Keith and his son joined Little Brother and myself on our reconnaissance ride out to Gibson Ranch. Keith is an essential member of our little "Sac Kidical Mass Board," a team of wonderful folks who help plan and run our monthly Kidical Mass rides. Another board member, Melissa, had found Gibson Ranch and talked to them about the possibility of using it as our Kidical Camping trip in September. Emboldened by our recent trip to Eugene for their 4th annual campout, I was really excited to get ours established, too. Last year, we took a group of about 20 people up to Negro Bar in Folsom, a 30 mile trek that was not for the faint of heart! This year, we wanted a trip that was more approachable for our larger Kidical Mass group. Before we could make this event official, we had to scope out the route and ensure its safety for family riding. (So of course, Keith and I used our children as guinea pigs)

This is Keith's second homemade bakfiets since his first was stolen last year. 

Little Brother started the day pretty restless--still wound up from our weekend adventure. It didn't take long for me to offer him over to Keith's bike so the boys could play together. It was a perfect playdate on wheels! 

The ride was even better than I had imagined. There was one section of the trail that was closed due to levee construction but the detour was short and easy (at least it was on the way back). After the Northern Bike Trail, there was a section along the rural back roads, most of which had a wide shoulder or designated bike lane. The last 1/4 mile or so lacked a shoulder and had busier traffic but it was over quickly and then we were there! Unfortunately there was a giant sign proclaiming the lack of water and bathrooms but we've since established that they'll be available when we reserve our dates. 

We have a great trip planned now for Sacramento Kidical Mass's Campout! Send me a message if you are interested in joining or have any questions. Hopefully, this will be the first of many more to come! 

The summer was almost over so I did what any rational and responsible mother would do--pack up the children and a giant bike and drive 10 hours north for a weekend camping trip the day before school starts. To be fair, this wasn't just an ordinary camping trip, this was the founding Kidical Mass's 4th annual bike camping overnight. The Eugene Kidical Mass's co-founder, Shane, had also arranged for us to stay with Bike Friday's president, Alan, and his wife Theresa! There was no way we'd miss out on such fun opportunities! 

On Thursday, my dad came by to help load up the Haul-a-Day. I had bought a new rear rack since the one we had was pretty old and the straps were brittle. I broke one on the last attempt at driving with the HaD and I didn't think it would survive such a long trip at freeway speeds. While I was at the bike shop, I asked about a top tube adapter for the rack. When I mentioned I had a Bike Friday, the guy handed me one from the shelf. Sadly, when I got it out of the case, I realized that it was going to be useless. It was too long and didn't clamp down. I decided to try the upside-down trick again but with more straps. 

I think I did a brilliant job! Ten hours later (yes, I drive slowly), the bike hadn't moved a centimeter. My boys are amazing travelers, both on the bike and in the car. This was no exception. Despite one initial freakout when Little Brother decided to unbuckle his seatbelt (lots of screaming followed), most of the time they played together and read books. 

We got into Eugene well after bedtime. The boys were really wound up but Alan welcomed us in and had set up a big tent in the backyard with nice foam mattresses. I was glad to not have to be cooped up in our tiny 2-person tent (yes, I know it's too small but I keep bringing it because I'm a weight weenie) for two extra nights. We also got to meet Fraeda, Alan and Theresa's daughter and also works at Bike Friday, who was busy building wheels on the couch. 

On Friday, we got a chance to visit Bike Friday (seems appropriate). I wanted them to take a look at the Haul-a-day and make any necessary adjustments. We got to meet some of the great folks there--Mike got right to work on our bike while Eamon took us for a tour around the shop. It is amazing back there! Just about every aspect of Bike Friday building/servicing/production goes on in that tiny but very organized warehouse. We even bumped into Alan who was working on a front frame-mounted basket that I could use for the camping trip. I feel like we are now a part of this awesome club! I cannot say enough about how friendly everyone is and how incredibly hard-working they are! 

While the team was bending over backward for us, I took my hooligans out to run down some of the residual crazies from the drive. They sure had a lot of crazy left over. Luckily Eugene has some beautiful paths. I was sorry that we didn't have more time to explore. 

The rest of Friday was spent hanging out with the MacRhodes clan and picking Shane's brain about Kidical Masses and bike stuff while the kids biked and played as children should. 

We got back to our "campsite" to find Alan working on our Haul-a-Day until 10pm just to make sure our front basket would work. That's what I call dedication and fantastic customer service! 

The next morning we packed up the Haul-a-Day. I was surprised at how much the bike could handle and how easily it all fit. I was worried that it'd be cramped since I hadn't tested it out and it's smaller than the Mundo (and we usually fill the Mundo up to capacity). We packed fairly lightly and Big Brother was on his own bike but there was still plenty of room when we were loaded up. 

We met up with Shane's crew to get to the starting point for the ride--a parade! It was great to be able to go with someone who knows the way since I would have been lost on my own. 

The parade was fun but it was tiring to go at such a slow speed. I was really thankful for the reflective vests because it made spotting my renegade child much easier. It was great to get a chance to check out the other families' set-ups and meet some more awesome people. I think we had about 60 people in our group. 

After the parade, we had a quick lunch before we packed back up and headed out toward the campground. 

It was about a nine mile ride with a few stops for water, snacks, and playtime. Big Brother rode his bike the entire way and was really great about following directions. The Haul-a-Day felt wonderful to ride, even loaded down. Family biking always seems to be a slow journey but that's often what makes it extra fun--there's always time to check out the scenery and chat with whomever you happen to be next to. 

The campground was beautiful. There was a river just down a little trail and plenty of shade. The kids took over the road with their bikes and striders. We had a potluck dinner with an amazing amount of food that just seemed to keep appearing. 

It was nice to be around other families so we didn't feel like the only ones who have children who wake up at the slightest hint of daylight. All the kids were ready to get back onto their bikes and roll around in the dirt some more. There was a pancake feast then we packed up a bit early to head back to the car for the long drive home. I would have like to have been able to stay longer and enjoy the leisureliness of Kidical Camping but I also didn't want to be stuck driving late into the wee hours of the morning. We met so many great people and the boys made so many new friends. I think we're going to have to make the trip up again next year! Thanks, Eugene Kidical Massers!  

Emma was kind enough to lead us home along a more direct route. We got a chance to experience Eugene's river path and Big Brother made it back the entire way (with a little coaxing and chocolate chip bribery). 

Back at the car, Theresa helped me load the bike back up and pack up our stinky gear. We made it on the road around noon. We were all pretty worn out from the long weekend adventures and our fuses were shorter than what we had started with. Luckily, we still had plenty of snacks and books. I'm pretty sure that Big Brother didn't stop talking for at least eight hours straight. Little Brother thankfully took a long nap. 

The boys were asleep when we pulled up to our house and stayed asleep all night. I threw them into their beds and decided we'd deal with the dirt in the morning. 

My chipper kiddos were up bright and early as usual. Big Brother was excited to start Kindergarten and was especially happy about his new cycling gloves that Theresa and Alan had given him. He didn't want to take them off when he got to school! 

We had such a wonderful time! It was totally worth the long drive and exhaustion to get the opportunity to meet new friends and ride around Eugene. I look forward to coming up to visit again. Hopefully next time by train*! 

*I should mention that while I would have loved to take the train more than anything, tickets cost about 4x more than what it cost for us to drive and the long train trip would have cut into our already minimal amount of time.  

In less than 24 hours, the Mundo has already found a new home. Within minutes of posting my ad, I had people contacting me with questions and ready to set up test rides. Used cargo bikes are a hot commodity for people who want to break into the cargo bike world, inexpensively (relative, of course) and easily. It's great to know that there are enough cargo bikes in the area that some are already on their second round (possibly even third!). 

It's a bittersweet day for me to have to say goodbye to the bike that started it all for us. Had it not been for the Mundo, we might not have become a car-free family so easily. We wouldn't be neck-deep in the wonderful world of family biking. We probably wouldn't have made so many amazing new friends, locally and from all over the world, or connected with so many great bike advocates, especially in the Kidical Mass arena. We would have never realized how very simple it can be to replace car miles with enjoyable and exciting bike miles. There are so many new places we've explored, just because we wanted to get there by bike. I still absolutely love Yuba bikes and whole-heartedly recommend them to many people. 

However, I didn't feel it was fair for me to be hoarding all the cargo bikes in the Sacramento region. Luckily, the Mundo has found a wonderful new home nearby with Monica and Elliot's family. She has lovingly been renamed "George," which I think is totally fitting. I look forward to seeing them rolling around town. Welcome to the club, guys!!!

Our Mundo is officially on the market. This was the bike that started it all. It was so amazing to go from lugging around the trailers to speeding along with the Mundo. We've had so many adventures: riding 95 miles to Modesto in one day, Big Brother and my trip to Chico, camping, garage sales, everyday shenanigans. It's sad to see her go but it's time for us to downsize. I know that this bike will be perfect for another family wanting to experience some car-freedom and teach their kids that strapping on their helmets is just as valid as buckling their seat belts. The Mundo is sturdy and easy to ride for just about anyone. You can carry as much as you can imagine (with the right number of tie-downs and a little creativity). Know someone who fits that bill? Send them my way! 

I love when I can do things on my bike that I can't do in a car--like pile in more children! Luckily my friends are awesome and leave their kids with me.

We could have added an extra one or two small munchkins. Hopefully we'll beat our record of 5 on a bike soon.

Big Brother didn't ride quite as far today. He rode about 6 miles to a friend's house where we spent almost the entire day. About a mile into our way home, he was ready to hitch a ride. Here goes our first Haul-a-Day towing test: 

The bike tracked perfectly and despite the Little falling asleep and wobbling the bike around, we still managed to ride home. Big Brother sat side saddle because Little Brother's Strider bars took up a lot of the deck. Both kiddos were really tired on the way home and it was nice to have them well contained in the Hooptie. 

I love my kids. The drive me crazy but I still think they're pretty dang awesome. Yesterday, I wanted to go for a bike ride and the weather was going to be manageable at just 90 degrees so I decided we'd make our usual trip to Hagan Park. The ride is 13 miles each direction, mostly on the bike trail. As I was pulling out the Haul-a-Day, Big Brother asked if he could ride his own bike. We had plenty of time and since he did so well with the rides to the zoo last week, I decided we could give it a go. Worst case, I would just figure out how to tow his bike on the HaD and throw him on board. 

The first four miles are urban riding with a couple of big streets to cross, including one with no infrastructure and really fast drivers. Almost all riders end up crossing the street and riding on the sidewalk facing traffic--two of the most dangerous things you can do as a biker and yet, there's not much of an alternative. When I'm on my bike, I usually just take the lane but with Big Brother on his own, I didn't feel that that was a viable option for his skill level. We ended up crossing at the crosswalk and riding together very slowly on the sidewalk. Once we were on the bike trail, it was a piece of cake. 

We made a snack stop along the way, with Little Brother devouring just as much as his Big Brother. The American River Parkway was packed and I was unnerved by the number of very fast riders passing us so quickly and often much too closely. While I'm sure that they're competent riders, I'd bet that they have no understanding as to how unpredictable children can be, even when they're on the back of a bike. Little Brother will often lean over, causing the bike to swerve a bit and Big Brother, although a great rider for his age, still has sporadic speed bursts and can drift when he loses focus. This doesn't mean that kids shouldn't be allowed to ride on the Parkway just because some bigger riders want to use it as a training route! Luckily, just about everyone was considerate and often broke out in giant smiles to see BB trucking away or LB face-down on the deck. 

We made it the entire 13 miles to the park! I had packed our lunch for the park but hadn't taken into consideration the fact that Big Brother would be riding on his own and incredibly hungry, or the fact that Little Brother can pack it away just as much as the Big. I was working hard to make sure I was rationing our food appropriately and dolling it out in small but tasty amounts. 

Big Brother was ready to hitch a ride when we started packing up at the park but I encouraged him to ride just a bit and see how far he could get. He loves numbers and counting so the idea of riding longer distances and increasing his mileage was appealing to him, even though he was pretty tired already. We only had a couple moments where he was ready to give up but we talked through them and with a little distracting and the promise of more snack stops along the way, he continued until the got his second (and third) wind. As long as he was still having fun and was able to ride safely while listening to my instructions, I was willing to let him go as far as he wanted. 

We had one more playground stop and I had saved half a cookie for the final three miles in traffic. Little Brother got more riding practice in and the boys stayed in happy spirits. 

Once home, Big Brother started to melt down but I was able to head it off with a hearty lunch and lots of water. He was so proud of himself for riding the entire 26 mile trip. I am so excited about his riding abilities--he's a great listener and follows instructions, he's understanding how to stay focused and what to look out for, how to react to dangers, as well as maintaining his endurance and appreciation of biking. If we hadn't turned around at Hagan Park, he could have ridden all the way to Folsom. Maybe for our next camping trip, he can ride his own bike up to Beal's Point. I'm sure he could make it if we took all day and had a huge amount of food with us. Once he's able to get to the next sized Isla Bike (which based on his brother's being able to ride the 16" with the seat up 4", it won't be much longer), he'll be able to have gears and a rack for better transportation and touring rides. My big baby is growing up! 

As a side note, I convinced my mom to ride on the back of the HaD to go out to lunch. She's such a great sport! I just took the sides off the Hooptie. The lower deck made her feel a lot more secure and was easier for her to get on and off the back. The ride felt great and stable and she even remarked that it was "less scary than a motorcycle."

Our beautiful new Carsick Designs Mondo Slings showed up a few days ago and they're even better than I had imagined! They've made a few improvements over the first set I had them make for the Mundo. These bags are smaller because it's a midtail so I couldn't just swap over the orange slings. I love the reflective stripes and the sturdy inner pocket. 

One of the major bonuses to having the slings, besides all the extra cargo capacity, is that it protects the wee ones' feet from getting caught in the wheel and chain. I don't recommend having kids on a cargo bike without some sort of wheel covering to protect them. 

We are also still getting used to Little Brother being able to sit freely on the deck. My original plan had been to get him a Yepp Maxi for the back but the idea of paying another $200 wasn't really appealing. I decided on a wait-and-see plan. So far, our experience has been mostly positive. He is certainly taking advantage of the freedom he has to move around and it's harder for me to see what's going on because he's behind me unlike the seating in the Bullitt. 

I've found him sitting side-saddle, backwards, and his newest trick--face down on the deck. In fact, after a long night last night and an early morning, he fell asleep that way three times on our rides today. 

At this point, I am confident in saying that we are ready to part with the Mundo. If anyone is interested, please let me know. We love the Mundo but I'm ready to downsize and the Haul-a-Day is the perfect vehicle for us now. 

Big Brother has been riding his own bike a bit more these days and today was the third time this week that he happily rode the 8-mile roundtrip to his zoo camp. I wish that the infrastructure was better so that he could ride more places. He can easily cover quite a bit of distance before wearing out. 

It's always been frustrating to me that Amtrak isn't more bike-friendly. Even though the Capitol Corridor train has roll-on bike service, if your bike is any deviation from "standard," it's still a no-go. Car-free travel depends on having continuous alternatives. Trains and bikes are a great combination--trains to cover long, difficult sections and bikes to fill in the gaps, for example. Since my travels often include two small munchkins, our options are even more limited. If we take the train, we depend on getting a ride to/from the station which includes figuring out car seats, or navigating public transport. Just going by bike is limited by safe infrastructure and my energy.

I haven't been riding much the past week due to the heat and a virus that settled in my lungs. Today was the first day in a week that wasn't going to be over 100 degrees. I've been feeling better so we made an impromptu trip out to Davis.

Sadly, today was Doughbot's last day. We lucked out and preordered a bunch of Nutella creme puffs for our picnic. One final delicious beginning to a fun bike adventure. We'll miss these guys but wish them well on their next chapter.

We made our way over the Yolo Causeway. I stopped a couple of times to make some minor adjustments to the bike, tilt up the saddle, raise the handlebars, fill the boys up with snacks. At one point, groups of cheerleaders were practicing at UC Davis. The boys were very impressed.

Just as we started heading out towards Winters, the backseat arguing started. I was getting a bit tired and my new Velo Orange saddle was beginning to feel extra hard. I turned the bike around and started following the Davis Loop trail instead with the intention of finding a playground to have our picnic.

Davis does not disappoint in regards to great bike infrastructure, trails, and playgrounds.

As we were playing, my grandma got ahold of us and we headed over there for a post-picnic lunch and bonus fudgesicles. The longer we loafed the more tired I got. Luckily, I had planned on being able to use Amtrak as a backup if I didn't want to pedal the, miserable 16 miles back over the Causeway and through West Sac.

We rolled up just in time to catch the 3:30 train. Just to be on the safe side, I squished the Haul-a-Day's frame down to the 2nd button (the one-size-adjusts-to-fit-all frame can get small enough to be equal to a standard bike's wheelbase). The HaD was still a bit heavy with all the gear and the Hooptie but it was easy enough to get up the small step. The only trouble I had was trying to put it up onto the wheel hook but the bike stood up on its own and I secured it with the cable so it wouldn't topple over.

The last five miles through town were a bit rough on my tush but I managed. Little Brother fell asleep in the last mile. He was secure thanks to the Hooptie and Big Brother.

So after our first thorough Haul-a-Day ride of about 35 miles, I've decided to declare my love for this bike! It's a smooth, zippy ride that carries enough for a day trip and has plenty more room to spare. Being able to hop on the train easily opens up so many new options.

This bike has a very different feel from the Mundo--the Mundo rides like a tank, slow, steady, and totally secure. There's no flex or wobble. On the other hand, the HaD is light and maneuverable but you feel every bump and it's not as self-balancing. The small wheels make for quick and easy starts but it is a more noodly ride. I didn't notice any problem with excessive frame flexing or bounciness but I wouldn't try loading up the HaD as much as I would on the Mundo. This bike is going to be exactly what we need right now.