In Praise of Keeping the Bubble Small

I like to keep my mind fully open, my travels far and wide and my day to day bubble quite small.  Today was a perfect example of how that tiny bubble enhances my day to day.  I live and work in a 2.5 mile bubble.  My kids school expands the bubble by about another half mile.  B1 had a field trip today that was bringing him to the park where my office sits, so we rode together and he met his class there.  I was able to go to a meeting and then join the kids for some of their tour and lunch in the park.  After school he returned to my office for the commute home. 

 I love that we can live in a lovely, urban neighborhood in a large city and most of our immediate needs can be met within an perfectly bikable (for everyone) five mile bubble - Work, school, grocery store, farmers market, CSA pick-up spot, theaters, doctors, mall, museum, botanic gardens, zoo, lots and lots of great food, wine, and coffee!  My only (perceived) must-have outside the bubble is Costco and I rarely go to Costco for a trip small enough for the bike, even with a trailer.  I try and only go once every two to three months to control my inability to not buy ridiculous crap that's not on my list.  Because of that, the list is always huge and definitely car worthy.  I do most of the weekly grocery shopping by bike.  We are pretty strict meal planners and that practice combined with taking my bike really helps keep the grocery budget in check. 

Now this doesn't mean that we bike everywhere nor would I want to be car free now that I have two active kids. But I'm grateful that I can intentionally drive much less than many people are able to due to the distance between their day to day activities.