The Bike Friday Haul-a-Day has been a fantastic addition to our stable! While we are still in beta mode and working out a few kinks here and there, I think this midtail cargo bike is going to help us out immensely. 

The only real issue that we had was our kickstand. No matter how much time John at Edible Pedal could put into adjusting it, we still couldn't get it to keep the bike upright. Loading and unloading the kids was a nightmare and it was impossible to leave the bike for even a second if they were onboard. This was seeming to be a real downfall until I reached out to John Lucas of Cycle Trucks to take a look at it. He immediately figured out an answer and even though I couldn't picture what he was suggesting, I brought him the bike the next day. 

In almost no time at all, John added a split collar to each side of the frame and attached a cable to the kickstand. This gave the stand enough tension without putting undue stress on the frame. 

We went from having a terribly useless kickstand to one that is practically earthquake proof. To test it out, John even climbed up the side of the bike and over the hooptie without so much as a wobble. Now I can get the kids up and off without them screaming. 

While I was lurking around John's shop, I got to check out his newest idea--the Cycle Truck rack/Bike Caddy. 

His plan is to create a multi-purpose, super strong rear rack for cargo bikes and potentially standard bikes as well. The rack is solid enough for a passenger to sit on, has crossbars to hold panniers, and side bars at the bottom to tow up to two additional bicycles or just about any other cargo one can think of. 

This rack has so much potential to it and I'm already picturing being able to tow bikes on the Bullitt--both boys' bikes at once, the Haul-a-Day, carry passengers. It would basically (at least) double the Bullitt's cargo carrying capacity. 

I couldn't even tell that I was towing a cargo bike on the back of John's Cycle Truck. The long train maneuvered easily around tight turns and the Beavertail (John's newest midtail Cycle Truck) was held securely and comfortably. 

So, after all our cargo biking playtime, I had to get the Haul-a-Day home with my parents' car (for reasons too boring to explain). It was quite a conundrum to figure out how to load up the long and weirdly-shaped frame onto our Serius rack. I came up with this solution but it was certainly not the best one. In fact, one of the buckles snapped and the three mile drive home was one of my most nerve-wracking experiences ever. When I sent the following photo to the folks at Bike Friday, Walter mentioned that it made their engineer a "little nervous" to see it like that.  

So, next on the agenda is an awesome set of Carsick Designs Mondo Sling Bags in neon green. I've already gotten the prototype back to them and am eagerly awaiting the results. We should be getting the Bike Friday half-hooptie that we had ordered sometime in the next couple of weeks. This will lighten the bike a bit and make it easier for the boys to climb on and off without my help. 

Once we have this bike all kitted out, it'll be time for us to say goodbye to the Mundo. That's going to be a bittersweet day for sure. 

While our most recent attempt at a new bike overnight route didn't work out as planned, we still had a wonderful time and really enjoyed our experience at Rancho Cicada resort.

The boys and I left the house as early as possible--8 am for us. The Mundo was already packed from the day before.

We rolled out with the intention of getting up to Beal's Point before it hit 100 degrees. The high was 106 for the day so it was going to be a challenge, especially with the 3 mile climb at the very end. I was concerned about the bike being so heavy, I estimated it at about 350 pounds total. Once we were moving, my fears were abated and we could easily keep a 12-13 mph pace along the flat bike trail.

We had our first yaya stop at about mile 17 and devoured the leftover burrito from last night's dinner. It was perfect! We were fed and happy and making great time--until Big Brother said "oh look, mama, a stripe!" He had gotten a bug bite that morning and now, there was 6" stripe running down his arm from it. Thirty minutes later, after a long conversation with our advice nurse, we determined that it wasn't blood poisoning and most likely just a reaction to the bite. He had an appointment set up for the morning in Folsom just in case it didn't get better.

With the long delay and bit of worry, I had lost some of my original steam. We made it up into Folsom and had just an hour to go up the final climb before it was to reach 100. It was going to be close since I figured my average speed uphill is about 3 mph.

We made it just in time and found as shady of a spot as possible. I unpacked the bike and set up our tent, the small one because of weight concerns. My dad showed up on his scooter to bring Big Brother some Benadryl. The boys played happily in the tent for 3 hours while I vegged out and ate all the food I could get my face on.

It was hot at the campsite and we had a major meltdown when we tried to get over to Folsom Lake. I made the mistake of thinking that a walk over would be nice. The boys happily donned their life jackets and we started up the hill to the lake. I forgot to pack snacks and and hadn't realized how far the lake really was, especially to the little guys. Once we finally got to the edge of the park, I saw that the lake's shore had moved another 1/2 mile out. I've since learned that it is evaporating down 4" every day due to the drought and heat!

Anticipating the additional mile walk and the walk back to the campsite, I had to tell the boys that we couldn't get to the water. They were crushed! It was a struggle to get them both back to our tent, kicking and screaming the entire way. Luckily, some treats and games finally got them to calm down.

Doped up on Benadryl, one kiddo fell right to sleep while the other happily bounced around in the too-small tent for hours. Eventually, he went down but that was jut the start to a long and restless night in the cramped tent. However, in the middle of the night, a couple coyotes started yipping at each other and I was glad to have been awake to hear them.

The boys were up bright and early. BB's arm looked much better so I cancelled the appointment. After hearing how terrible the route conditions were from my dad's scooter trip the day before, I made the decision to scope it out by car instead of ride.

The ride to Racho Cicada Resort was narrow and hilly. Although it was only 35 miles away, it would have been horrible to ride there with the heavily-ladened bike and kid-cargo. There were a few more moments of stress trying to navigate the long, steep driveway to the campground. Having the Mundo strapped to the back didn't help anything, either.

Once we were settled into the beautiful resort, nothing else mattered. It was so peaceful since we were the only ones there. We had a large tent with a real double bed on a real frame. We hiked and swam, picked blackberries, and played for two days. It was blissful!

By the second night, both boys fell asleep as soon as they climbed into their sleeping bags. I stayed up and got to hear a couple of Great Horned Owls have a loud conversation across the valley.

Bill and David were wonderful camp hosts. You can tell that they've put all their love and care into creating this idyllic oasis. Bill drove us up the hill to save my dad the extra stress and stopped off at their orchard to send us home with a bag full of juicy ripe organic peaches. Little Brother refused to get out of the trailer when we got back to the car.

I can't wait to go back to Rancho Cicada, although it most likely won't be by heavy cargo bike. I was disappointed that we didn't succeed in our epic adventure but the trip was a perfect way to recharge and relax after a couple of stressful weeks. 

While we were camping (that's another post for later, I know I'm behind!), our package arrived from Eugene! It was a difficult wait but at least we were relaxing tranquilly at the beautiful Rancho Cicada Resort in Plymouth.

I got home and immediately started putting the bike together with my dad's help, it was apparent that I this was going to be a bigger job than we were ready for.

After wrenching the frame bolts together, I realized I had made a pretty rotten mistake. Stupid chain.

I called John Boyer at Edible Pedal and set up a time to bring the bike by and have a professional save my sanity. John's our local Bike Friday dealer so if anyone could help me, it'd be him.

Today, I dropped the kids off to play at Nama's house, went back home and loaded up the Mundo.

It was a slow three miles to the bike shop but the HaD was securely strapped on and we rolled over without a hitch. I might not be good at bike building but I'm a whiz at cargo bike loading!

John's shop was busy and I didn't get a chance to pick the HaD until this evening. I still had the Hooptie, pedals, and seat to install. I ordered the Bike Friday half hooptie but that wasn't ready yet and should be shipping next week.

The finishing touch was the pretty pink flag that I picked up at Edible Pedal.

Somehow, I also got lucky enough to bring the HaD over to Edible Pedal on the same day Brian and Monica or Carsick Designs popped over and they were able to make measurements for a new set of mini-Mondo Slings like the wonderful ones we have on our Mundo. Do we get hot pink to match the flag, lime green like the cable housing, or something totally different?

There are still a few things that need to be worked out and this is a prototype cargo bike so I anticipate a few hiccups along the way. However, I also expect this to open many multimodal cargo biking opportunities.

After many months, the BionX Breezer has found a new home (thanks, again, Gracie!) and just in time because I received a tracking number from Bike Friday for the Haul-a-Day! Unfortunately, the arrival date coincides with an overnight adventure I had planned with the boys in Plymouth. The leaves me with a couple different options: wait around until the bike arrives and drive (yuck!) up to the campground or leave on the trip anyway with the Mundo (which will probably be its final adventure with us as I've made the decision to sell it). 

I think that basically answers my question. 

My hope had been to get the HaD early enough to put it all together and take Light Rail up to Folsom to cover the first half of the ride. Without using public transport, it's a two day trip each direction. Since the bike will still need to be put together when it gets here, there's not much of a chance of that happening. Luckily, there's enough summer left to play with the HaD later. 

We haven't been able to make as many bike trips as I had hoped this summer so this next one is especially vital for my sanity. It'll be hilly and hot but luckily, we'll only be 40ish miles away from help at any time. Besides, life is always a crazy adventure with these two monsters! 

What better way to spend the Fouth Of July than going on a weekend bike trip? I had planned on heading up one of my favorite routes to Lake Solano with an overnight at the West Sacramento KOA to make for a shorter day on Saturday. It was going to be warm this weekend but not terrible and although the Lake Solano campground had been booked for weeks, they have a hike/bike site that is first-come-first-served. I figured that in the worst-case scenario, I'd just try to ask another camper if they would share their site. 

Since I was riding without the kiddos, I decided to swap up my cargo routine and try out my dad's Burley Travoy. He's been getting tons of use out of it by going shopping and delivering large packages, kids' bikes, or dehydrators to me across town. I'd never tested it out before and was incredibly impressed. Although I had overpacked, the trailer still rolled really smoothly. It was especially nice to be able to pop the trailer off the bike and cart the gear into the cabin or roll it around the farmer's market without worrying about leaving it in the way or in danger of being stolen. 

As I reached the Guy West Bridge on the American River Parkway, I noticed big black plumes of smoke filling the sky. Sadly, the ARP is regularly plagued by brush fires--sometimes due to arson or illegal camping/cooking along the levee. They were able to fully contain this fire after closing off the bike trail for a few hours. The excessive heat and drought has made the area extremely susceptible to brush- and wildfires. Of course, the fireworks display at Cal Expo was still allowed to go on. Can't let a fire put a damper on freedom, right? 

The night at the KOA was surprisingly pleasant, despite the full campground (kampground)? I was so glad to have been nice and cozy in a cabin (kabin?) instead of in a tent super close to all the partying that was going down. 

In the morning, I received a text from my dad mentioning a fire out near Winters. There wasn't much information about it, yet, except that it was near Lake Solano and they had already evacuated some of the rural homes and resorts up the highway from the campground. Sure enough, you could see the smoke-filled sky stretching over the hills. After a nice long recharge stop at the Davis farmer's market, I continued up to Winters to see if camping would still be an option. 

The Winters community center had been set up as an evacuation site for the Red Cross and highway 128 was closed off about four miles from Lake Solano. It was hot and dry and windy, a terrible combination for fighting fires. Getting that close made my eyes and lungs burn so it was time to turn back. A refueling stop at Steady Eddy's was just what was needed before retracing back to Davis. Even with the headwind and lack of shade, it was a really enjoyable ride. The Amtrak train showed up right on time and made for an easy trip over the causeway and home to Sacramento. Things didn't quite go as planned this weekend but it was still a wonderful adventure. 

My thoughts go out to the firefighters out in dangerous conditions trying to contain the flames and to the people who have been displaced and are at risk of losing their homes. It's another reminder that we are living in a severe drought where even the tiniest spark can tear through thousands of acres in a flash.