke between friends.” The joke, as well as Dunseath’s undeniable ability for clever wordplay, would quickly expand into a prominent staple of the Reno community.

-M

Other cultures can seem strange and shocking to outsiders. When experiencing a new culture the best thing to do is open your mind and observe the magic.

Quite unexpectedly, while attending a fairly prominent bicycle race last weekend, Danielle and I were given the treat to experience a new cultural ceremony first hand, and we absorbed it with keen attention. Travel and culture is a passion of ours.

The event was what I would call an “Injun Matrimonial Ceremony” performed by a local spiritual man of some high repute and regard with many of those in attendance. Some were so moved as to exclaim the name of God at his mere appearance amongst them. Some genuflected and were quickened enough by this spiritual man’s obvious power to weep in contorted, almost grotesque, convulsions of spiritual mirth

“I am called Two Feathersincrackofass of the great tribe of Obi Wan Chipotle, Band of the Red Rock Flaming Warriors, Local 313, and messenger of the great love goddess Pokeahontas Slapahinie.”

What followed was one of the most intriguing ceremonial rites of passage I have ever witnessed. The cloistered, city dwelling, hamburger eating and bicycle riding man in me wants to call it bizarre, but I recognize that cultures around the world, even our own, have an incestuous relationship with the sacred and the profane, so I am reticent to pass judgment on what I saw until such time as I am enlightened, or intoxicated, enough to comprehend it. Fortunately, I had a video camera…

-M

I’m getting a Haircut tomorrow with Jasmine @ Crush.

I’ll take in this picture. Which Jonas Brother should I tell her to give me? I’ve added trucker stashes to help you decide. If you know their names, you can post that info in the comments. It might help.

-M

Juni @ the Truckee White Water Park from Mike Henderson on Vimeo.

MORE INFO ON THE TRUCKEE RIVER WHITEWATER PARK

• City of Reno
• RSCVA
• Downtown Makeover
• Sparks White Water @ Rock Park

The things you see should inspire you to create something and build on them.

Before Going into the garage, Jerz likes to take a minute and think about life, the nature of the universe and how he can next pwn Scripptard (or Myrna). I like to pound a tallcan. I try to get everything i need on the first trip…

-M

Moonpie from Mike Henderson on Vimeo.

Wearing his old maroon sweater and hockey skates, Moonpie goes down to the rink every sunday to do laps on the ice and skate backwards through the crowd. Just like home, he thinks to himself as he spins and glides past Lincoln Alley. The attendants clear the rink for closing time, as he savors the last few laps alone, with his eyes closed, skating backwards his iPod playing something only he can hear.

The Zamboni driver waits as young girls linger on the ice, reluctantly leaving the rink. Moonpie has gone the other way. Choosing not to exit through the swinging opening in the rink wall. He skates at a good speed towards the Virginia Street end of the rink, stops short at the wall, hops over it one leg at a time and walks off through the planter across the street. He looks longingly at the river as it flows through town, remembering Wisconsin and the cold and the rivers that set up solid enough could skate home through the dark winter afternoons.

His glasses fog up under the lights and the cold as his breath catches up with him as he stumbles on the blades of his skates along the concrete path beside the river.

Photos by B. Donovan
Video by Wolfy
Story by Wolfy

-M

Saturday last was the second annual Reno Bike Project Bikeout or Strikeout! I, [un]fortunately was NOT able to participate in the Alleycat Race as a racer, but rather was there to help stencil the Black Hole Body piercing logo on the t-shirts of the racers. Dug e Fresh (www.scalleycat.com) put on a cool race. Chief amongst the coolness was the idea to use spray-painted stencils for each stop as the objectives. It was cool to see the racers come with more and more stencils and to get some yellow paint on my coolass cowboy shirt!

Check out the RGJ Vid (which SADLY I can’t embed!)

Anyway, check out David LaPlante’s post for links to more pics. It was s fun event. Someday it’ll be bigger that Hott Agast Nights or Street Vibrators.

-M

Cyclist hit by car in downtown Reno, Nevada.

Callie hit by car

Originally uploaded by i am indisposed
One thing I worry about as I ride my bike around town is getting hit by a car. That’s why I wear a hard shell bmx/freeride helmet.

The thing I worry about even more is someone I love getting hit by a car, since my wife, sisters, brother-in-law and most of my friends ride around town a lot.

That second fear materialized yesterday when I got a call from my sister saying she got T-Boned by a car on her bike. She was riding East on Fourth Street when a westbound car turning south onto Lake hit her at the front wheel. She went over the car, by far the preferable vector, hit the windshield with her helmeted head and onto the ground. Hit her head twice, both times protected by the helmet. She said she remembered the impacts and that they didn’t hurt at all. The helmet is in ok shape. Scuffed and cracked a little. Certainly needs to be replaced.

The driver and several others stopped immeadiately, called police and EMTs. They patched her up with bandages, though she wasn’t actually bleeding anywhere. Everything on the wrap-up went well. The driver got a ticket and has insurance.

Her bike is a little messed up. The front wheel bearings are running rough indicating a bent axle, which means that the carbon forks are ruined. The rear wheel is out of true and the driveside chainstay is bent. Various other scratches and scuffs, but not horrible. She can’t ride it at least.

I had prepared a lecture for her about wearing a helmet, but thankfully she had already started wearing one regularly. For those of you who think a helmet can’t help you in a car-bike collision: you’re dead fucking wrong.

-M