Dads on Wheels: Douglas Kadlecek, His Daughter, and the Breeze in Their Faces

Image by Meli of Bikes And The City

Photo by Douglas Kadlecek

Photo by Douglas Kadlecek

I first met Douglas when we worked together on the Future of the Plaza Coalition, a North Panhandle group that negotiated for extensive changes in the development of Falletti Plaza at Fulton Street and Masonic Avenue. We crossed paths again during the recent Sunday Streets through Golden Gate Park and on the Great Highway.

When did you start biking with your daughter?
I have two children; one is almost 3 years old, and the other 5 months. I’ve biked with our daughter since she’s been a one-year-old.

Where do you bike when you're out with your daughter?

We bike together once or twice a week, and it will probably increase now that school has started. We also bike for fun as well as to get places, such as to swim lessons. I don’t own a car currently so biking is my primary form of transportation.

What do you like most when you're biking with her?
The best thing about biking with my daughter is getting to spend quality time together with no distractions. We are able to talk about what we see along our ride and enjoy the breeze in our faces.

What do you say to relatives or friends who think San Francisco streets are not safe for kids to bike?
Well, I agree with them. I definitely try to stay off the streets when traveling with my daughter. We focus on rides in Golden Gate Park and either ride on non-busy streets or the sidewalk (on Masonic, for example).

What makes a route or street OK for taking your daughter on it?
If there is a bike lane, minimal traffic, or a dedicated bike route (like in Golden Gate Park).

Is it harder getting kids ready for trips if you’re traveling by bike?
I don’t think it is any harder, and it may even be easier. I just plop her in the bike seat, strap her in and put on her helmet and we’re good to go.

Do you also bike on your own?
I bike every day to work and to get to appointments. I’ll take the ‘long way home’ a few times a week to get in some extra exercise.

What would you tell other dads who are considering biking on their own or with their kids?
Do it! It’s a great way to spend time with your kids and get some exercise to boot.

*****

BIKE NOPA and Bikes And The City: every Tuesday, more Dads on Wheels.

For previous posts in the Dads on Wheels series, check here.

Dads and kids: This Sunday so much to do in NOPA and the Western Addition. Bike in the streets, try out the skating rink on Golden Gate Avenue, decorate your bikes, dance to live music, try to hold on in the quake shack on Grove Street, try the kids bike rodeo on Grove. And even more: read about more Sunday Streets programs here at BIKE NOPA and in Wednesday's special pullout in the San Francisco Examiner. Sunday, September 19, 10 am to 3pm, 11 blocks of NOPA open to walking, biking, visiting, dancing, yoga, games.

Dads on Wheels: Dan Reynolds, Empowering His Kids on Bikes

Image by Meli of Bikes And The City

Oscar, ready to roll Photos: Dan Reynolds

Family biking, near the best bike racks in the neighborhood

Photos: Dan Reynolds

Dan Reynolds and his family live in the North Panhandle and bike to their neighborhood school, Pacific Primary. Freedom From Training Wheels bike educators will love his son's reaction to riding free. Say hello to Dan, Oscar, and Ruby.

How early did your kids begin biking?
I have a 4-year-old boy (Oscar) and a 2-year-old girl (Ruby). Oscar went from tricycle to bike with training wheels before two. We took off his training wheels a few months before his fourth birthday. Oscar always enjoyed riding a bike; I never had to push him to do it. Now Ruby loves her “blue bike” (with training wheels), too. (Probably partly because she sees the rest of the family riding.)

How often do you ride with them?

We ride four or more days a week. Oscar and I always either ride bikes – he rides his own or rides on my trail-a-bike—or ride scooters to his school. We also usually ride somewhere for fun on the weekends.

What's the best thing about biking with your kids?

Seeing how much they enjoy it. Oscar learned how to balance on a razor (two-wheel scooter) because he never liked the scuut bike. We raised his training wheels a little and then just took them off. When Oscar experienced the feeling of riding without them, he gave me his biggest smile and said, “that was better than a new toy!” (Seriously. I’m not making that up.) I also think riding a bike is empowering to kids: they can’t drive a car, but they can ride a bike. It’s something that grown-ups do that they can also do themselves.

What makes a route or street OK for your kids to bike on?
I think all streets with cars are dangerous for kids. Less urban areas with fewer cars just give the illusion of safety. But you can still find a way to ride with kids safely. Because our kids are still so young, I pick routes that have separate bike paths or closed streets (the Panhandle to Golden Gate Park). We like to ride in Golden Gate Park, especially on Sundays when they close some streets to auto traffic. Oscar’s favorite ride is from our house in Nopa to the Academy of Sciences.

Is it harder getting kids ready for trips if you're traveling by bike?
Once you have a routine with the kids and bikes, it is just as easy as loading the car.

How often do you bike on your own?

In my pre-kid life, I competed in road and mountain bike races, but these days I just talk about my comeback. Two good rides a week is about normal now. I also use my bike to run errands. The great thing about living in the City is that you can get almost anywhere you want to go on a bike.

BIKE NOPA and Bikes And The City: every Tuesday, more Dads on Wheels.

For previous posts in the Dads on Wheels series, check here.

Dads and kids: spin through the North Panhandle and the Western Addition during the next Sunday Streets on September 19th, 10am to 3pm.

NOPA Bike Hero: Pacific Primary School

The little orange and yellow and green school that could. We all know it's hard to bike in the city if there's nowhere to park. And who likes settling for trees, parking meters, and street poles for cabling or U-locking? NOPA has a few standard inverted-U bike racks, but none close enough to Pacific Primary at Baker and Grove Streets to benefit teachers, parents, and students who bike. Until now.

Any biker, ped, or motorist who travels Baker or Grove Streets, knows the bright splashes of color on the westside corners of the intersection. Not exactly Victorian and Edwardian hues to match the neighborhood's painted ladies, but that's the fun of having the orange, green, and yellow exteriors of Pac Primary in the center of NOPA. Now a parents group has accessorized the school exterior with bright new bike racks.

According to school administrator, Elizabeth Cacal, parents designated the funds from a school auction for purchase of the bike racks. Sarah June Barr Crocket, one of the parents, helped select the manufacturer, Dero Bike Racks, and complete the purchase (about $2,000 for three racks). Dero allows customers to customize their purchase, and Pac Primary added its goofy grin logo. (You have to love a school with a a graphic like that!)

In an earlier post, I spied Sarah's son's bike forlornly slung around a street pole, no rack anywhere to be seen. Today his little red ride proudly stood along the cool orange rack at the front door.

Another parent, Norman Rutherford, volunteered to install the racks. I caught up with him and his son, Rye Tewksbury, this afternoon before they headed home to the Mission. They do just fine on their 2 1/2 mile ride and especially appreciate the Wiggle for getting across town. Rye started out in a bike trailer pod at six months and now has a scoot bike. Next up is a Burly trailer cycle.

Norman's got the bike rack installation down, and he's willing to help other non-profits, schools, arts organizations install theirs as well. (Contact him at northerly@sbcglobal.net). He also said he thought parents and teachers at the school would be enthusiastic about an occasional designated bike or play block near the school. Several parents have told him they'd like to learn more about bike trailers as well as giving their kids practice time on a city street.

Pacific Primary is a pretty cool school all around. With its brand new building on the southwest corner, the 35 year old school now accomodates 154 students who range from 2 1/2 years to pre-K. The full-day program "celebrates diversity -- ethnic, racial, economic -- and all types of families including adoptive, gay and lesbian, and one or more parent families."

Kids Bike to School, Sometimes with Parent Pedal Power

Sometimes I like being proven wrong. A few posts back I remarked on the lack of kids-on-bikes on our NOPA streets. Then yesterday I stopped by Pacific Primary school and chatted with three parents gearing up to ride bikes home with their kids. The furthest destination: the Excelsior, a long haul that includes San Jose Avenue, Valencia, and the Wiggle. The worst blocks for this duo? the few Wiggle blocks on Fell (between Scott and Baker). Seems like a green-painted bike lane to increase safety for kids biking -- and all the rest of us -- would be just the thing.

NOPA Play Blocks

Not many kids ride bikes on NOPA streets. Could they safely ride through the neighborhood if they wanted to? Are there any blocks that parents feel are safe for their kids to bike?

Last night I had the chance to talk about scheduled car-free days for neighborhood streets with Susan King, a Cole Valley resident who works for Walk SF, the pedestrian advocacy group. She also coordinates "Sunday Streets," the exuberant car-free days celebrated on selected streets throughout the city this summer. (This Sunday take a walk or bike through the Mission, and experience Dolores, Valencia, and 24th Streets in a completely different way!)

Fortified with a Green Chile Kitchen dinner special, Susan explained her vision for a series of summer afternoons that offered car-free blocks open for play with kids biking, everyone walking, maybe a garage sale, perhaps a barbecue, etc. Very much like NOPNA's annual block party and the Golden Gate Neighbors' July 4th celebration. But more often and in several neighborhoods. Susan imagines something like the Open Studios where San Franciscans get to see great art and visit with artists where they work in specific neighborhoods. In this case, people could bike or walk to different play blocks close-by.

What about traffic and parking? We seem to manage in NOPA with the street closures without great inconvenience now -- when Bay to Breakers removed parking from Fell, only a handful of motorists used the free and open DMV parking lot as an alternative. And let's consider the question, Do we want our kids to have safe streets for bicycling in NOPA, ever?

What NOPA blocks are best suited to be play blocks? Probably blocks without a MUNI line that aren't too steep and don't have too much traffic. That eliminates Fell, Hayes, Fulton, McAllister, Turk, Divisadero and Masonic and the upper blocks of our north/south streets. Grove and Golden Gate pop out as options along with parts of Broderick, Baker, Lyon and Central.

Perhaps NOPNA's parents group would be interested in securing more opportunities for their kids to literally play in the streets. Susan King has offered to help with the planning and getting city permits.