Kidical Mass held its first "Epic" ride yesterday: a 13 mile roundtrip from one park to another, mostly traveling along the Sacramento River Parkway. The Sacramento River Parkway is beautiful but less continuous than the ARP and it's much less intuitive because of the "private property" sections and detours. Still, it's carfree and passes along the levee with a great view of the river and going to through the park detour offers a shady route dotted with playgrounds.

Big Brother rode the entire route, plus the sections to and from our house with an added stop at Nama and Gampa's for ice cream, a 24 mile day! He was thrilled that this was the second longest day he's had so far. Little Brother happily rode on Smurfette's deck because HaD #2 is getting an oil change for the Alfine 11 hub and to replace the crankarms we stripped out. The only downside to Smurfette is that we don't have any wrap around bars for it so LB had to hold on the whole time, including a touchy time about a mile from home when he fell asleep and I had to hold him up as best as I could while still riding.

This afternoon, I decided to pick up Big Brother from his day camp with the Bike Fioday Tandem for it's first test run with a passenger. My friend Neil had fixed the broken spoke and I was able to get the wheel back on. We're still needing to get the cable splitter for the drumbrake but since Sacramento is so flat, it's not really necessary around here. The ride was a success! Even without a stoker, it still rode smoothly and comfortably. With the kiddo on back was a bit wobblier but that's mostly because we don't have crankarm shorteners to make it easier for him to reach the pedal. When he was helping, I could really feel the added speed.

We have some work still to do for the bike: new bottom bracket, drumbrake cable, bar tape, pedals (plus toe cages for the small stokers), a new saddle, and a few minor adjustments but I'm pretty excited about this new addition to our fleet.

Not many modes of transportation can make a child feel like they're flying. Bikes are magical!

Today's Haul(aDay):

Three big bags of groceries

Two kitty litter bags

A gallon of milk

A free bag of charcoal (the manufacturer had over stuffed them so TJ's couldn't sell them)

Package of toilet paper

Forty-five pound grumpy kid

And there was room to spare!

I'm on the old HaD today because the Mk3's crank arm keeps loosening up. It's a bouncier ride because the newer version has more bracing bars and I miss the internal gears that I have on my newer bike but I still love this one. Good ol' Smurfette!

I had a root beer float and a chili cheeseburger. Food is so yummy! I was terribly sad to have to get back on the bike for the final three miles home after dinner. One last stop for beer and Three Musketeer bars to end the ride.

Another fun Project Ride Smart program happening through the NNTMA, a transportation management agency funded through property taxes from homes in North Natomas.

We have four fifth grade classes learning how to "drive" their bicycles. Amazingly, the students are still focused and excited about us being there, considering next week is their last week of school. It's so much fun being able to reach out to kids to instill a love of biking and the tools they need to stay safe.

I got this great bottle cage for my Hydroflask growler as a birthday present. The weighty of the full growler doesn't register on my HaulaDay but the Two Fish cage is mounted with Velcro so it can be attached anywhere and easily on any bike.

The additional water had been helpful as the temperature is raising and the long days on the blacktop have been taking a toll. I've been able to ride in the 13 miles almost each day. This morning, I saw five jackrabbits and I've been able to watch the goslings grow over the past two weeks. The only bummer is that there's a headwind for the way home and the timing cuts close to my deadline to pick the kiddos back up.

This weekend, I'm going to attempt to ride a century, 100 miles in one day. The closest I've gotten before was 95 miles and that was a few years ago. Slow and steady is my plan. That, and lots and lots of food! Can't wait!