humidifiers

On the one hand, it's a little early in the year. On the other hand, we all have persistent coughs. On the one hand, it's yet another way to consume electricity. On the other, we all have persistent coughs. And dry skin.

R. had kept his probably-acquired-used humidifiers for a decade or more, until we finally got a whole-house humidifier. Then we moved, after getting rid of the old ones (don't worry -- they went to new homes). After a few days of delay (and the preschool getting ever more antsy about the persistent cough), I finally said enough and took A. down to the hardware store (yes, a neighborhood hardware store, that normally I would walk or bike to, but I was concerned the boxes would be too big to get home, especially with A. Also, it was around dusk), where we bought a small one for T.'s bedroom, and a big one for the downstairs. The big one is weird: it's basically a bucket with a fan on the top and this weird filter/wick thing in the middle. It's difficult to believe something this minimalist can possibly be safe to have around small children. I will be watching carefully to see how they react to it.

In the meantime, _I_ think T. slept better last night, altho possibly that's just because I left the noise machine on last night so he didn't wake me up with the coughing. I definitely slept better, but not due to the humidifier. I am definitely coughing less today, now that the humidifier is running downstairs. We'll see how my skin does.

all that bike crap: end of season wrap up review

Several months ago, I was researching and purchasing seemingly endless amounts of bike stuff. I thought I'd post a summary review of what I thought at the end of the main cycling season. I'm definining first-snow as the marker that we're in shoulder season; once I have to bike in the main travel lane because the sidewalk is too full of snow to ride on, I'll treat that as off-season.

(1) The trailgator: http://www.trail-gator.com/

We never used it. Eventually, I gave it to the neighbors. I'll let you know if they ever give me an opinion of it.

(2) Moederfietsen: the Townie with Bobikes fore and aft and a front tray

I love the Townie. R. hates the Townie seat, so he got a Brooks leather seat (whatever the canonical one is; I've forgotten the model number). The Brooks leather seat is okay. A few weeks ago, after not even once getting on the bike to ride it, he switched it back. [Correction: He did ride it with the leather seat earlier in the summer, but hadn't ridden it for a long time.] Of course, he then wound up riding the Townie somewhere. Predictable. I LOVE the Townie seat. I sort of wish R. would undo whatever the hell he did to the handlebars when he switched the seat around, but it's not worth an argument. T. can undo the Bobike buckle, but so far has been willing to stay put in the seat when riding. A cargo net keeps his Kettler balance bike on the front tray when we've been out playing and he's tired and wants a ride home. Do not attempt this without practice -- keeping that bike balanced on the tray is very, very tricky. We have a Bobike mini mount in front, and I've taken A. to Benjarong for takeout many times; the bag goes nicely on the front tray under the net. I don't think I've successfully had both kids on the bike at the same time. The downer here is you can't have the Maxi and a rear rack, but the front tray is adequate, once you get used to managing the awkwardness.

I wish I had gotten lights put on. Probably next year. The Townie bell I bought as an accessory has a good sound to it, and the Townie cupholder works okay.

It was a huge pain getting the Bobike Maxi on the Townie and required more than one consultation between the bike shop in Portland that sells the Bobikes, and Belmont Wheelworks, which did the work. Many thanks to all of them for making this happen.

I also had a frame lock put on this bike (an Axa, maybe a defender?) which I love, but cannot vouch for how effective it is because we live in a town where people routinely leave unlocked bikes lying around. I also had a better kickstand (a Hebie) put on this bike. I wish kickstands worked miracles but they do not. However, the Hebie is pretty close, as long as the bike isn't tilted and weighted. So be careful out there.

The bar end mirror installed on the Townie is basically useless, because the angle doesn't work quite right and is not adjustable (at least not for me).

(3) Moederfietsen: the Bianchi with Bobike mini in front, and a Moose Rack for a Kazoo behind

This is the ride-to-school bike. R. brings T. in in the morning; I pick up T. in the afternoon. The Moose Rack permits some panniers while the Kazoo is in use; I'm using Avenir Metro 2.0 grocery shoppers. They are open baskets, which so far is okay, but might become a problem if we are serious about doing this in crappy weather. I'm betting we're not that serious. The lighting system is fantastic -- I could not love it more. I have on occasion used it when getting takeout, and at least once on a very late group ride with T. and his grandma. I had Belmont Wheelworks put together a front wheel with a dynamo to power a Busch & Miller Lumotec IQ Cyo, IIRC (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/schmidt-headlights.asp#lumotec). My rear red flasher is the one I've always had, integral to the seat that comes standard on my bike. R. and I have each, on occasion, had both kids on this bike. I've taken T. on the trailabike to the store and gone grocery shopping. Everyone loves this bike. We get compliments every time we take it out.

The Bianchi also has a Hebie and an Axa and we love them on this bike as well.

What's next?

The big thing I'm working on right now is trying to weatherize us. It turns out that below 40 degrees is kinda brutal when you're riding on a bike at a leisurely pace. It was tough to get enough clothes on me. I got a new winter coat (a Columbia 3-in-1 Bugaboo) which has appropriate seams and windproofing and a pair of ski pants. I'll need to get T. something for his legs and he'll need the next size up puffy coat at some point. If only we could keep mittens or gloves on him.

I'm also contemplating the Bobike mini wind screen and plastic bubble thing [ETA: Just the windscreen. I ordered it from Longleaf this time, and pre-emptively got the extender, because if I know my Townie, I'm going to need it.]. I wonder just how committed to this I really am. It really sucks pushing a stroller, after getting used to pedaling, but maybe it's time to suck it up and start using a bike trailer instead. We've got the stroller kit for the Burley, which means I could be a _really_ lazy parent.

I Want That: voetenzak or cosymuff for child bike seats

http://www.halfords.nl/NL/Fiets/Catalog/ProductDetail.htm?productId=609890

I called Longleaf, but he was not real optimistic that he'd be able to get the US importer to add that to the accessories they carry. He thought I should just order it from the Netherlands, but it is a major pain in the neck trying to get shops in the Netherlands to ship to the US; I've tried it before

So I opted for a UK distributor, instead:

http://www.conwasa.demon.co.uk/bobike/

And I figured as long as I was doing this, I'd get both sizes for front and back seats, since there's just no telling how that's going to go. In a way, I feel a little silly, because I feel like I should be able to reuse the equivalent sleeping-bag-with-holes-in-it from the stroller, but the harnesses are different and, more importantly, the legs need to be separated.

Here's hoping it shows up.

I don't think there's an American English word for whatever the hell this is, and yet here I am about to own two of them. It does not seem right.