Last month – May 2013 – was Bike Month and our local YMCA got involved by highlighting different member’s stories about why they bike to the Y. There were all these great photos and essays up around the facility as well as raffles, and a promotion of the new indoor biking parking space (Go Berkeley Y!).

A few weeks ago I was taking Fern to play at the Kindergym and I was excited to discover a photo and essay up about our friend DeAnna and her 3 year old daughter, Ramona, right outside of this kids area at the Y. What a great way to engage folks and inspire other parents.

Here is the poster:

 

DeAnna plans to write a guest post for Car Free Parenting soon but here are a few highlights from the poster:

“I choose to bike to the Y for many reasons including environmental, financial, social and my physical well-being.”

“As a family, it was a challenge to find a bike that worked for us, we settled on an Extra Cycle with a Yepp seat, which we absolutely love.”

“I think cycling has had two impacts on our life. One is that we are more likely to stay local. We do have a car and mostly use it to take our dogs out for hikes or to visit friends and relatives in nearby towns. Generally, we keep our day-to-day routines on bicycle and that means within 3 miles.”

We are looking forward to hearing more from DeAnna (and Ramona) soon!

And, just for the cuteness factor, here is a picture of Ramona and Fern hanging at the Y together getting ready for swimming: