Tiny Helmets Big Bikes
Check us out!
  • Home
  • Us
  • Blog: We Ride
  • FAQ
  • Our Fleet
  • Adventures
  • Getting Started
  • Contact Us

Cargo campers!

3/24/2013

14 Comments

 
We did it! After a couple months of planning, we gathered up our group of cargo campers yesterday and embarked on our first-ever group camping trip! It was a pretty ambitious attempt to schedule a camping trip with kids in the middle of March, but somehow, a group of 24 of us on 14 bikes ventured out to ride 30 miles up to the Negro Bar group campsite in Folsom. We were a motley crew, some local, one family came from Oregon, and another from the Bay Area. As luck would have it, these guys were all incredible! 
Picture
Packing up at Grant Park.
Picture
Melissa's co-pilot!
Picture
The Oregon team!
Picture
Jen and Lucas along for part of the ride.
Picture
Kristi and crew and their incredible packing job!
Picture
Kao and my mom with their minimalist loads.
Jose and I fought over the Cycle Truck since it was our new toy (borrowed for the week), and a quieter load since it was all cargo, no kid. I kept the Mundo pretty light (relative since it was going to carry two kids anyway). I won the Cycle Truck for this trip!  You can imagine the number of thumbs-up I got from the box of beer in front. I had a bit of a panic attack the night before and imagined riding the Cycle Truck up hills and tipping backwards. I hadn't really even had much of a chance to ride the bike yet but I was still going to give it a shot. 
Picture
My rig.
Picture
Kid cargo
This was the perfect route, 99% along the American River Parkway, and the most beautiful weather. 

I loved seeing everyone's unique packing techniques. We were in charge of s'mores and firewood and left everyone else to pack their own gear and food. 
Picture
Randy's team.
Picture
Kao was completely self-sufficient.
Picture
Jon, Iris, and the coveted Strider.
Picture
Sami with the rest of their gear.
Picture
Melissa's bike train. Kiddo conductor upfront.
Picture
My mom goes zooming past, trying to get to Karen's before it closes.
Picture
The BodaX with BionX power!
Picture
Three generations of bike tourers!
Picture
Abbie with her sweet puppy companion.
We had a few stops along the way and a nice long lunch break at Hagan park so the kids could run out their yayas.
Picture
Dem boys, eating as usual.
Picture
Picnic time!
Picture
Resting bikes.
I was amazed at the lack of fussing until our own Big Brother threw a huge fit when we tried to move him to our friend's trailer. Their daughter is a bit too big for their trailer so she wanted to stretch out and loves being on the Mundo deck. I wanted to give Big Brother a break from the Mundo so he could nap but he was not having it. The rest of the group continued on while we attempted to calm him down. Little Brother caused just as much of a scene so we finally relented and put them all on the Mundo. 
Picture
The Mundo minivan.
Now, he was getting all the attention and cruising at quick clip--12 mph. We eventually caught up with the back of the group and met up with my folks and Kao who were lounging at Karen's Bakery. 
Picture
We made Karen's even more crowded with bikes this afternoon and caused quite a scene while packing back up.
I got a call from Abbie who had made it to the campsite with the rest of the group only to be turned away by some Boy Scouts who claimed they had reserved the entire area. They straightened out the debacle just as I pulled up our reservation on my phone and had to clear some scouts out of our site. Turns out the ranger had told them they could spread out if no one showed up. However, we were unstoppable! 
Picture
Resting, finally.
Picture
The kids were fascinated with the stomp rockets. Thanks, Melissa!
A couple of our wonderful friends showed up to hang out with us since they hadn't been able to ride with us (luckily they had the great excuse of being a doctor who had to deliver babies on Sunday). They brought their wonderful boys to play and picked up the 8 pizzas we ordered, sponsored by the amazing folks at Practical Cycle! As much as we wanted to pick the pizzas up by bike, their offer was too difficult to pass up (sorry, Tim...). Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Picture
Pizza time!!!
Picture
Well deserved dinner.
Picture
See, Tim, it could have been done but we were out of gas...
Picture
Abbie and Michael were the rebels, only eating what they brought. It was pretty gourmet, actually...I was jealous.
More play time, some s'mores time, a warm campfire, it was fantastic! 
Picture
Life is good.
Picture
The best s'mores face, ever!
Picture
More wonderful s'mores faces!
The actual nighttime part got kind of mixed reviews. Camping with kids usually means waking up in the middle of the night multiple times. Multiple kids means more crying. I only heard other babies when I was already awake but we had one of the fussier kiddos (*Little Brother*). Our problems included an air mattress that didn't survive the boys jumping on it and too few sleeping bags--I had thought that we could share just two. It's time for us to invest a little in our camping gear. Our site was also really close to Folsom Blvd. and the traffic noise was pretty intense. We're pretty sure that there was a motorcycle race in the middle of the night. On the other hand, the coyotes were out as well and one was yipping close by. That was really awesome. 

We woke up to a clear, crisp morning. Jon got a fire going and everyone moved slowly. Breakfasts included leftover pizza, oatmeal, polenta, and fried Spam (although not necessarily all together).  
Picture
Breakfast of champions.
Picture
Mmmm...fried Spam...
Kristi and her family packed up early to make it to their near-by church. Most of the rest of us headed out about 10 am, leaving just Abbie and Michael to enjoy packing up in peace and meandering home via Fair Oaks. 
Picture
Little Brother getting comfortable again.
Picture
G'ampa took his first cargo bike ride, complete with passenger.
Picture
Fresh-faced riders ready to take on the day!
Picture
Jose picked up a spare kid again.
Picture
My beautiful mama!
Picture
This was the speedy group. It was the last we saw of them before we ate their dust. Zoom!
The final group split once again about midway through and there was a bit of a mix-up with our lunch spot so we didn't end up catching the speed demons. Sami and her family had to rush back up to Oregon and the kids in that group were younger and less demanding. Our slower group stopped at Hagan Park again to play on the playground. Big Brother was very happy with his special spot in the Cycle Truck so fussing was at a bare minimum. 
Picture
My view.
Picture
His view.
Picture
My sweet cargo buddy.
The Cycle Truck was amazing! I can see this being the perfect supplement to our fleet. There are a few things that I would absolutely need to change for it to be tailored for our needs but even though it was our first "real" ride, it preformed perfectly. The gears shifted smoothly and it took the hills with ease. The seat was a bit of a pain in the butt, however, and there were more sounds and wobbles to get used to. Other than having to remind Big Brother to keep his feet inside (which I had to do just once), we both loved it. Jose said it was heavier than the Mundo but I didn't really notice. 

We had such a blast and I hope that every one else did, too! An enormous thank you to everyone who came along and made this trip so amazing. You guys all made it seem so easy to pack everything onto a bike and ride 30 miles to sleep on the hard ground and then do it all over the next day. I am so impressed! It was many people's first bike camping trip, or first with children, and the longest trip Kristi had ever ridden! You were all so organized and prepared! 

It was fun to leave from our doorstep and be able to meet up with friends all along the way (Thank you Jen and Lucas, Rebecca, Pablo and sweet boys, Jennifer and Jim!). Especially with this being our first try, I think we did pretty well. I could not have asked for a better group, better weather, or a better route. There are things that I would try differently, almost all related to gear and food, but most importantly, I just can't wait to do it again!
14 Comments
Bekah
3/24/2013 12:52:04 pm

You are too cool! Love you and the family. I look forward to joining you on a future trip.

Reply
TopHat link
3/24/2013 01:43:36 pm

Looks like fun! I've ridden that Madsen and BionX Boda. Hi, Kristi!

Reply
Kristi
3/25/2013 12:52:53 pm

Hi, Heather! I wished that Madsen had BionX on it for this trip! Can't wait to hear how you like yours.

Reply
Katie link
3/25/2013 03:19:06 am

What a great, successful trip! Congratulations to you all! (We'll wait for warmer weather, up here...)

Reply
Elle
3/26/2013 01:14:41 pm

We are pretty darn spoiled down here :)

Reply
Susan Alima Friar link
3/25/2013 03:55:27 am

What a gift for all. I was thrilled to see you all take on such a fun event for little ones. Also, it was great to see parents wearing helmets. Often here Ion Kauai) they don't...not a great example. Miss your beautiful part of the world.

Reply
Elle
3/26/2013 01:16:39 pm

I was impressed, too. I had warned everyone that I needed all the kids helmeted but all the adults chose so on their own. I agree that it is a great example for the children. I wouldn't tell them to do something and then not do so myself. It's one of the reasons that I stop at stop signs and use turn signals (and generally obey laws...).

Thanks for reading, Susan! I'll have to come to Kauai to set a good helmet example :)

Reply
KYouell link
3/25/2013 07:01:04 am

Camping with pizza delivery? Yes.

Reply
Elle
3/26/2013 01:17:04 pm

Classy, huh?!

Reply
Ken Bettencourt
3/25/2013 07:02:19 am

I am a old school bike touring guy.over 250,000 miles to date.over the last few yrs.i have been seeing family's and group just like yourself s all over the USA.it is a great way to exp.life and meet lots of new friends. So I say to you all.Way 2 go.and keep peddling!!! Kennyb

Reply
Elle
3/26/2013 01:18:20 pm

Wow! I hope to one day be an old school bike touring guy! What a wonderful way to go through life. The things you must have seen and the experiences that you've had!

Thanks for reading! If you have any tips, send them over!

Reply
Lindsay link
4/9/2013 02:56:34 am

Amazing! Looked like a lot of fun (outside of the camping...I'm not a camper and I'm not ashamed to say it).
Could you kindly tell me about the sun shade on the back of the Mundo's rear child seat? I'd love to get one for ours.
Thanks!

Reply
Elle
4/9/2013 01:27:35 pm

Here is how I did the sun shades: http://www.tinyhelmetsbigbikes.com/2/post/2012/05/keeping-the-kiddos-comfortable.html

It's super easy!

Reply
Lindsay
4/10/2013 03:45:12 am

Thank you!




Leave a Reply.

    Author

    This is us. We're fun. 

    Picture

    Archives

    April 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    30 Day Challenge
    365 Days Of Biking
    Adventure Cycling
    Amtrak
    Big Brother
    Big Brother
    Bike Camping
    Bike Camping
    Bike Friday
    Bikes!
    Bikes!
    Bionx
    Breakfast Club
    Breezer
    Bullitt
    Car Freedom
    Car Freedom
    Carrying Kids
    Carrying Kids
    Carrying Loads
    Carrying Loads
    Cycle Truck
    Cyclofemme
    Daily Errands
    Diy
    Family Rides
    Family Rides
    Hauladay
    Isla Bike
    Kidical Mass
    Little Brother
    Little Brother
    May Is Bike Month
    Mobic
    Overnights
    Positivity
    Practical Cycle
    Sacramento River Parkway
    Safe Routes To School
    Safety
    School Commute
    Solo Kids
    Strider Bike
    Sun Shade
    The League
    Tour De Whine
    Weather
    Whimsical Cycle
    Yuba Mundo
    Yuba Mundo

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.