Last week was exhausting. I ended up driving to work more days (have I mentioned that I have a car sitting out front for the next month while my parents are away?). The 38 mile days were getting to me and the boys were both up frequently through the nights as they were both still feeling the effects of their colds. The incident with the van driver really threw me off, too. One of my readers sent me a message with some info based on the email address on the van, along with all the great online support from other bike riders, which gave me the confidence to report the guy to the police. They took my report seriously and sent an officer to my house to document the "assault." I wish I had had more information about the guy or the van but I reported what I could. Thanks, awesome community! 

Since my boys couldn't go on the Gibson Ranch Kidical Mass Overnight last weekend, I had told them that I'd take them when they could. Another of our friends couldn't make it with his son, either, so they joined us. They'd never been bike camping before. 

Our friends took the HaulaDay, which is a fantastic cargo bike for newbies because it fits everyone with its OSATA adjustments, light weight, and easy maneuverability (however, my friend did manage to drop with kids on the back on his first attempt but they were on the grass so it didn't count. Everyone drops a kid now and again). 

I took two of the kids' bikes along with much of the other gear because the Bullitt is way too easy to overpack. Now that I have the Cycle Truck Caddyrack, my cargo capacity has doubled! It's so easy to tow bikes. 

Big Brother was forced to ride on his own because I ran out of room for him on the bike and because I thought he could. The route is mostly bike trail, except for the first four miles and last 2 miles. 

Once we were on the bike trail, our friend's son got on his bike, too. This was his longest ride and he did really well! There are quite a few intersections along the Northern Bike Trail (which is probably why it's not too popular with the roadies). Both boys on solo bikes did a great job on listening to my directions and making good judgements while they were riding. 

It took us about 4 hours to get to Gibson Ranch. We were told to set up in the grass around the cabins. It was nice and grassy but a little close to the cabins and their occupants for my liking. 

The boys had a fantastic time riding around the site and the playground. After dinner we ran around in the dark until the boys passed out. I was exhausted about 4 hours before they finally were. 

In the morning, we packed up fairly quickly, as quickly as one can with children present (we finally left around 9:45am). One of those children decided he was hungry every 30 seconds and we ran out of food. 

None of the boys wanted to ride on their own and since I hadn't really planned on carrying Big Brother, I had to do some quick (relative to me) thinking to arrange everything between the two cargo bikes--three bikes, three boys, everyone's camping gear, and all the toys. 

It was a long, hot 17 miles back home but we managed to get there at about a 7mph pace--just about half our arrival time! It is great to know there is such a convenient bike overnight, especially for having the kiddos ride much of it on their own. The last .5 to Gibson Ranch is on a busy stretch of road without much shoulder. There are many "Share The Road" signs but it is still unnerving, especially for less-experienced riders. Our friend's kid was back to sitting on the HaulaDay deck by that time on our arrival while Big Brother, who has more road riding experience, rode on the street with us in traffic. On the way home, he was too tired to navigate and maneuver that same stretch of road back to the trail so I was glad he had chosen to hitch a ride. 

Another successful camping trip! During this busy time, I'm so glad to have been able to escape for a few days and get in some rejuvenating adventure. 

I'm looking forward to our next bike trip! 

Sorry for the big gap between posts. I've been working up in Natomas teaching Project Ride Smart to a fun group of 5th graders. It's made life a little extra crazy these days but is so worth it. I love that job. During this three week contract, I also somehow managed to book up my weekends--last weekend I volunteered to assist at an LCI seminar. This weekend was our first official Sac Kidical Mass campout at Gibson Ranch Park. 

Last year, we threw together a longer trip up to Negro Bar in Folsom but because of the distance and hills, the trip was less accessible for new bike campers and families. This trip was a flat 13 miles that mostly followed bike path until the last few miles of rural roads. We had 20 people for our adventure, many of whom had never been bike camping, yet. 

We managed to get to Gibson Ranch in about 3 hours, just above the 4 mph average we accounted for. It was a lovely, quiet route that was mostly free of traffic and road bikers. Perfect for our heavily-ladened riders and the solo kiddos who kept trucking along. 

We had a beautiful shady spot and could spread out all over the lawn. The central tables were immediately covered in food and the adults rested and refueled while the children ran around. 

One of my favorite parts of bike camping with a group is checking out all the different and awesome set-ups people have. 

As the sun went down, the neighboring wedding party cranked up the music and the large Boy Scout group turned on a movie, something about going to space camp. It was noisy but I fell right to sleep. We were rained on a bit throughout the night. Good thing we had such a sturdy group of campers! Even though we were relatively close to home, no one called for back up in the middle of the night. I consider that a success! 

There were more sprinkles on the way home but I didn't hear any complaints, not even from the adults! We bypassed the playground and lunch stop to get home quicker (although we lost a couple to Thrift Town at the end of the journey). Our riders peeled away toward their own homes as we rolled off the bike trail. 

We had a great group of riders and a very successful trip. A huge thank you goes out to Keith, Melissa, and Jarrod for all their planning and preparations! I can't wait for the next Sac Kidical Mass Campout! 

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! 

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! 

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. 

As we got ready to head out on the Crazy Train this morning, I was surprised when Little Brother announced that he wanted to ride "his" bike, the little 12" loaner that I picked up from friends a couple weeks ago with the idea that it's time for Little Brother to learn how to pedal. He's gotten on it a couple of times, usually makes me hold him up for a few tries around the yard as he pedals forward a couple times then sends me jerking to a halt as he hits the coaster brake. It hasn't ended very prettily, me with a backache and him announcing that "his" bike (the Strider) was better. So today, although we were in a hurry, I wanted to encourage his enthusiasm for pedaling. I held onto him as he set his feet on the pedals and instead of running along side, I just let go. Off he went, about 30 feet before he crashed into the shed. We were all so excited that I forgot we had someplace to be and turned him around again. Another 30 feet of pedaling and then another! It wasn't a fluke! He was riding on his own! 

I didn't get any video of his first couple attempts but after we got home, Little Brother gave it another go.  By golly, we've got a house full of pedalers now! There is no fear in this kid at all and he's riding a full year earlier than Big Brother's first tries. There's still much work to be done--power pedal starts, braking, proper lane positioning, etc. but I am so excited!   

Here is a short compilation of his afternoon progression. Forgive the crappy editing (by which I mean total lack of editing) and out-of-focus video. My kid can ride a bike! 

We had another wonderful Kidical Mass ride, a park-to-park jaunt with about 20 of us. While I was a bit nervous that no one else would show up, suddenly, a hoard of awesome looking bikes pulled up. It was a great group of mostly regulars and a new father-son duo with an awesome Weehoo. We got to check out Melissa's new Follow-Me-Tandem and test out our Bullitt-train. Somer's son also had his zippy Isla Bike that he's been tearing up--in fact, he just learned how to skid. As we rode the 2 miles, Jarrod and his family showed up and tagged along. 

Have I mentioned too many times that this month has been flying by? I managed to squeak out my May Is Bike Month goal by hitting my (personally) modest goal of 250. The boys are nowhere near their pledges of 100, though. We're doing our best and riding when we can so that's good enough for me. 

I've been thinking lately about how lucky I am to have children who love to ride. Big Brother's biking skills have progressed so incredibly. He's scanning over his shoulder like a pro and working on using his hand signals as he rides. Today, I made the mistake of offering lemonade when we got home and he got so excited that he started to lose control. Amazingly, he was able to hop off the bike and keep it upright enough to come to a stop without biffing it. This is probably at least 75% of what we teach our 5th grade classes in the bicycle education programs (minus the attempted biffings). 

Speaking of bicycle education programs, this is the result of the hard work and dedication that the NNTMA has put into their Ride Smart programs and May Is Bike Month encouragement. More bicycles and trailers showed up at the end of the day as parents came to pick up their children. Put some money into an alternative transportation management association and look at all the rewards a community gets! I love teaching the bicycle and pedestrian classes!  

And then speaking of teaching, last week, I made a major decision to pull back away from working part-time at Practical Cycle and invest my time and energy in the classroom and on the bike. Although I love being apart of the wonderful team at PC, I wanted to be on a more flexible schedule that allows me to be doing what I feel I'm best at: riding a bike and teaching others to do the same. 

And I get to spend more time with this awesome kiddo, too. 

I feel like I alternate between minimalism and gimmie! gimmie! when it comes to my relationship with stuff. Our home isn't fancy, the boys have a couple of Ikea buckets worth of toys, and there's not a lot of clutter choking up our lives. However, when it comes to gear, that's a whole other story. In the past week or so, my gear collection has grown and I'm thoroughly enjoying each piece. 

Wind Blox: the lovely folks at Wind Blox have been interested in expanding to create a set that works for children's helmets as well and I've been complaining that it's difficult to hear the kiddos because of the wind. 

The three of us each have a set now (and I was so grateful that the divvying up went so easily). So far, I've realized that it's a pretty subtle difference because there is still wind, however, I can hear the surrounding noises clearer--birds, child chatter, vehicles, the rockin' tunes, etc. I feel like we haven't been screaming "What?" back and forth to each other as often. One of my other issues has been that my ears get really sore from the constant wind and that hasn't been bothering me lately. Anytime I'm unsure if they're doing anything, I just pull them away a bit to double check and the wind blast comes right back. I want to try them out with a road-bike style helmet to see if that changes anything because as you can see in the photo above, the angle of the Nutcase straps leaves an extra gap. 

Touring gear: I had a couple of gift cards to use up, one for REI, and it just happened that their anniversary sale popped up. I snagged some awesome stuff at REI and Campmor for less than $20 (after the cards). 

I'm hoping that the Thermarest is enough for the boys. I'm going to cut it in half for easier packing and the flexibility to move the boys around while sleeping. They're light enough to not need a thick pad to sleep on so this should give them enough support and insulation (and tough enough for them not to destroy it quickly). It was the irregular so it was even cheaper. The titanium cook set was on sale at REI, it's super light and comes with two pots and two frying pans/lids, all nestable in the mesh bag provided. It's a pretty tiny set, now that I've seen it in person, but I think it should be fine for the three of us for touring. I'll invest in something bigger (or thrift shop) for our group rides. The boys also scored some swim gear that's UV resistant so I think it will work double duty as bike wear, too. I'm still waiting on my Hydroflask to get here. Seriously, it's like it's Christmas around here--but better because I got to choose it all. 

Piccolo: 

BAM! And you thought the Bullitt couldn't get any more intimidating! Our friend, Melissa, found this on Craigslist and spread the word via Sac Kidical Mass's Facebook page. It's an 8+ year old Burley Piccolo that I got for a super good deal (by the way, these things really hold their value but you have to make sure it wasn't part of the recall that happened a couple years ago). It would have been a piece of cake to install, even with the disc brakes because I already had an adapter from the last rack. Unfortunately, once I tightened it all down, I realized I needed a couple extra washers on one side and had stripped out a couple of the bolts and the whole rack was on too tight to get it all to fit back together properly. Fifteen extra painful minutes and a handful of swearing later, it was finally back on as it should be (and will never come off again because the bolts are all stripped now). 

We all took it for a spin this afternoon and we are all loving it! It's so much more stable than the Afterburner that we tried out. Big Brother loves that he can change the gears and work at different levels (although the gears need adjusting, maybe a new cable). I can really feel the help, especially as he gets to the higher gears. I'm hoping to get a couple extra racks so we can swap the Piccolo back and forth between a few of our bikes, maybe even my dad's. 

Finally, something even better than stuff, EXPERIENCES! Join us tomorrow at Tahoe Park at 4:30pm for our next Kidical Mass ride! We have another ride scheduled for the 31st to complete our crazy Month O'Kidical Masses

We decided to go big this month for Kidical Mass and attempt one each weekend. It's so helpful to have such a great board of Kidical Mass parents who are willing to plan and organize these rides with me. Today, we branched into South Land Park territory for a ride to Fairytale Town. The part that I was most excited about for going to FTT was how much they wanted to be a part of our group. David, their grounds manager, had contacted me months ago to find out if we would want to head over there and test out their new bike parking at the front entrance. Of course we did! He even passed along discount coupons for us to use. 

Sadly there were more conflicts and other activities going on this weekend than we had realized so the turnout was a bit smaller than usual. We weren't even able to stay at FTT because Big Brother had a t-ball game this afternoon. It was still great to get out in the fresh (and extremely pollen-filled) air and get a good bike ride in with some wonderful folks. 

Today was also the opening day for the Oak Park Farmer's Market--the best farmer's market in Sacramento. To make it even better, they just installed a new bike rack that was filled with three cargo bikes in the first half hour. I was very impressed at its lockability and how many bikes it fit while still being a pretty cool design. 

The boys and I all got more miles to log for May Is Bike Month and our Tiny Helmets team. This year, I went easy on myself by only pledging 250 miles for myself and 100 each for the boys. 

It's also been busy in the bike education arena for me lately. Last week, I had an awesome day working at one of the local schools during their bike rodeo. We had kids from 1st grade up to 5th grade riding bikes, scooters, and skateboards. There was an obstacle course for them to practice stopping, weaving, scanning, and merging. I was so impressed at how well they all did, even with such a short amount of time. I'm really looking forward to the next month because I have bike and pedestrian classes every week until mid-June!