Biking families

Big Brother and I were so lucky to get two chances this weekend to visit with other biking families. Saturday was our Kidical Mass ride. We had 14 brave bikers show up in the chilly morning. The bikes were awesome--two Mundos, a bakfiets, a Fr8, a custom ANT, and two Bike Fridays. We rode to Doughbot, using proper hand signals and following all traffic rules, taking the lane as needed. After filling ourselves up with delicious sugar, we rode over to the giant Southside Park to run around. 

I love getting a chance to meet up with other biking families in the area--checking out their customizations and how they keep their kids warm, what's working for them and helping to figure out any difficulties. It's the perfect way to realize how many of us are truly out there and that we're not really crazy for biking the way we do. Plus, they're really just fun people to visit with. 

Meeting up at Old Soul.

Melissa was rocking her new Fr8 with her two little ones.

The Koen family with their customized Dutch bike, styling kiddos, and happy smiles.

Teeny Bike Fridays fit inside and make great coat racks.

Alien Big Brother running out his yayas.

After the playground, I zipped home to drop Big Brother off for lunch and his nap then cruised back out to have lunch with a friend. Biking lets me make multiple trips and do more fun things without feeling guilty about driving around town frivolously and excessively. 

Great bike racks at the cafes down R st!

Sunday followed with more family fun biking with our Mommy Group ride to Doughbot, again since the mommies couldn't make it the day before. I'm always up for a second round of doughnuts, of course. Sadly, when we arrived, they were out for the next hour! We biked down to Southside Park without our sugar high but popped back over for their next fresh batch. 

It was so much fun to ride with the Mommies (and a Daddy)! Another mommy had been riding her Mundo regularly, there was mom on her bike for just the third time since her kids' were born AND she was towing 80 lbs of kid/gear, one little guy was on a trail-a-bike for the first time, and another mama had her son in a kid seat that she had installed the night before! With that kind of range of biking comfortability, we still stayed together, rode safely, obeyed traffic laws, and had tons of fun! It goes to show that riding a bike is always better with friends and the perfect way to get used to everyday cycling. One thing that we all had in common was that we are all interested in biking more regularly and will plan to do this again soon!  

On the road!

Daddy with his "rocket pack!"

We made it!

Doughbot delivery!

This was the perfect weekend to reenergize me for the coming trip to Chico. I had been feeling pretty nervous about the length of the trip and my insane decision to take Big Brother with me. However, looking at the maps, I've whittled down the mileage to about 60 each day, totally doable. We have very nice people to stay with through warmshowers. I've got special surprises for BB along the way, new books, and lots of snacks planned. I'm feeling much more prepared and very excited. Worst case, we're not going very far and we'll have lots of support if needed.