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.
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.
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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!
Today has been a buzz of excitement--starting with a business phone call for an exciting new direction for my career and ending with a house full of friends and munchkins. Bekah flew into town for work this afternoon and in typical Bustamante fashion, the boys and I hopped on the Mundo to go pick her up. Once we got our balance, we rolled over to my folks' house for a visit. Big Brother had a terrifying experience when he slipped backwards on our way out the door and fell headfirst down their steep staircase. The first thing he said to me as I scooped him up (I was pretty confident he didn't have a spinal injury since I had seen him fall) was "I was NOT wearing my helmet!" Despite the bump on his head and the scrape down his back, within a few minutes of icing, he was running around as if nothing had happened (although I'll probably be sleeping with him tonight). Bekah rode the Linus back to my house, not that I wouldn't have continued on with her on the Mundo, but I wanted the Linus back at home since it's been stuck at Practical Cycle for a tune up (then I needed to figure out a way to get it home with some sneaky bike-juggling and an eventual pick-up by the Prius). Plus, Bekah is part Linus owner because I was holding her raffle ticket, as well as my mom's and mine, when we won the bike at Bike Fest. Once we were home, the boys were excited to have some friends come over for dinner and then another set of friends popped over when they saw everyone as they were walking by. It was pretty funny to see them connect through what they've read about each other from the blog. It seems that at this point, I don't even have to talk to my friends anymore because they stay up-to-date with everything I write online. (Hi guys!) It was really nice to catch up with such fun people and even better that they helped wear out my children (who are already fast asleep. Thanks again, guys!).
We made it through the big cold spell without much bother. I'm pretty sure the drivers complained more about the cold than we did. I always think it's funny when people give us so much credit for riding around in the winter. After a few minutes of biking, I'm usually sweating. Drivers are the ones who have it rough--having to wait for the heater to kick on, taking off the kids' jackets to fit in the carseats, getting out of the car just as their bodies have adjusted to the warmth. Sounds like hard work to me! Riding certainly helps us keep the heat down in the house because we come in from the cold and it feels toasty warm already. Our California winter means that sometimes we have to dress like this: And sometimes like this: Sometimes we resort to this: Big Brother found a great way to keep his eyes from watering: We see this guy riding along our route home on the wrong side of the street and on the sidewalk. I keep wanting to ask him why he does it but I don't have the nerve. He has a nice bike, a Cannondale road bike, and he rides for at least 3 long blocks on roads with clear bike lanes. My guess is that he eventually makes a left turn and he doesn't want to do that across traffic. It's amazing to me the variation in comfort-levels people have while riding. I just want to scream at him "It's not legal and it's not safer on the sidewalk!" He's obviously not doing it to be a jerk but he's not helping the bikers-as-scofflaws perception people have. In other news, here's a chicken on a bike: And here is a toy that my children will NEVER have the joy of playing: Here is a crappy bike parking situation at the downtown Embassy Suites hotel (they had wanted me to park at the racks on the waterfront and I said "Heck no!": And finally, in case you were wondering how our bike commuting is going, here's Big Brother rocketing along on his Isla Bike. He actually hasn't been riding as often because our morning timing often puts us way behind schedule these days. Also, one day he refused to ride because I couldn't find his black gloves and only had his blue mittens. Joys of parenting. We have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to try out an REI brand Afterburner trailer bike (similar to this but single-speed) because it's just a bit too big for our friends' son (thanks, Dan and Ashlie!). Yesterday was the first day that we got to take it out. We were headed out and Big Brother asked sweetly "Can I ride my own bike?" Unfortunately, it was a route that I wasn't comfortable taking him on. Since Little Brother was coming with us, we hooked it up to the Bullitt. The Afterburner is a seatpost-mounted trailer bike. I've always been a bit leery of this design, especially because I usually see dads (it's always dads) racing down the bike trail with their kid flopping dangerously side to side on their wobbly trailing bike. The Mundo wouldn't be able to handle a seatpost mount but I have seen a Mundo hacked to be able to hook up a Burley Piccolo. The Piccolo mounts to a specific rack, creating a much more stable ride, I'd imagine. Dorie, from Hum Of The City uses a Roland+bike on the back of their Bullitt which attaches similarly to the Piccolo. The Afterburner hooked up easily to the Bullitt's seatpost. Since it's a pretty beefy seatpost, I had to do a bit of adjusting but it is literally just two standard allen bolts and a quick release. Within a few minutes, we were ready to ride. I was surprised that it didn't feel too weird to have an additional 5' and 50ish pounds trailing behind me. I wouldn't necessarily say that Big Brother's pedaling made much of a difference, it felt like it offset the weight of the set-up and its drag. However, I would stopped pedaling a few times to see if he could push us and we kept moving! He was having such a great time! I wanted to test the Afterburner out on a standard bike to see how differently it handled from being on the Bullitt. Today, we rode out on my touring bike, Oscar. If anything, Big Brother's movements were more pronounced with the lighter bike. I noticed that as we would ride, I'd need to do a bit of extra steering to counter his movements. It was a bit unnerving when we were passed by cars. It wasn't scary but we were more wobbly than usual. He was able to pedal the two of us much easier and wanted to do all the work.
I really enjoyed being able to help him get more exercise than he does in the cargo bike and it was much easier than letting him ride on his own in areas that didn't have very good bike infrastructure. I think that with a little more practice, I'd get used to the extra movement. It was great to have some extra space in the Bullitt box, too. Big Brother was really happy to be able to pedal and ride routes that I won't let him, yet. On the other hand, the quick release kept hitting against my legs (more so on the Bullitt than Oscar) and I could see how the wobbliness from bike's design could cause problems. It was just a bit worse than when the boys get really rambunctious on the Mundo but if you're not used to it or prepared, even just a little added excitement from your co-pilot could send you well off your intended path. Overall, the trail-a-bike felt solidly built on it's own. I think that if it had higher gears, Big Brother's pedaling would be a bigger help. I really like the idea of having an interim solution to allow the boys to ride but still be connected to my bike (and my riding decisions). I look forward to doing some more testing with the Afterburner and probably try it out on a couple more bikes to get a good feel for how it changes the handling. If we end up liking this set-up, I think we'd go for a Piccolo instead. I can see having a trail-a-bike as a good option for days that my dad might go pick Big Brother up from school or trips with just one child (Little Brother would still need to wait a few years, unless we went with a Weehoo) and not have to deal with a big cargo bike. It's a great idea for longer rides where kiddo still wants to pedal but you don't want to be tied into having to go at their pace or distance. You might think that Californians don't know how to dress for Winter. You're probably right. In fact, you can tell that rain is in the forecast by the number of college students wearing Uggs with their jeans. People here think hoodies are appropriate rain jackets. I always feel silly when we start complaining about Sacramento Winters. I know it's nothing like the real Winters that actually snow and people have to worry about their brake cables freezing and whether the bike lanes have been plowed. Still, it's pretty darn cold for us. This week marks the first real cold spell and it's quite a drop from what we've been dealing with so far. I keep worrying that we're not adequately prepared for the weather but I have to keep reminding myself that we managed to live through last year, our first winter without a car. To be honest, it wasn't even that bad. The mornings and evenings were cold and foggy, the wind sucked, and the rain was sparse. As long as we had lots of layers and lots of lights, we were fine. The boys did have snowsuits that I made them wear once or twice but they hated them. I'm hoping that the suits still fit but I haven't made them try them on, yet. This year, since we have the Bullitt, I'm ordering a rain cover from Blaq design. They make incredibly beautiful weather covers. This will give us just a bit more flexibility and comfort on the really cold and/or rainy days. When they boys are in the Bullitt, it's pretty easy to just cover them with blankets. In the rain, we cover the blankets with ponchos (at least until we can get the cover). On the Mundo, lots of layers for cold and rain gear for rain. Yep, it's that simple. One added change this year is Big Brother's solo biking. I want to let him ride on his own as much as possible and so far, it's working well. We ordered his Isla bike with fenders so he could splash through puddles. For added visibility, he now has a great set of Planet Bike lights front and rear as well as a new spiffy Ikea reflective vest ($2.99!). For myself, it's a little trickier. I'm trying to Portlandize by wardrobe by adding wool for warmth and rain protection. My SmartWool tights failed at the seams after a couple weeks of riding, they just didn't have enough give. The Muk Luks were 50-50, literally--one pair arrived almost unraveled but the other pair has held strong and is super soft. I have one other pair of fleece-lined Xhilaration tights which are also great even though I got a size too small. They are really thick, very stretchy, and super warm. I tend to over-layer myself so it's a good thing I ride a big bike and can peel things off as I warm up. I usually go with two sets of gloves and socks, thermals under my pants, and many layers of tops. I wish I had more sweaters to replace the 5-6 shirts I end up wearing so I'll probably need to visit the thrift shop soon. The only other thing I make sure to bring is a long scarf that I can wrap around my face, cover my ears, and warm my neck. Finally, we finish our Winter-biking prep by decking the bikes with lots of lights. Last year, we go a couple of battery powered strands of outdoor holiday lights. I broke them eventually, of course, so I plan to get another set and take better care of them. I feel better about going into Winter having experienced one car-free already. I assume that we'll learn new tricks, have some miserable rides, enjoy the crisp air, and suddenly be surprised that Spring shows up again. You couldn't pay me to put away our bikes for three whole months! Here we go!!!
Continuing with our monthly Kidical Mass rides, November was our cargo bike food bank run to support Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. We got a few bins to place around the downtown area and asked participants to bring a donation. Unfortunately, the bins didn't get much attention, however, our riders certainly made up for it! We met up in front of Practical Cycle and took advantage of their great big grassy area across the street. Our friend, Jarrod of 8legs2wheels.com, showed up with coffee that had been donated from Old Soul. People started trickling over, meeting one another, and checking out some of the awesome rigs. Monica, of Carsick Designs, got some great photos of some of the individual cargo bikes and the ride that you can view here. Just before we headed off, I climbed up my Mundo and did our guideline rundown:
Our ride was an easy 2.7 miles through downtown to Edible Pedal, where the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services' truck would come pick up the donations. We stopped a couple of times to gather everyone back up after getting spaced out between red lights, but everything went smoothly. We collected 3 big bins of food and warm clothing! I think this is going to become a regular event and we already have begun figuring out ways to increase and improve the ride. I realized too late that it would be good to bring a bin to our local food co-op to gather donations and hand out flyers. We would also continue the ride all the way to the food bank next time. More advertising and outreach is needed to fill the bins ahead of time, as well. After the ride, Little Brother hitched a ride home in Neil's Nihola and we learned that a trike with reachable wheels is not a good idea for children as curious as him. He did have a blast and only minimally terrorized his little friend. It was a beautiful day for a ride and so much fun to meet so many new family bikers and catch up with our friends. If anything, the huge increase in ridership from these last two rides shows that Sacramento is a prime location for family biking and these rides are both needed and wanted. As long as we can grow comfortably and in control, our Kidical Mass rides are going to be quickly established into Sacramento biking culture (which will hopefully lead to Sacramento general culture, too).
My last post was a photo journal of the quick trip I took to Quebec. While it is an amazing place, I certainly didn't have nearly enough time to thoroughly check it out. The weather was surprisingly lovely--crisp and mostly clear, although the rain picked up on our last evening in town. I walked around a fair amount but since we only had one free day during the conference, I was pretty limited. I did manage to reach a fellow cargo biker (car-free, in fact!) through the (R)evolutions Per Minute FaceBook page but because he was farther out of town than my schedule would allow for, I wasn't able to meet up with him and his locally built bakfiets. I did manage to find the bike shop that people had recommended, Velos Roy-O, but alas, it was closed on Sundays! I had to settle for watching longingly at all the riders going by. Now that I'm back home and almost back to the land of the living with all the illnesses that have been raging around the family, I'm ready to get back to my bike(s)! Today, there was a forecast of about 70-90% chance of rain and in typical Sacramento fashion, nothing materialized except a few tiny sprinkles. The boys were waiting for rain with their raincoats that proved to be totally useless today. At least we're ready when it finally happens (hopefully...). We still don't have a rain cover for the Bullitt and I think I'm just trying to see how long we can go without it. I know that I'll be kicking myself in a month or two, though. However, last year, we did just fine with the boys on the Mundo in rain gear. The little guys each rode their own bikes to Big Brother's school while I jogged and walked alongside them on the sidewalk. I was so proud of Big Brother when he stopped before a driveway and waited for me because the truck parked in it was idling. Little Brother, being Little Brother and only 2.5 years old, is more of a challenge to keep in control. It's great when they ride together because Big Brother is a great teacher and really helps to set a good example. An update on the Tour de Whine & Chocolate: we changed cell phone carriers to Credo, a company known for progressive activism and happens to offer unlimited data for on-the-go website updates. Also, a hugely exciting development, we got two new sleeping bags for the kiddos! Deuter offers two amazing kids' sleeping bags: Little Star for Little Brother-sized children and Starlight for Big Brother-sized ones. These bags are each over a pound lighter than the adult-sized bags we've been packing for the kids and much, much smaller when rolled up. The bags both have an extra panel that extends as the children grow but for now, provides extra toe warmth. The boys are thrilled to each have their own special bag and I am really excited about giving the bags their first test run soon. Since the weather has finally shifted and although it's staying relatively warm during the day, nighttime falls to about 35-40 degrees. I'm wondering if a cabin or KOA would be a good way to go. Also necessary for winter will be a sleeping pad for extra insulation. In the warmer months, we got by with just letting the boys sleep on the ground since they're small and don't wake up stiff like us old folks. I need to start thinking about our next bike overnight as it's been too long since our last one. My goal is to start hitting some of the hills around town (ha!) with the bike loaded down to start getting the strength needed for longer days with real hills. Good thing we have a few days off next week! As long as we stay healthy, I think we'll be on the road.
If you've been reading lately, you'll know how excited I've been about our custom Carsick Designs panniers for the Mundo. I've been struggling with the Yuba bags for quite awhile because the Peanut Shell on the back keeps us from using the Go-Getters and the Baguettes have never quite fit for us, either (plus we had to warranty the first set due to problems with the seams, buckles, and pockets). My new set have been sitting in the shed since I got them because I didn't want to break them again. I first saw Carsick Designs' work years ago at a bike swap and have ever since drooled over their bags but never made the leap into customer-dom. Once I finally got to know Brian and Monica as people, I wanted the bags even more because they're so awesome. To top it all off, my friend Jen has had a beautiful set of hot pink panniers that she got from her hubby for Mother's Day over a year ago and every time we ride together, she has to rub them in my face (totally kidding because she's super nice and would never do that but really, you can't miss those suckers, they're bright!). My frustration with the Mundo's actual cargo caring ability finally reached a head when I was trying to figure out how we would go touring on the Mundo without a good way to carry gear AND the kiddos. I emailed Brian and Monica to ask about making a Freeloader-style sling bag set. We met up at a local coffee shop a few days later, Monica took notes of what I was looking for and Brian mapped it all out using a piece of yellow plastic fabric. I picked my fabric color--safety orange, of course! Just a few days later, I got a message saying that they'd finished a prototype and wanted to see how it fit. We met back up at the coffee shop. Brian got the prototype on, made a few markings and notes here and there, it was already almost perfect! Then, they had to torture me a little more by posting photos of the whole process online. However, about a week later (yesterday), I got the final message: "They're ready, when can you get them?" I wrote back: Tomorrow! So without further ado, here they are! Seriously, I could not be any happier! The bags are well made, incredibly sturdy. The buckles and straps are strong. The long pocket inside has a high-quality, smooth zipper with an overhang of fabric to keep water out of it. Brian also made sure that the zipper started on the side closest to the seatpost so that the Peanut Shell's legs don't get in the way. I would have never thought of that little detail but it shows how much these guys know what they're doing. The bags attach to the deck really well, I loosened the deck a little to slide some of the straps underneath and that will help hold the bags on even better. The side panels are strong mesh with a bungee tie so things don't fall out the sides. There are two grommets in the bottom so water can drain, especially good because I opted to not get any sort of cover (which wouldn't have fit anyway because of the kid seat. The straps can be criss-crossed to hold down really large items (or lap blankets as Stacy does). To top it all off, there is a huge panel of Iluminite fabric (in orange!) to increase our visibility even more. I am in love with these Mondo Slings! By the way, I also got a couple of Carsick Designs's Goodie Bags to keep me fed on our rides (Yeah right, those boys of mine always eat all my food). The only problem is that Jose wants one and I don't want to share. The Mondo Slings cost about $175 for the set and are made by two super nice people here in Sacramento. You can customize the color and fabric, add pockets, and really make them exactly what you're looking for. You can find Brian and Monica by clicking here or on Facebook.
I'll keep you posted on all the fun things I can shove in them--like camping gear, shopping bags, small animals, etc. I finally got around to popping back into Practical Cycle today. I've missed the place and those guys! Little Brother and I dropped Big Brother off at school. BB rode his Fire Bike again today but it had been having problems with chain slippage and the grips had basically melted off. Also, the Mundo's rear brake had stopped working. I bundled it all up and rode down to Old Sac. Little Brother and I got to hang out with Tim and Cassidy while Tim took a few minutes to tighten our bikes back up and get them in good shape again. Big Brother's bike got spiffy new grips and the wheel was adjusted to take up the slack of the chain. Tim even pumped up the Fire Bike's tires as they had gotten a bit low... I also got a chance to check out the new Monkey Bars for the Yuba Mundo. They look really nice and it seems you can adjust the seat to lower it down enough for the shorter riders. It didn't look like I'd have a problem, though. To be honest, I really think that they're a better design than the Hooptie from Xtracycle. I like the cleaner lines and it felt less wobbly than the Xtracycle that was a few bikes over. Now, I'm totally drooling over them. I think it'd be great for our upcoming summer vacation ride--the Tour De Whine and Chocolate (don't try to google it, I'm making it up as I go). We packed up the Fire Bike again and rode back to pick up Big Brother. Little Brother squeezed in a nap along the way. It was so nice to have working brakes again! Big Brother immediately noticed the change in his bike and was thrilled! I almost couldn't keep up with him on the way home. I may have to deflate his tires just a bit...
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