On the Go with NW Kid Chaser

Salem Sunday Streets...

8/26/2014

Salem Sunday Streets is coming to
downtown Salem in September!

Open to all ages.... Salem Sunday Streets is a fun, free, community event designed to promote healthy and active living by opening up city streets for people to play and explore together. This year’s event will feature: food carts, farmer’s market, music on a pedal-powered stage, interactive art projects, hula hooping, disc golf, yoga, and more...

Bonus: You can join a neighborhood bike caravan and get to Salem Sunday Streets in a healthy, fun, sustainable way!
Bike caravan routes lead from four Salem locations.
Routes can be found at http://goo.gl/0QIvXT.

Join your neighbors and enjoy the ride, Salem!

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Salem Weekend Fun...

9/6/2013

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Attention Salem!
Two family fun activities are happening this weekend.

#1: Couch Racing at Bush Pasture Park
Cheer on your favorite local team as they hurl themselves (and their former living room furniture) down the soap box derby hill on Saturday, Sept. 7th. The fun begins at “high noon.” Food and drink for sale. Bring your friends. Stay 10 feet back from the track. Enjoy the show!

#2: Sunday Streets Open for Bikes
A two-mile route (closed to motor vehicles) between Wallace Marine Park, Riverfront Park, and the Capitol Mall is the perfect spot for a family bike ride this Sunday, Sept. 8th. Activities and vendors available along the route. This is Salem’s bite-sized version of Portland Parkways. Grab your helmet and support active transportation here in the state capital.

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The Art of Bicycle Riding...

7/27/2013

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Check out
Cyclepedia
at the
Portland Art Museum
until Sept. 8, 2013.

A folding bicycle built for parachuting behind enemy lines.

Suitcase bicycle for world-traveler riders who are on the go.

A bicycle built for two!

Bumpy race track ahead?

While you are at the Museum, be sure to visit the Discovery Center on the 3rd floor. There are books, exhibits, costumes, art supplies, and furniture all designed with young museum visitors in mind.
After walking through almost all of the exhibits, my boys were ready for action. My youngest loves a good mummy fact. My oldest, began a portrait of a "young Roman guard" for the wall. I tried my hand at tin-foil sculpture.

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Minto Island Growers...

7/7/2013

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All the neighbors met at Minto-Brown Island Park this weekend for a long bike ride and plans for lunch. Fourteen of us in all, we snaked through the twists and turns of the trails, enjoying the beautiful weather.

We began at the first parking lot (to the right) just inside the park entrance. Then followed the outside path along the river. After a brief stop at the playground, we continued on to where the trails meets the road. There, we had to ride on Fargate Avenue and then Brown Island Road (for about 1 mile) to reach Minto Island Growers.

Minto Island Growers has a produce stand, u-pick berries, and a food cart. We had an amazing lunch (and dessert) before riding back to our starting point.

This will be an even lovelier trip once the Minto Bridge is built. Come on Salem, go by bike!

Here's our general route:
Approx. 10 miles RT

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Bike Fair for Kids...

5/28/2013

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This came across my email today and I wanted to pass it along....

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IKEA Inspiration...

1/11/2013

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   Years ago, I stepped off an airplane into the airport in Stockholm, Sweden and paused. I blinked twice, turned my head from side and side, and then smiled. The entire place looked like IKEA. It was a sea of stylish, stream-lined, fashionable décor.

   Of course, my own home here in Oregon is not-so-streamlined or fashionable. It seems to have an endless trail of Legos, crumbs and muddy shoes strewn from room to room. As a gaggle of children move in and out, I remind myself that I’m in the “lived-in” look phase of life. Eventually these boys will grow and my house will be quiet (and clean). I’ll miss those crumbs when they’re gone.

   My purchase habits at the Portland IKEA store are also a tell-tale sign of my current lifestyle. I delight at the colorful couches, modern storage units, and artsy chandeliers – but I purchase the simple rugs, the twin sheet sets, and safety vests.

Yes – you read that right - Safety Vests.

As a biking family, I delight in the sight of my boys moving under their own power. As a nervous mama, I feel better that the boys are visible from a distance. These light weight, inexpensive, and sized-just-right safety vests are a peace-of-mind steal-of-a-deal at $3 each.

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Eastbank Esplanade...

9/16/2012

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For years I’ve heard of Portland’s Eastbank Esplanade, but have never had the pleasure of exploring the 1.5 mile path. Following along the east side of the Willamette River, the Esplanade officially extends from the Hawthorne Bridge to the Steel Bridge. Even better: there are a variety of connection to east-side destinations.

My family recently accessed this amazing bike path from OMSI. After enjoying a few hours of science museum fun, we jumped on our bikes and followed the path all the way to the Portland Saturday Market on the north end of Portland’s Waterfront Park. Highlights included the floating portions of the Esplanade path, crossing the Steel Bridge (on a level completely separate from cars), ice cream cones at Saturday Market, water fountains in Waterfront Park, and (of course) little boys who love to ride!

Here’s a bit of info for out-of-towners like ourselves. Free parking for your car, can be found just south of OMSI near the SE Caruthers Street Portland Spirit and Portland Opera offices. East access to both the Eastbank Esplanade and the Springwater Corridor are available. We rode just a bit of the Corridor near OMSI and found it to be mostly undeveloped. The railroad is on one side and the unmaintained river’s edge is on the other. That currently makes for a feeling of seclusion. The day we were there provided enough traffic that I felt safe – but generally, I would not want to take the path without my husband along for the ride. This was in sharp contrast to the Esplanade which was more open, visible from a distance and heavily in use. I felt very safe, as the path seemed expertly integrated into the urban landscape.

I recommend that all riders bring water, sunscreen, a bike-lock, and money for ice cream along the way. If you don’t have bikes of your own you can transport to the big-city: Never Fear! Kerr Bike Rentals is right along the way and has everything needed to set you up for the day (including tagalongs and bike trailers for wee ones).

Reading about the design and planning involved in this great bike connection (between the two sides of the river), I’m impressed by the undertaking. This project is an amazing model for other communities. The possibilities (and benefits) of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure await!

Thank you to Bike City, USA for a day of great family bike ride and for leading the way.

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Happy Trails...

4/24/2010

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With the spring weather upon us, my youngest son is eager to ride his bike. While our neighborhood is a good start, it’s also great fun to ride more ‘open trails.’ I like the change of scenery. He loves the faster pace of a driveway-free zone.

Here’s just two of the places, in Salem, he loves to ride:

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