Bike Solo

So I had a great thing lined up for my blog post. H, Cleo, H's mom, and I met a friend and her family at an outdoor showing of the Princess Bride at one of the parks in Portland.

Sounds pretty cool, huh?

Unfortunately, no matter how cool the event is, if I forget to take pictures it makes for a dull blog post. In our defense, it got dark really quick, you can't exactly take pictures during the movie, and H and I spent most of the movie walking around in the back of the park trying to calm a fussy Cleo.

Luckily, Cleo and I did a few things that week, one of which is that she and I took our first bike trip out in the community without H as my wing(wo)man. Let me first convey how terrifying this is. I had never loaded up Cleo on my bike without help, had never carried a backpack stuffed to the brim with picnic stuff while doing this, and I was still unsure how well Cleo likes the bike, though signs were good so far.

I'm also super paranoid with Cleo on the front. I trust no one. I glare at people in cars as if they are secretly plotting against us. This, understandably, makes for a tense bike ride.


It was a beautiful day, though, and I couldn't let my neurotic tendencies stand in the way of a fun outing.

So we loaded up and headed out. Cleo giggled the whole way and made funny sounds and we got there without incident.

Another good thing is that you can count on Portland to be entertaining. We got there and there was some sort of... cajun band I suppose?.. that were practicing. Then some lady pulls up on a bike near us and just sets up a hammock between two trees... but it wasn't a normal net hammock. It was nylon or something and she didn't so much as recline into it as she disapeared into it. Like it... enveloped her... cattepillar style while she read her book. It did not look comfortable. Then after the cajun band finished, a lady with a snare drum and an eyepatch showed up and met a friend with a ukulele and they practiced songs.

I think she's ready to go home...

This is the type of stuff that Cleo will grow up thinking is normal. Which is kind of odd yet cool.

On the way back, I faced a new dilemma: sleepy kid. Sure, we got a lot of "OMG! She's passed out! How cute!" comments, but since I was dealing with the logistics, of this, I didn't get to enjoy it much. You see, in the Yepp, the kid kind of slumps forward and will wobble around like well cooked asparagus unless supported. Sure, you can buy some Ikea type pillow for it called the Schlep or something, but it's $40 and we haven't encountered this problem enough to rationalize that. So for now it's kind of an elbows-in biking style I use where I support her head with my elbows while holding onto the handlebars.

Still, we got home, kid transitioned to the swing and finished her nap no problem, and I got that feeling of accomplishment I get when I've done something just a little bit daring for her.

Finally, Movies!

So I said I wasn't going to do any more mommy matinee posts for Tuesdays with Cleo, but I can't really pass up talking about the recent ones I've seen.

Due to the kiddo, I feel like I'm living in a distant country where movies get released much later for me. All of these "summer blockbusters" have been out since early summer, but I see them anywhere from 2-3 months after they've been released when they come to Mommy Matinee. So it's only been recently that I've FINALLY gotten to see the movies I've been wanting to see since about May. And it's been really, really interesting to contrast and compare.

Let me first state that Cleo and I have this mommy matinee thing down. We get there early and get situated. I pack solids (berries, apple slices, etc) for her to eat during the previews and order my food. She watches the screen a bit and plays for about the first half hour, then gets fussy. Then I heat up some milk, put her in the Ergo, strap the Ergo on, and pace around in the back of the theater and bottle feed her for a while. After about a half hour of this, she's passed out and I return to my seat to watch the last hour or so of the movie while she naps. I'm actually really surprised at how well this has worked, and I miss out on very little of the movie!

So the most recent one we saw was the Superman reboot "The Man of Steel", but I think I need to explain the other movies we've seen in recent weeks to get my impression of it, so we'll start with "Iron Man 3".

I saw it a few weeks ago and it was definitely a "comic book movie". There are elements of the ridiculous meshed in with the action and despite some tense scenes the end game is "fun". I guess it pissed off some fans due to how they portrayed The Mandarin, but I thought it was nice since they were already handling the Extremis story line. As we saw in "Spider Man 3", cramming in too many iconic bad guys actually leads to less fulfillment.

Next was "Star Trek: Into Darkness". This was really, really fun to the point that you don't even really notice the gigantic plot holes. As a reboot, it also includes a lot of "wink and a nod" moments for true fans, such as Bones saying his "Damnit Jim! I'm a doctor not a (insert occupation here)." It has some complex messages, but it doesn't beat you over the head with them.

Now we get to "Man of Steel". I was really excited about this one, to the point that I dressed up Cleo in Supergirl gear. However, it was kind of flat. I can see what they were trying to do. It's as if the were picturing a universe where comic books don't exist and what a Superman movie would be if it were just straight up Sci-Fi about an alien refugee raised on Earth. With lots of wanton destruction.

By getting rid of the fun, comic book element of Iron Man and the "wink and a nod" element of a reboot like Star Trek, it felt unrecognizable. This wasn't really a "Superman" movie. He doesn't stop bank robberies, save people from muggings, or catch people falling off of buildings. He came in and beat the crap out of a bunch of other Kryptonians. Maybe this guy on screen will be Superman someday, but right now, he's not. I can't fault their desire to be original, but it ended up feeling tedious.

Anyhow, here's a much more entertaining video of Cleo playing in her Jumparoo in her Supergirl cape.

Boldly Go

So this last week was the final week of my mom's visit which has been very bittersweet for me. I hate to see her go, but it's been nice having her around to hang out with Cleo, to see the two of them bond, and for me to enjoy the air conditioning in the RV! I feel confident saying the visit was a success and we're all looking forward to a much longer visit next summer!

To take some of the gloom out of her leaving, we decided to end on a high note by seeing Trek in the Park, which was Cleo's first and, sadly, last experience with this as this is the last year of the event. I'm pretty bummed about it, but I understand. Atomic Arts started it five years ago as a quirky event, it then grew to be a "Portland Thing" complete with a parody of it on Portlandia, and now it's become an institution. My step-father phrased it best when he pointed out that voluntarily pouring your time and effort into a project you are passionate about is one thing, being obligated to do it is an entirely different experience.

Since I worked that morning, I had to relinquish organizational control of the gathering to entirely to H, which was really hard for me. We're talking my mom, step-dad, two dogs, a baby, H, H's mom, and me showing up later. You have to get there 3-4 hours early, so she would need to bring food for all of us, the dogs, and the kiddo. Plus it's Portland so you have to prepare for both sun AND rain.

With the exception of H's mom who wasn't able to make it due to some bad luck, H pulled things together and it went off really, really well. Atomic Arts did "The Trouble with Tribbles" this year and it has felt like half of Portland has been making tribbles for the past few months to help them with this. The production was fun and the guy who plays Scotty stole the show (just as James Doohan does in the original broadcast) and to my personal delight they included the part where Kirk continues to get pelted by tribbles as he is stranded under a pile of them.

My favorite part of the live version though? Not even on stage. It happened when, 10 minutes into the show, it started raining. The show didn't miss a beat and neither did the audience, and my step-dad said in surprise when looking at the crowd, "Wow! No one's even moving to get out of the rain!" Portland. As. Hell!

Most importantly, the parents liked it. Making people wait for four hours in the sun on a blanket with a baby and dogs and then having to watch a show in the rain sets the bar pretty high, but thankfully, I feel like it met the expectations! Thanks for the good times Atomic Arts! Live long and prosper!

Ain't no tribble at all!

I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike.

About twelve years ago, I started bicycling as my primary form of transportation. In truth, this originally came about as a way to stay quit from smoking. I figured the opposite of spending money on ruining my lungs was to save money by salvaging my cardiovascular system.

When I started biking, it was a torturous, wheezing affair. Honestly, I'm surprised I didn't have a stroke! As weeks went on, I got better and better. Knowing that starting smoking again would negate any and all progress I had made kept my resolve strong and little by little, I became a bicycler instead of a smoker.

One side effect of this is that I'm not a fan of driving, which is what happens to many bicyclists. Simple errands that CAN be done by bike slowly start to feel like they SHOULD be done by biking until you begin to see using the car as a sign of failure.

As such, having a kid has been tough. We live in a society where rocketing around at 70 mph in a primarily fiberglass and plastic cage is widely considered safe for a child, however, there are no such assurances extended to bicycling. Bicycle product manufacturers won't clear a product for an age group unless they are almost certain they won't get sued, with most bike seats and carts coming with instructions to not use them until 1 year. In fact, in Michigan, children aren't even allowed to BE on a bike until 1 year.

Which is strange since there are many families in Denmark and Holland that don't even have cars and are two wheeling their babies around from day one.

So which is it?

Unfortunately, there really isn't a consensus  as this great Bike Portland article points out.

Test Run

It's really hard to find good info on this. It seems like opinions from Europe = the American recommendation + 3 months. I've personally come to the conclusion it seems that while 12 months is pretty much guaranteed for ALL to be safe, sometime around 9 months is where it's GENERALLY okay, depending on the kid's neck strength (and Cleo has had exceptional neck strength from day 1). Top that off with me finding the Mini Yepp that, unlike everything else we have encountered, actually clears kids of 9 months to be able to use it and I finally found a rational to get this kid on two wheels!

While the Yepp wouldn't fit on my commuter bike, it did fit on my mountain bike. This was a blessing in disguise since the super fat tires, knobby tread, and lower gearing meant I wouldn't outrun H on a ride (who does not bike nearly as much as I do) and the shocks would provide a much smoother ride for the kiddo. Yes, this meant doing things like putting a kickstand on it which is tantamount to installing seat warmers on a dune buggy, but for my girl, I was willing.

We did a small test ride on Thursday and the kiddo seemed to enjoy the ride even if she hated her comically large helmet. Seriously, the moment you unbuckle that thing she overhand throws it with both hands as far away from her as possible. Her helmet contempt is regrettable, but at least her form for soccer throw-ins is being developed. And while the carrier negatively affects my pedaling form a bit, it's really only for short rides anyhow. 

Then on Sunday we did our first family bike outing in a ride to the food carts nearby, a little over 1 1/2 miles there and the same distance back. I was really freaking nervous! Last time my palms had been so sweaty was the time I had to give a best man speech at my buddy Mike's wedding! But ultimately...

IT WAS GLORIOUS!

The kid laughed on the ride there and made fun noises while I sang songs to her. She would grin at her mom when she would pull up along side us. We had a fun outdoor breakfast and then cruised back. All in all, a great time was had by all and I'm looking forward to squeezing in some more bike rides before the sun goes into hiding for the winter!