I was really glad to see all the kids out there but it always bothers me that many people go there just to see what sort of "freebies" they can get. It makes me wonder what sort of message we are sending to the kids if they think Earth Day means you get candy, pencils, magnets, etc. Even the adults are grabby! One guy (dressed like a swaggering cowboy) was handing out "baseball" cards with his stats as a bail bondsman and his pitch to run for mayor, walked off with one of our little EHP globes that were certainly not for free! Then there was Home Depot giving people plastic bags to carry their potted plants and when they ran out of pots, they plant them in styrofoam cups! Not very eco friendly, if you ask me (sadly, no one ever asks me...).
We surpassed 400 miles for the month of April already! I'm so impressed! Definately makes up for our lower numbers in March. Can't wait for May is Bike Month--we just pledged 600 miles each. Don't forget to sign up and join our Tiny Helmets team. Today was Earth Day in downtown Sacramento. We rode down to check out the event--it was packed! Our exchange student group (EHP) had a booth and so did 'Nama with 350 Sacramento (by the way, residents of Sacramento, if you haven't signed up for the Cool California Challenge, do that now and enter the word "fooled" to double your points). I was really glad to see all the kids out there but it always bothers me that many people go there just to see what sort of "freebies" they can get. It makes me wonder what sort of message we are sending to the kids if they think Earth Day means you get candy, pencils, magnets, etc. Even the adults are grabby! One guy (dressed like a swaggering cowboy) was handing out "baseball" cards with his stats as a bail bondsman and his pitch to run for mayor, walked off with one of our little EHP globes that were certainly not for free! Then there was Home Depot giving people plastic bags to carry their potted plants and when they ran out of pots, they plant them in styrofoam cups! Not very eco friendly, if you ask me (sadly, no one ever asks me...). However, as I was packing up the boys on the Mundo, we were mobbed by curious folks wondering about our set up. We met some great moms who were also looking to get their little ones on bikes and other riders just checking out our rig. It's always a wonderful feeling to find more people interested in biking. People are a lot more receptive to it than we think. They just need more confidence and maybe a little hand-holding in the beginning. That's what we're here for! I will hold hands (just one at a time, though, as I need to keep one on my handlebars, too). Friendly people truly make up for the occasional rude driver that narrowly passes us and chooses to honk their frustration at being delayed by 30 seconds (Please don't honk, even if it's meant to be friendly. it scares us and usually wakes up the baby).
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Today's adventures brought us to a luncheon at The Electric Bike Shop on J st., sponsored by the Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT). It was a great opportunity to meet others who are interested in changing the current car-driven culture to a healthier, community oriented one. It was pretty fun to test out a few electric bikes but I'm not willing to give up my Mundo, yet. I think we'll be ready for another bike investment after we can finally ditch the car, probably something with a pedal-assist.
From there, a quick stop to pick up our CSA Full Belly box and head over to our friend's house. Mostly, I feel recovered from our weekend's adventure but I am still feeling a bit fatigued and constantly hungry. My body doesn't even have much soreness, which is very surprising to me. Jose on the other hand, is hobbling around with his ankle taped up. We're guessing that it was a strain from an old injury that flared up during the trip. One thing that is very noticeable is the difference in our preferences for bikes. Jose has always been one for the lightest, fastest, carbon-filled bikes--racer bike style with a stretched out position. I have always been drawn to the more comfortable, steel framed, sturdy, big bikes--made for long distances, not for speed or weight. It is interesting to me that he is the one in pain and I am not. I'm pretty sure that that makes me the winner. We had fun carrying the Strider around, too (loaded up in the crate). Big Brother loved getting some riding in at our friend's house. Back at home, we attempted to install our very own "You Ain't Got Jack" sunshade for the Mundo. I had more issues with it than I had hoped. The PVC got a kink in it so it's a bit off center and putting the holes in the Peanut Shell wasn't super easy (and I accidentally put in more holes than needed). Finally, the stroller shade that I had to use isn't the greatest, it's quite small. However, my main goal is to get an actual sun shade for the entire seat to protect Big Brother from harmful UV rays and heat. We don't get a ton of rain here in Sac and I didn't really like the idea of covering him in vinyl since it's not as necessary for us. I'm going to give our current set up a try and see how it goes. I might need to get a cheap/used stroller with a better cover for it. Now, if I can just sort out the little one's situation. Suggestions? Ugh. Of course the boys decided to start the day as early as possible. My sunburn makes it hard for me to move but overall, I woke up not feeling terribly sore. We went for a short walk this morning to meet 'Nama and Big Brother got to ride his Strider. I wasn't feeling up for much biking but he certainly was.
If it wasn't for the 30 day challenge, I probably wouldn't have ridden at all, but because this is a month of pushing ourselves beyond our biking-comfort level, I went out to pick up a few groceries. Three bags later, I rode home from Trader Joe's with my Mundo nicely packed. The two miles home were torture. The bike was heavy and I had a headwind like none other. Getting the bags into the house were just as painful. My energy level is pretty low but I'm still on track for my 30 days. We're back! After a trying and tiring three days, we have returned, safe and sound, incredibly sore but incredibly proud at the same time. We had beautiful weather (maybe a little too beautiful--sunburn!), mostly great drivers, incredibly amazingly tolerant children, and the best friends we could ever ask for. We have also determined that my Yuba Mundo is an amazing bike that can take on any challenge but stay incredibly comfortable (comfort is a very relative term after about 30 miles). Let's get started on the recap. I will be doing a more thorough journal on Crazy Guy On A Bike but for now, pretty pictures will do most of the talking. With 85 miles to go on the first day (it turned out to be an even 90, just to make things fun), we decided that the only way we could get the kids to tolerate that length of a trip was to leave insanely early (some of you might have thought "they should just leave insane," that would be correct, too). After one of the roughest night's sleep ever, we packed up our gear and got the kiddos in their trailer. We decided to bring the trailer so they would be more comfortable, warmer, and hopefully sleep better. I also left the Peanut Shell on the Mundo to give the boys some space and a change of scenery as needed. Since we were going to be staying with friends, we didn't need any camping gear so food and toys became the bulk of our load. Clothes came close behind, packing more than we would normally pack on a bike tour as we usually don't care if we smell like exhaust and funk, but we didn't want to impose that on our hosts. We were following Central California Cycling's route, mainly. Because they start in Carmichael, we had to catch up to the ride. The CCC's route was amazing but our catch-up route wasn't the best. Although the roads were mostly quiet, there wasn't much of a shoulder. Cars were pretty great, giving us almost a whole lane's space in most instances but it was more nerve-wracking than necessary. Once we got on the proper route, it was smooth sailing. We passed through some of the most beautiful farm areas with very little traffic. We managed to get half way there before stopping for lunch at a little elementary school (CCC's route suggested the location). At our friends' house in Modesto, we had a wonderfully relaxing time. Pizza for everyone! The boys had their little friends to play with, too. It was the perfect way to end the longest ride any of us had done. I was having a bit of knee pain on one side which was troubling but the next morning, I raised my seat a touch and didn't have any problems for the rest of the weekend. Day two was rough. Jose and I were both pretty sore and starting the ride off in Modesto wasn't very fun. Our friend had offered to let us relax and then drive us to Stockton but that would have felt like cheating so we declined (and a couple of times regretted that decision along the way). The boys slept better on this ride than the day before, tired out from all the fun they had had. Our route took us as far has Highway 26 but then we had to find our own way to Stockton. After a few backtracks, we managed to get on a levee road--gravel, nothing marked, gated off in many places, and a bit sketchier than either of us would have liked. Jose's crank arm fell off at one point. For awhile, we almost thought our trip was over since we didn't have a #8 allen wrench. Amazingly, Jose was able to tighten it enough with a few pieces of rock from the ground and a smaller wrench with a shim (we had to do that a few more times along the way). He's so talented! We trudged through ankle-deep mud, pulling and tugging our loaded up bikes, climbed steep banks, and ducked under gates. It was a workout! Jose and I both managed to get terribly sunburned and even though we only went 44 miles, it felt longer than any other ride. However, as soon as we got to Stockton, Jose got a beer, the boys got to play, and I got my bestie best friend in the world! Life was good again! Another fantastic pizza dinner, hot showers, and we were refreshed. After our wonderful evening, we had another great night's sleep. However, that led us to Day 3. Our hardest ride yet. The trip had worn us down. Jose was hurting (I had switched bikes with him for a few miles on day 2 and was horrified to find out how uncomfortable it was. I finally convinced him to raise up the handlebars which helped a bit but not enough. My sunburn was really bad so it hurt to pedal (and move). The boys, though, were just in their same wonderful mood. We got a really late (11am) start. Big Brother wanted to ride in the Peanut Shell (he actually almost always does) so he climbed aboard with me. It was great for Little Brother, too, to get some space and sleep soundly for much of the ride. Stockton is probably one of the worst biking cities ever. It took us two hours to get through about 8 miles of busy, horrible streets. I am even more thankful now that I live in Sacramento with it's wonderful (compared to Stockton) bike infrastructure. Stockton has no bike lanes anywhere, hardly any shoulder, and 4-6 lanes of miserable traffic. We actually spent as much time on the sidewalk. Legal or not (I'm not sure in Stockton), I wasn't risking my boys' lives. Once we got past Stockton, we got on some much, much nicer frontage roads. We were still incredibly exhausted and we did a bit of bike swapping so Jose could have a chance on the Mundo. It was slow going. Finally, we reached Cosumnes Wildlife Refuge for our lunch (it was 3:30pm). We got started on our final 20+ miles but then Big Brother decided he wanted to be in the trailer. He had been up on the bike for over 4 hours, without a nap--what an amazing kid!. Once in the trailer, there was a bit of a struggle between the two boys, being so tired, but once that was sorted, they were both quickly asleep. They stayed asleep for the rest of the journey. Once we got to Elk Grove, it was busy traffic but a nice shoulder lane and tailwind made it tolerable. Our one incident was when Jose got stuck in some deep train tracks and I crashed into the back of the trailer. Luckily, no one was hurt but it knocked off Jose's front wheel and taco'd a trailer wheel. It wobbled the rest of the way home (just like us!), but made it. We had a few more stretches of sidewalk riding and less friendly traffic but we rode safely and cautiously. We rode 52 miles for Day 3 bringing our weekend's total to 186! We have now unpacked, showered, and most of us are sleeping now (all of us very soon, I hope). It was an incredible adventure. I have never felt so proud and accomplished as I do now. I feel such gratitude that I have the best family, who else would tolerate these crazy schemes? I was thinking on the ride (right before I crashed), how lucky I am to have Jose, who shares my passion and drive for biking. We are able to keep each other going through difficult times on the ride and in life. Then, of course, I have these two fantastic boys who are able to sit and entertain each other and themselves for long periods of time. I know that our family dynamic will grow and evolve with time but we will always have these memories to come back to. I look forward to our next adventure and the many more to follow.
Our 2nd group ride and although we had more interest this week, we had even fewer takers (you'll remember that my faithful parents showed up for our first trip). My mom and I rode down to Doughbots with the boys. It was a bit longer than 2 miles but super yummy. Doughbots makes vegan and unique doughnuts (I had a s'mores doughnunt with a homemade marshmallow that they toasted after I ordered, my mom had a raspberry one, and Big Brother got a blueberry cornmeal. Poor Little Brother just got a scone). The shop is very bike friendly, having us pull our rigs inside and offer delivery via Edible Pedal, Sacramento's local restaurant bike delivery. I think this will become one of our regular Friday morning destinations. Hopefully, we'll also start getting more riders... There were many more errands to run today, things to pack, tires to fill. Unfortunately, this post won't go up until after we return from our trip as it is now 4am on Saturday after a horrible night's "sleep." I don't even think it deserves the word sleep. Both kids have woken up at least 3 times each in the 5 hours since I finally went to bed. I just had to put Big Brother back into his own bed only to notice the clock was at 15 minutes before our alarm went off for this morning's adventures. Poop. On to this morning's plans: leaving as early as possible (which may even be earlier than I thought since I'm already up) we're going to ride 85 miles to Modesto to visit friends there. We have our route thanks to Central California Cycling and are basically packed and ready to go. We have more than enough food to cover the 4000+ calories we'll use up and hopefully enough to keep the kids from whining too much. I don't want to stop for fast food and I know the route follows back farm roads without a lot of services along the way. One of my reasons for doing this is to prove that you don't have to be a homebody if you don't have a car. Yes, things take longer to plan and to execute but it's doable. It turns the whole trip into an adventure, not just the destination. I am so excited but I really wish I wasn't so tired to begin with. I don't think I've ever even ridden 85 miles in one day. Our plan was to leave so early so the kids would sleep and we could get a chunk done before the potty/food/play requests started. This might actually help them sleep longer....I hope....Wish us luck! Aaaannnnd, there goes the alarm. Off we go! Didn't expect much of a ride today. Crazy kids got shipped off to 'Nama's house while I sat a home and "worked," listening to the thunder and intermittent rain showers. I started a Twitter account and attempted some tweets (@TinyHelmets), printed out maps for our upcoming Modesto ride, and actually finished some of my real work, too. Amazing what you can accomplish without the little distractions running amok.
As it came time for me to pick up the munchkins, I realized that I was getting my bike ride over with at the same time. Magic! I was wondering how that was going to work out. It was clearing up at that point but the clouds were still ominous so I packed rain jackets for all of us and put the windshield back on. Quick 3 miles to 'Nama to find neither boy napping as they were supposed to. Two brownies (for me) later, I finally had them in their seats and offered the long way or the short way home. The three miles is just back down the city streets, nice bike lanes but still city driving. The long way is down the American River Trail to Sacramento State and then back home on quiet neighborhood roads. Long way!!! Those brownies were reminding me that I needed to move a bit more today so I was happy when Big Brother agreed. We spent a leisurely 12 miles chatting about the birds, eating the wind (Big Brother doesn't like the wind so I can keep him from whining by telling him to eat it all up), and listening to Ray LaMontagne. At Sac State, little sprinkles made me pull over and cover the Little one with a poncho (note to self, poncho first, then helmet) and tuck the big one in with his jacket. Luckily, we made it home without getting too wet but the second we got in, down it came! Home safe and dry and in Daddy's care. Life is good! My camera's broken. Bummer! Today's ride was a simple one since the day was pretty horrendous. Both boys woke up needing a nap then neither one would go to sleep until waaaaaaaa----aaaaaayyy past their nap times. It was a bit of a nightmare except no one was sleeping. Once Jose got home, the Big guy still seemed a bit down so I took him on the Mundo to run some errands. A little mama and Big Brother time.
The keys for the Yepp Mini from Gazelle Imports showed up today and off popped Little Brother's seat. It felt a bit naked to ride without it but it was amazing to not have to worry about how to squeeze in between the seats and to be able to see my computer/road in front of me. Big Brother and I had a great time cruising along on our minivan. Today's errands were to gather up the supplies needed to make Lindsay's Peanut Shell Weather Protector. Just a couple of items on the list--5' of pvc (that was fun to carry!), crazy strong zip ties, and industrial strength velcro. I already had a sun shade from an umbrella stroller laying around. Target didn't have any stroller rain covers so I was out of luck there. Although, the more I think about it, we're not in a very rainy climate here in Sacramento so I might not even really need a rain cover. I am actually more worried about their exposure to the sun. I just love how crafty Lindsay is and her design really opens up tons of possibilities for year-round riding. I'm looking forward to giving it a go tomorrow! My next goal, figure out some protection for the Little guy. Since the Yepp windshield isn't working out as well as I had hoped, I may be calling the folks at Zzipper road fairings to see if they have any ideas. They really do some amazing work and I can't help but feel a little selfish as I imagine the reduced wind/bug action I would benefit from, too... A week of rain scheduled! Does it bother us? Nope. Ponchos packed, boots buckled, and layers...layered? The boys and I set off to visit Practical Cycle again. We needed new tires and tubes for the Chariot so we can safely do our upcoming monster trip to Modesto. Cassidy was helpful as ever, finding the perfect tubes and tires and answering all my questions. Most importantly, he put up with the chaos that comes with the Bustamante clan. Big Brother took to running around the bikes while Little Brother screamed until he was allowed to do the same. We left the shop covered in crumbs (actually both the shop and us) but with all the gear we would need for the weekend's adventures. If you haven't found your own LBS (local bike shop), it's time you did. I highly recommend Practical Cycle. Once we were finished up there, we walked over to the train museum--the boys had tolerated my bike shop time, next it was their turn. Heading home, rain looked imminent so we piled on our rain gear-Little Brother got a poncho, Big Brother had his rain jacket and boots on but told me that he liked the rain to fall on his head, and I had basic rain pants and a rain-resistant jacket. There wasn't really that much rain riding home but it was nice to stay dry anyway. It was a great test run to see that this set up should work out for more rainy days. Most people see rain in the forecast and write off riding for the day when usually it just means that there might be periods of rain or showers. Heck, they might even be wrong. That's happened once or twice, hasn't it? Basically, riding in the rain just comes down to being prepared and using common sense. If it starts hailing, yes, it's probably a good time to duck under a shelter or grab a cup of coffee and a danish. If you have to stay dry for work, bring some extra clothes to change into. If you don't have to stay dry, enjoy the rain! Remember how much fun it was to splash in puddles and get soaking wet--relive those times. At some point, you just can't get any more wet and you just enjoy the ride, squishy pants and all. Last note, on my way home, a fellow biker pulled up along side at a red light and said "nice minivan!" I agreed and it turned out that he had seen us on Practical Cycle's website. We're famous! How exciting! I like being famous.
Just like the ride, today's post is going to be short and sweet. Today was the one day of sun for a week of forecasted rain but instead of a ride with the kids, the kids decided to sleep all day. Not a bad thing. We've been going and going and going so it was good for them to have a day in. Once Jose got home, however, I took advantage of the respite and hopped on the Yuba to make a quick Target run. Blasting Michael Franti and Spearhead on the Acouztic and enjoying some me time, we did a 5-mile roundtrip. My milk crate rack is my new best friend. It's like the junk drawer on my bike right now.
Other fantastic news: since I still haven't been able to find the Yepp Mini keys, I decided to track down the company--Gazelle Cycle Imports. A quick email and phone call and within an hour or so, a new set of keys was in the mail. How fantastic! I am hoping that they come in time to take off the seat for our big trip but if not, at least I know that I can rest a sandwich on the empty Yepp Mini and stuff my face as I ride. Bonus! Thank you, Lindsay! I've been getting some lovely messages from lovely bicyclists these days. Keep 'em coming! I love hearing what you guys are up to, too. Thank you for all the support and questions and ideas. They say that it takes 30 days of repetitive actions to form a habit. This bicycling thing is quickly becoming habitual for us. Each day I walk out the back door instead of the front, I am creating a healthier habit for myself, my family, and the environment. It makes me feel stronger every time I push through a difficult ride, both in my body and in my convictions. I really like that feeling and I hope to help others get there too. Jose put this video together from our first Mundo ride with these kids. We've changed the front seat out by now but you can see how easy it was to get used to riding with a fully loaded bike. Go Mundo!!!
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