A week ago, I tried to swap Hauladay decks between the two bikes. Sadly, I realized that the two decks weren't compatible. Each bike was one of the first of its kind so there were some sizing differences. I wanted the Xtracycle deck on my HaD, the Mk3, because of the deck cutouts for the Yepp Maxi seat. The diamond plate works better on the original HaD, which is now living at my parents' house, because it's more of a cargo bike and less of a people-hauler. 

After my first attempt at swapping the decks, I ended up stripping the mounting points on my Mk3. Neither bike was very functional without a deck so we've been HaulaDay-less for too long. The final straw came a few days ago when the Bullitt's brake cable snapped as I was walking it down the driveway. Out of three cargo bikes, we had none to use! How does that happen? 

Thankfully, I have an awesome friend and neighbor, Neil, and today we (by we, I mean he) had some time to help work on the bikes.  

So now you all know that Neil is the best and I owe him lots and lots of cookies. 

Before you go, here are some more fun things that we've been up to: 

Double Hauladay ride out to Lake Solano with my sweetie.

A few months ago, we received a Monkey Light M204 to test out and review. I love checking out new gear and I was really looking forward to these lights. I wanted to make sure I'd have enough time to use them through a range of weather conditions and light levels before I made my final verdict. Sometimes I can be easily swayed by pretty accessories, only to find out later that they're all show and no substance or lack the quality to handle our rough lifestyle. 

First step, installation. I'm not very mechanically inclined so I searched YouTube to walk me through the process. 

It took me about 10 minutes to install. I had some trouble with the metal zip-tie but otherwise, it was really simple. 

The hardest part for me was deciding which bike to put it on. I settled on the Bullitt because the HaulaDay hadn't arrived yet and I wanted it on one of my more functional bikes. This light seemed a bit frivolous to me at first, something I wouldn't necessarily buy for myself, however, the more I use it, the more I want to use it. 

When I ride at night, I want to be as visible as possible. I have my front and rear lights as well as reflective sidewalls on my tires. The Monkey Light adds an additional layer of safety to our being able to be seen from the side. The lights are bright and the patterns are colorful and fun. It's especially exciting for all of us to pass a window at night and see our wheel dancing with color (my favorite setting is the color-changing rainbow, of course). Because the Bullitt has the extended box in front, often holding my most precious cargo, it's important that drivers notice us. This gets their attention and usually makes them smile as we pass by. This isn't an aggressive 1200 lumen strobe flash, this is a catch-your-eye-because-we're-fun-type light. I specifically choose the Bullitt now for night and low-light rides (like our super foggy mornings) because I feel it adds to our visibility. 

I've had the light now for about three months and have used it in different types of weather. The light is sealed in hard plastic and feels very solid, not flimsy at all. The wires are thick and well protected. I haven't had to replace the 3 AAA batteries, yet, but the next time I will do so with rechargeable ones. I can't see the lights very well from my spot on the saddle but the patterns entertain the boys on late night rides when they're tired. There's one button that's for on/off/blinky and the other changes colors. This is Monkeylectric's simplest model and costs about $25 on Amazon or at REI. There are some pretty amazing sets available! 

Our final verdict: we want more! I want these lights for every wheel on every bike. They're functional and well-built and they make me happy. It's win-win-win! 

Finally, some much-needed rain! That didn't stop the boys from jumping at the chance to keep testing out the new Islabikes. Little Brother now has the fenders from the original CNOC but Big Brother is still waiting on his own set. Luckily, he was decked out in his raingear and the knowledge that he won't melt in the rain.

Also, our friend Christine found us in one of the latest Bike Friday ads in Bicycle Times. It's so exciting to see how the Hauladays are taking off! The more we ride, the more we love ours. Even my parents are taking advantage of the original Hauladay hanging out at their house.

Big Brother was such a great sport when Little Brother got his "new" Islabike. He politely asked if he could try out the handbrakes so he could practice, too. It was pretty funny seeing them riding the same size bikes around. Thanks to some very generous and amazing grandparents, Big Brother was able to get the Beinn 20 large from Islabikes.

I ordered the bike Tuesday and it arrived today, Thursday. It took me about 5 minutes to put the front wheel on and thread in the pedals but then I had to walk the bike over to our friend's house to tighten them down with a pedal wrench.

I packed both bikes onto the Bullitt for school pickup and surprised the big guy. He knew right away that it was a bike for him, despite not having been told it had been ordered. When I asked how he knew, he simply said "I knew you wouldn't bring Little Brother's bike and not mine!"

After a few minutes of testing it out, we headed out to pick up the Little. The Beinn is a bit on the large side for BB. To be totally honest, the size chart has him barely at the Beinn Small size. I decided to make the extra leap because BIg Brother had tried both the Small and Large from friends and was able to try both sizes and he could ride them fairly equally.

BB's a little shaky with the starts and stops but great as he's riding along. He's getting used to leaning over to the side a bit more than before and using both handbrakes instead of a coaster. I haven't taught him how to get into power pedal position wth just one leg, yet, but he's only ridden the bike two miles so far, we have time for that. He was able to shift up to higher gears but not able to pull the grip shift back toward him for lower gears. We'll need to get some parking lot drills in soon.

Sadly, Islabikes was out of their racks for the next few months, which was one of the main reasons for upgrading him in the first place. I was hoping to take him camping soon and letting him carry some of the gear. For now, he'll just be getting used to the bike with his own weight.

The bike is outfitted with the kickstand but I plan on adding fenders, the rack, panniers, and a side-loading bottle cage. It'll be a real touring bike in no time.

Little Brother didn't quite have the same heartfelt response to his brother's new bike and had a meltdown over not having a kickstand on his bike. Once he calmed down, we had a lovely ride back home with two happy boys on great bikes.