Ian Yarbrough
Topic: Riding with my family
Title: Biking with a two-year-old
I've been bike commuting in Bloomington off and on for 12 years now, first as a grad student transplant from Texas and now as a professional staff employee at the university. Since 2019, I've added another layer of challenge to daily commuting: I now get to drop my daughter off at daycare on the way to work!
We ride nearly every day. I load her up in the bike trailer with enough clothing to keep her comfortable on the ride, a surprisingly easy task with the windshield on the trailer. It's not always simple to get out of the house or to get motivated though. Potty training has been an especially difficult time as sometimes it takes 15-20 minutes to get ready and then it's mostly undone by a frantic "I need to potty!" or, worse, an accident. This year was the first that I signed up for the Hoosier Commuter Club, though, and the visitor parking passes have really helped our stress levels on days when things just don't seem to be working! I can't wait to see how our commuting set-up evolves as she gets bigger. I might try a cargo bike next!