Day 3: Bike day

"How about if we do an all walk and bike day, not so much on the bus," Benjamin said while three of us stood at Live Oak Park debating how to travel the last mile up to school. We had ridden our bikes from home to the park to leave the bikes. The plan was that at the end of the day, Kim would pick up the boys at their after-school program and they’d all bike home. But first, how to do the last mile to school? Benjamin (age 9) wanted to bike, figuring we had already racked up (30 bus miles on Day 1, 65 bus miles on Day 2. Nathan (age 6), tired from the 2.3-mile uphill ride, wanted to take the bus.

The solution, as any parent knows: split the difference. Walk partway and catch the bus for the last, steepest stretch.

A fun time was had by all. Final family tally: 26 miles by bike, 2.8 on the bus, 2.4 on foot.