This year the season is hitting us particularly hard with pollen counts that are killing me. I am even giving up having more than a single beer—gasp—in an effort to keep myself from becoming a slobbery mess.

The problem is that I have absolutely no desire to stop getting outside and enjoying the weather despite the dusty yellow film that seems to coat everything—the car, the sidewalks, the dog (as if she wasn’t allergenic enough).

So in honor of spring, and Earth Day, I’d like to list a few recent outdoor conquests:

• Biked the kids to school… check
• Biked to work… lovin’ the Xtracycle still
• Walked into town for a nice lunch with the wife… check (excellent recuperation for her recent concussion)
• Walked the dog… not as often as I should
• Built garden beds… all done but the final layer of dirt and planting, which is planned for this weekend
• Helped out at a baseball practice… check
• Took my daughter on her first “park ride”… check

In honor of that last accomplishment, here are a couple of photos.

My goal by the end of this summer is to have a highly productive front lawn. The first step in that plan is the walkway seen in this photo.

Next is a rock retaining wall so that I can level things out and start planting.

The skinny:

• 1 mountain bike for Dad (Gary Fisher Marlin 1999)
• 1 trail-a-bike for the little kid (Adams Trail-a-Bike)
• 1 mountain bike for the big kid (Raleigh Rowdy)
• ~30 minutes of ride time
• ~9 mph average speed
• 4.8 miles with kids
• 5 miles to work without kids

(Pictures to follow, I forgot to take one in the rush to get out the door.)
Keeton did awesome on the bike lanes of North Portland. The Columbia Blvd. trail leaves a little to be desired at a couple of spots, but it was safe and traveled well. Mishya is now officially over her fears of biking. (I think the trailer was just a little too much loss of control as of late–the trail-a-bike is a much better fit for a 6-year old.)

My only complaints are that the coupling on the trail-a-bike was having a squeak-a-thon–it has been checked, it is not part of the recall from a year ago–and that the mountain bike is way heavy compared to my usual aluminum road steed. If I do this regularly, which is the plan, I think I’m going to need to switch to some lighter tires. I love the glass-crunching-ride-with-abandon fell of the Specialized Armadillo Crossroads I currently have on the Marlin, but man the tires feel heavy. I have to find something that will give me the top end speed of the slicks I used to ride with the puncture protection. I can then save the crossroads for trail riding–which I don’t get to do that often.

Two final issues with riding bikes to school that is 4+ miles from home. I can’t do pick up, so Diana had to swing by and grab the bikes with a car in the afternoon and Keeton and I crossed-wires regarding his helmet. I hope the helmet is sitting at school, but if not we are going to need to get him a new one before we can ride again. Darn.