Ok @michaelhobbes.bsky.social was self deprecating about it but building more bike lanes would fix an awful lot of what’s wrong with the country!

One car + two cargo ebikes + three regular bikes is turning out to be perfect for our family of three. It’s cheaper than two cars, and we can fit all five bikes in less space than our car. Best of all: biking as a family is FUN!

Camping really is the gift that keeps on giving if you have Skeeter Syndrome. And by that, I mean that I have a welt 2.5 inches in diameter on my leg. (Yes, I did bust out a tape measure like a normal person.)

Also I feel like people with Skeeter Syndrome should not camp? I have massive welts on my legs from bites this morning. I WAS WEARING PANTS.

Ok so maybe I do not have a career in art ahead of me.

Hey guys I went camping for the first time after this and uhhhh I did not sleep great and I feel like I’ve been run over by a truck.

I did it! 60.29 miles!

Really feeling the reduction in mcts service this morning.. it's really difficult to rely on buses for work when they come every thirty minutes. Fund the bus, MKE.

JUST IN: Sleep safety advisers to the CDC recommend parents sleep directly on top of newborns. Vehicle safety advisers to the CDC recommend placing children on hood of car to drive. Food safety advisers to the CDC recommend shoving whole grapes down the throats of infants.

cool we didn’t even make it to october before the first fever of the school year hit, love this for us

“I’m not a fan of crackers with cheese” is an actual sentence my child just uttered. WHAT.

You ever just randomly think about how Paste magazine named the Ryan Adams cover version of 1989 on its year-end list despite not putting the original 1989 on its list even though it’s a no-skips album filled with absolute bangers? Yeah.

I had to drive my child to an appointment in the far suburbs. I’m grateful we have a car and the ability to drive because it increases the providers we can see and opportunities we can access, but dang, it really drove* home how glad I am that I do not need to drive every single day. *pun intended

The ebike is absolute peak urban transportation. I can wear normal clothes, carry plenty of stuff, make it up hills with ease, and I even beat the bus on the way home today.

why so hot why back hurt

People complain that bike lanes and bump outs and road diets cause traffic backups, but y’all, the real cause is left turns. And for some reason, the city of Milwaukee seems allergic to left turn arrows even when there is a left turn lane.

Nothing says we value bike commuters like…whatever this is.

I just wish all the people who oppose traffic calming could understand how much joy and confidence children can get when they are able to safely walk and bike places.

Reddit poster: complains about the city “hiding” a speed hump on a 40mph road Me: Which 40mph road? RP: Holton Me: But Holton isn’t 40mph? RP: but nobody goes 30 in a 30 Me: Which is why the city put in speed humps 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

So I’m listening to Shania Twain’s “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” In addition to Shania, the villain of the song is schtupping Lolita, Rita, Jill, Beverly, Louise, and Denise. And honestly I just have a lot of questions about the logistics of this arrangement. Who has this kind of time?!

People will be like “you can’t ride a bike for 6 months out of the year in the Midwest” when in reality it’s almost 80 degrees in mid-September and I’m so tired of sweating.

My child opted to read instead of watch TV after school today, which is awesome. But now what do I do when she’s misbehaving. Threaten no Babysitters Club for a week? LOL.

Endurance people: what snacks do I need for my 50-mile ride on Saturday? We are stopping halfway for lunch. I made some energy bars, but they may just turn to peanut butter goo (which I could probably just squeeze from a bag into my mouth?), and I also have trail mix.

I know it’s technically still summer, but it’s too hot outside. Seems unfair that the pool is open in June, which was much colder, but is closed in September when it’s almost 80 degrees out.

I just biked 23.01 miles on my acoustic bike. I can more than double this and do 50 on Saturday, right?

I keep gagging trying to take my medication at night. So I crushed my pills and mixed them in applesauce. Except there were still a couple of chunks so it tasted bad. So I ate some chocolate chips to get the taste out. Basically I’m a toddler.

Jamelle Bouie’s column on Charlie Kirk is spot on. And it’s all the more reason I wish he were independent. His column quotes Trump, Newsom, and Politico Playbook for engaging in hagiography and whitewashing Kirk’s odiousness, but of course he’s contractually forbidden from critiquing the Times.

I am way too online, but I refuse to learn what any of these words mean.

Bill Cassidy should be required to wear a hot dog suit when saying such things.

My friend adjusted my brakes. We took our bikes on our car rack and they started rubbing again. And I cannot get them to both work and not rub. Are all bike people actually insane?

The sandwich has been acquired. 29/10.

So I was trying to look at the Hello Fresh menu bit accidentally reactivated it and immediately canceled but they charged me anyway despite my card on file being expired and I’m getting a shipment tomorrow but I don’t know what and now Hello Fresh can’t find my email to locate my account. WTF

My kid asked if she can play soccer on her school team this year and the sign up deadline is Monday but we don’t get to know the practice schedule until after they sign up.

Cheddar cheese and an old fashioned: the perfect Wisconsin afternoon snack.

I joined the queue to buy Garth Brooks tickets right at 10am and there are over 60,000 people ahead of me. Ticketmaster rules. 🙄

Sending my child upstairs to get dressed, brush her teeth, and brush her hair is like sending her into a black hole.

This feels like a good day to throw my phone into Lake Michigan. And possibly just walk in after it.

I realize this is low stakes in the big scheme of things, but one of my neighbors has a gas powered bicycle (I finally saw it after constantly hearing it) and it’s so loud and he’s been riding it up and down the alley all night and this is so deeply anti social.

Our kid told us she was the only one at summer camp who had to pack their own lunch. I feel like a shit mom 78 percent of the time, but my child will be able to feed herself when she leaves home.

Really glad we have a calm, thoughtful leader who will certainly help turn down the temperature and won’t stoke the fires of hate and violence.

I went to buy a sandwich at the bagel shop, only to find they are now closed on Wednesdays. Please send me your thoughts and prayers during this time of tragedy.

It is WILD to me that people prefer southern weather to northern weather. I'm not saying winters don't get long, but the announcers for tonight's Brewers/Rangers game just said this is only the second game with the roof open since APRIL.

The 8yo just grabbed scissors and said, “Nobody’s gonna get stabbed, I promise.” Well I didn’t think anyone was going to get stabbed until she brought it up!

I joined a weightlifting gym yesterday and today I really regret not having one of those tall toilets.

Janky ass city indeed.

So the NYT Cooking section has an article with 18 nutritious lunches for kids. And then someone commented to say just to have your kids eat school lunch. Like dawg, that is my fucking dream. Imagine not having to pack a lunch each day. (Don’t worry, she won’t eat the NYT lunches, either.)

I just listened to the audiobook of James by Percival Everett, which is FANTASTIC, so now I’m listening to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn because it’s been 25 years since I read it. The audiobook version I checked out is absolutely unhinged, LOL.

Good morning, fellow parents who have lived three lives before school dropoff.

If the government shuts down, the majority of my family’s income goes poof. And I still think the Democrats have to take a stand against authoritarianism. If not now, when?

So my child loves the Trisha Yearwood song “Xxx’s and Ooo’s (An American Girl”” and there are few things funnier than an 8yo singing “Slow dance second chance Mama needs romance And a live-in maid”