Today I had a kid-free morning because of Opening Day baseball and took advantage of it by taking Oscar out for a spin. The weather forecast was foreboding but I thought about the days that we used to ride out in the middle of the night to "chase the Humboldt storms at the beach." I've been feeling a but stir crazy lately and really needed an all-out speed fest (granted, my speed fests aren't like real roadies' speed but it's good enough for me).

I decided to give the heart rate monitor a try, too, to see if it's something that would be beneficial. I'm borrowing it from a friend at the moment. I've struggled with figuring out how much to eat because I always seem to be starving, even after a quick trip to drop off the kids a couple miles away. I thought that if I could accurately gauge how many calories I'm burning, I might to a better job of replacing just what I need and not going totally overboard (mmmm, spoonfuls of peanut butter...).

I always forget how fast I am when I'm not weighed down by an 80+ pound bike with 80+ pounds of kid-cargo. It was like I was flying. In no time, I was down the ARP and passing other riders. I decided to just go out a reasonable distance and not overdo it but I was shocked to see that my "little" outing was an hour and a half and I had burned 980 calories. That certainly puts things into perspective.

My favorite part of the ride was that it was so simple. The weather was gloomy but the rain held off. The trail wasn't empty but it was quiet and peaceful. I saw a jackrabbit, squirrels, a turkey, and a black-tailed deer. The poppies were in full bloom and looked electric against the grey sky. At one point, I reached to grab my camera but then thought I'd rather just take the moment to enjoy the scenery and not worry about stopping to capture them. It was all mine to soak-in and enjoy.

Oscar was really up to the job today although I need to tighten his shifting before he's ready to sell. He is certainly going to make another rider very happy, one who can appreciate his attitude and let him ride wildly more often than I can.

It's time for us to cull the herd and sell off some of our fleet. Our stable has grown too plump and I'm looking to pare things down a bit. Sadly, a few of my favorites seem to be on the chopping block--our BionX Breezer, Oscar the touring bike, and possibly even our Mundo.

Our BionX system is still holding strong and it's such a wonderful bike to zip around on. In fact, this bike was probably the deciding factor in our choice to go totally car-free. It makes the longer commutes a blast and helps us bike even when we don't feel up to it. However, it's impossible to use with children (since we got rid of the trailers) and although I could add the BionX to the Bullitt or put it on a Boda Boda, I'd rather sell it while it still has life left and save up for something more functional for us later on.

Poor Oscar is out because I just don't ride it anymore. The aggressive riding position is uncomfortable now and the bike is so light and fast, I just don't know what to do with it.

Finally, the bike that started it all, our Mundo. This I'm still on the fence about. We have some wonderful friends who would give the Mundo a loving home and make great use out of it. I'm going to be heading up to Portland to test out the new Bike Friday Haul-a-Day and depending on how that goes will determine our Mundo's future. The biggest bonus to the H-a-D is that it fits on a train, which is huge for us. To be able to have a bike that can both carry the kids and be multimodal is the answer to a lot of our transportation issues.

As of now, only the Breezer is officially up for grabs and Oscar will be heading out soon, probably over to Edible Pedal for consignment, if they'll take it. I'll keep you all updated on any changes to our fleet. While we may have some goodbyes, there will always be room for new beginnings.

We weren't able to stay for the following picnic because Little Brother and I had to rush over to Big Brother's first t-ball game.

It was a long day for all of us, especially for LB who snuck at least 10 chocolate cookies and had a major meltdown that lasted the rest of the day and half of the night.

There aren't many kids who ride to Big Brother's school. Out of 300+ students, there are only ever four bikes, at most, parked at the crappy racks in the very, very, very back of the school. Two bikes obviously come together, one is our friend's son who is in kindergarten, and another little bike occasionally shows up. We have only driven to the school once and it was a nightmare. It's close enough to bike there and back, if I ever need to get somewhere after. Big Brother gets to ride about 2-3 times per week because we're often running late or he gets picked up from school by another mom. On the days that he rides, he is always so much happier and seems to sleep better at night.

Anyway, I just wanted to show off the cool setup that our friends use to pick up their son at school. This is how they bring their younger daughter with them:

We wanted to try one of these seats with LB but he topped the weight limit too quickly. Seems to work well for them. I miss being able to have the little one up front. Seems like it was so long ago that he was in the Mini Yepp.

I wish I had more time to organize some bike education classes or a bike-pool, something to help encourage more riding to school but I haven't been able to. Hopefully I'll be able to get to that in the near future.

As any parent knows, unwarranted advice is plentiful--your baby's too warm, too cold, you're doing it wrong, etc. It seems like parenting on a bike makes us even more exposed to judgement. My kid would scream if I was buckling him into a carseat, too, so don't mind us. We can't hide our tantrums behind steel frames and rolled up windows. When my kids are grumpy, the whole street knows about it. They argue with each other about who gets to hold the water bottles (I now try to remember to bring one for each but sometimes one is emptier and all hell breaks loose), fight over which direction we go (alley way or spooky forest?), and whine not seeing the cat on the fence. Somedays I just let them yell and then we have competitions over who has the louder outdoor voice. It's wonderfully cathartic. 

Just a few days ago, a man walked by with some coworkers and mentioned that our Bullitt was a "cute little toy" while I was trying to buckle a squirming and overly exhausted Little Brother into his seat. Next he walked right up to us and asked me what was wrong with my kid. Through gritted teeth, I forced out a smile and said "he's just tired." Without getting the hint, this guy launches into a monologue about how the "wheat in this country is not like the wheat in the rest of the world" and how I "must read an amazing book called Wheat Belly because..." I stopped him right there, looked into his eyes and told him "I'm not interested." He actually stopped talking and I repeated that I wasn't interested in what he was saying. 

An unexpected benefit of riding our bikes around town with our kids is that I just don't care what other people think about us anymore. I know that we're doing right by our children by providing them the foundation of an active, eco-friendly, low-impact, and most importantly, fun life. They get to experience the world going by at a slow pace with open senses. My skin might be a little thicker but I'm also so much stronger, emotionally and physically. I always tell people that biking keeps me sane in this crazy world. Thank goodness I'm on my bike just about every day. 

We met up with the rest of the group for a photo and the official CalSTRS ukelele band. 

Big Brother immediately made a new friend. The wind was really strong, despite the sunny weather. We had forgotten Little Brother's jacket so mine was sacrificed. 

Big Brother rode his bike for the first two miles but his cough was slowing him down. When we got to the park, I had him jump back in the Bullitt and tucked his Isla into the pannier so we could blast back for lunch. 

The food was everything it had been promised--corned beef!!! Yum! I was able to talk with some of the people who worked there and was invited back to do a lunchtime talk about riding safely with kids. 

Big Brother rode about half way home, another 2 miles, but then traffic got heavier and he got more distracted so I packed him up again. It's great to help him get extra exercise during the day. I love being able to let him ride along on his own--I just wish he could rider longer distances. We are always cut off by areas of poor and lacking infrastructure that I don't feel comfortable letting him navigate. Many places are difficult on my own, having a little one on his own makes me realize how less-confident riders feel. I forget that most people don't have the same sanguine relationship with crazy drivers. Last time I talked to a driver who pulled up next to me at a stop sign driving with both hands and eyeballs on his cell phone, he told me "Well, I haven't killed anyone, yet." He said this just as calmly as if he was discussing his lunch. How can anyone expect to feel safe on the roads, in any mode of transportation, with people with this kind of attitude, or an even worse/violent one. 

Another fun St. Patrck's Day parade! We rode over to Practical Cycle dressed in our finest greens and decorate our bike.

Both kids' bikes were in tow so they could ride in the parade, too, but we could still get across town quickly.

It was a smaller crowd for Practical Cycle's entry but we always go for quality over quantity.

Despite the parade not being much of a "ride," it was really fun and the boys had a blast. We accidentally led the following marching band down an alley because we cut out early to get back to the shop.

I wish they didn't include so many cars and trucks in these parades. The California Car Museum brought out a bunch of shiny, stinky clunkers--one of which had our Spare The Air mascot, Scooter, sitting in back. Didn't anyone else see the irony?

Brownies and ice-cold lemonade awaited us at PC to celebrate their 4th anniversary, hit the spot perfectly! Once the boys were sufficiently sugared-up, we headed home with Jarrod and his crew. Big Brother rode his Isla and Little Brother promptly passed out.

Another successful day! Six miles for BB, at least 1 for LB, and about 11 for me. Now it's a well-deserved pizza and movie night.

We drove out to the in-law's this weekend, borrowing my parents' car to get us there. Once again, this would have been a trip that we could have happily taken Amtrak for but because of their policy against cargo bikes and the difficulty of lugging car seats around, it's difficult to justify the effort (and the expense because we have mostly free access to a loaner) it takes to go without a car. Luckily, the boys' bikes fit inside but we had to leave our own bikes at home. For Jose, it's just an added relief to not have to go anywhere but for me, I get a little antsy when I don't get to ride for a few days. I packed my roller blades instead. 

I got a chance to ride with my boys. We took the kids out to a multi-use trail and they were in heaven! Luckily, we had the grandparents along so when they got distracted by the giant playground, I could continue on my way, looping around the trails. 

Little Brother immediately went to bed after our active afternoon and slept for four hours. 

We didn't get the momentum up to ride again on Sunday but the boys found a way to squeeze in some practice with their cousin. Their cousin was riding a Schwinn kid's bike from Toy's R Us that weighed about 34 pounds. The difference in quality between that and the Isla was noticeable. In fact, the Schwinn's pedal had already literally torn in half after only being ridden a couple of times, and it's difficult to find a replacement kid's pedal. Of course, the amount of use your kid's bike is going to get plays a big part in deciding which bike to get them and for us, we're rough on bikes because we use them all the time. It's important to us that we have quality components that will be up to regular riding, allow the kiddos to keep up with us, and help them enjoy biking as they grow. 

Speaking of Isla bikes, our friends came to visit this afternoon. Their son has a 14" CNOC that I've been scheming to trade for BB's 16" so that he can upgrade away from coaster brakes in the near future. LB gave the 14" a try and was able to reach the ground (on tippy toes)! The seat was even up about in inch. He still couldn't really figure out the pedals, he kept trying to push them backward. However, with his birthday coming up next month, I'm seeing a bike in his future somehow. You can hear in his video how badly the Strider is squealing, anyway. After 4 years of Super Users, it's ready for some Practical Cycle care :) 

For the last few weeks, I've been back to work at Practical Cycle while the guys have been taking well-earned vacations. Even though they're both back now, I decided to continue working a couple days a week, at least for the next few months until our bike summer trip. This may be a dangerous decision because I always seem to come home with some new bike upgrade or accessory after a day's work. However, Tim's also helping me learn some new bike mechanic skills! I've learned how to put together some of the mostly-assembled bikes that arrive at the shop and now he's teaching me how to fix my own bikes that I drag in for repairs (which is usually at least a bike per week). 

On Tuesday, it was Big Brother's Isla Bike that we still couldn't figure out why it kept going flat. We couldn't find a hole and (to be totally honest) hadn't really put that much time looking into it. Big Brother was suffering on the Fire Bike and was not getting to ride as much as he wanted. Tim was able to diagnose the problem almost immediately, it was a leaky valve. I didn't even know you could replace the valve. Now his bike is holding up nicely and the kiddo is thrilled! 

We also finally replaced Little Brother's rainsuit. We decided on a Muddy Buddy because many of our bikey friends have them. It seemed like a good way to go, considering we don't get a ton of rain around here and it wouldn't be used too often. It packs up in it's own waterproof case which could also probably fit Big Brother's rain gear, too. Little Brother was really excited when his package showed up! 

Jose and I got to enjoy a kid-free night out on the town this week, too, because we had tickets to go see Ani Defranco (thanks, mama!!!)! My folks had the kiddos over for a slumber party and the husband and I rode out for dinner and the show. The concert was just downtown at the Crest Theater, about 3 miles away. We locked our bikes up together with three locks because that part of town can be a little sketchy at night. I was amazed to see how many other bikes were also there and many of them locked with crappy cables. I was glad because they'd be much easier to steal than ours. I couldn't believe how few racks there were, considering the number of bikes that showed up. We found this prime spot:

Our bikes ended up being totally safe that night and the show was incredible! The ride home was lovely and it was great to be able to keep that wonderful feeling after an awesome concert and not have to get stressed driving home. Bikes make everything in life happier, especially date night.