Chris bought me a rad yellow bike and bike trailer for Dash this past Christmas. They were that illusive perfect gift in that they were a complete surprise but I immediately realized that they were exactly what I wanted. Since December, family bike adventures have become our new favorite thing.  

This past weekend, we biked to the farmer's market as a family for the first time and it was the awesomest. We are able to ride along a beautiful multi-use trail for the 5.4 mile (one-way) trek and saw interesting sights and even goats, cows, and horses. Hi, animal friends! I love noticing things in our community instead of whizzing by them in a car. We're finding that there's quite a lot to notice!

We've also started to use our bikes to run errands and to commute short distances. Chris, inspired by Mr. Money Mustache again, realized that by using the multi-use trail and canal paths near our house that most of our errands are safely bikable. That was all it took for him to feel challenged to see how far our bikes can take us.

One thing we're excited about is grocery shopping by bike. Last weekend Chris went by himself and this past weekend we went as a family to Trader Joe's. Dash rode (and napped!) in the trailer and on the way back was joined by our groceries. I biked over 5 miles home while pulling our big baby and $100 of groceries; it was great! As a result, we ended up only making one trip this weekend with the car. We're finding it incredibly satisfying to accomplish errands as a family while being active, spending time in our community and being outdoors.  

When I wrote in my post about our ideal life that I hoped we could bike to lots of things, I honestly did not think that would happen where we currently live. So hats off to you, Town of Gilbert, for being much more bikable than I gave you credit for. What a pleasant surprise.