Today was the first day of a new routine in our lives. Two weeks ago, our daycare provider told me that she was closing on the 28th. My heart sunk as I started researching new daycares and preschools, I realized that we couldn't afford my job at Practical Cycle anymore. Turns out, we had been paying about 1/4 of what standard places charge and there was no way for us to balance out a regular job with the cost of child care. So, as of yesterday, I'm back to being a stay-at-home mom for the first time in a year. 

On top of this big transition in our lives, Big Brother's new school make for a crazy juggling schedule, Jose's new evening classes mean I'm in charge of all night-time duties four days a week, and my folks left town for the next month and a half so we've got easy access to a car (and a cat) for that time. It all makes for a whirlwind of emotions and activities. However, great change brings about new opportunities and right now, I feel like there are many out there for me. There will be more time for me to plan bike trips, more time for writing, and most importantly, more time to spend with my family. 

While I am really going to miss my Practical Cycle family, I am looking forward to being able to still be a part of the shop in different ways. I've learned so much about bikes and bike shops from these guys, I am so grateful for the experience they've given me this past year. 

I also have some contracted days with the Safe Routes To School program in one of the local school districts and Sacramento Kidical Mass is gearing up to be a regularly scheduled ride each 4th Saturday of the month. 

Finally, bike overnights are coming back into our lives! We're starting up by squeezing one into August so we don't miss another month. This next one is going to be a doozy! Wish us luck! The boys and I head out tomorrow...

Today was Big Brother's first day of Transitional Kindergarten. I can't believe how lucky we got when we found his school. It's a Spanish immersion program charter school that is less than a mile away from our house. The kindergarten lottery kept getting larger and larger, without increasing their enrollment. We found out they were starting a transitional kindergarten for 4-5 year olds and since Big Brother wasn't ready for kindergarten yet, I jumped at the chance. He was automatically accepted into the school and, therefore, is set for the next 9 years (so is Little Brother, too!). I am thrilled. 

In perfect Bustamante fashion, we loaded up our bikes this morning: myself on the BionX, Jose and Little Brother on the Bullitt, and Big Brother on his Fire Bike (a Specialized Hot Rod, 16" bike I got at a garage sale for $10--score!!). 

Before I get into how awesome Big Brother's school is and how much he learned today (in the 3.5 hours he was there), I'm going to rant about kids' bike options. 

You may recall that Big Brother had been rocking the Cupcake Bike previously. That was a 12" Performance bike that we were borrowing from a friend because the Fire Bike was too big for him. It was the perfect bike for him to learn on because it was small enough for him to control. It was awesome to see him move from the Strider to a pedal bike so quickly. Now that he's been growing a bit and getting more comfortable with riding, we wanted to test him out on the Fire Bike. Big Brother was a bit nervous at first because he could only put the tips of his toes on the ground but after a few rides, he was fine with it and very excited to be on his "big boy bike." 

However, now that I've been watching him ride, I'm noticing that this bike doesn't fit him any better. In fact, I think the Cupcake Bike might still be a better fit (even though it's about 15 lbs heavier and smaller). The Fire Bike may have bigger wheels but the frame geometry is ridiculous. The handlebars come up really high so they're either pinned against his chest or they're like ape-hangers. There is no way to adjust the handlebars so that he has secure control of his bike. The other big issue is that the crankarms for his Fire Bike are the exact same as the Cupcake Bike. This means that even though he is on tiptoe when he's stopped, he still can't get a full leg extension when he's riding. His knees are just as cramped as ever. 

Of course, none of this bothers Big Brother. He just cares that his bike is awesome and he's riding it like Mark Cavendish. I know that he's going to grow through bikes like crazy and it's a toss-up between getting something that's functional and not breaking the bank every year or two. I would be happy to invest in a light, easy to control kids' bike that he'll feel comfortable riding. Looking into Isla Bikes just might be the perfect answer. They have a wide array of sizes and some great looking bikes. Even their balance bike has a hand brake! I think I'm in love. 

As per Isla Bikes website:

Definitely something I'm going to be looking into. Look at these faces, how could I not want the best for them? Also, I hear that Isla Bikes also has a trade-up program. These guys know their market--us--serious biking families who can see quality as value! 

After dropping the big guy off at school, I rode to Practical Cycle for work while the remaining boy stayed home with Jose because he had a cough. I was so glad to have had the BionX today as riding home in this hot, muggy weather was no fun. Although, coming home to hear Big Brother recite Oso, Oso, Que Ves Ahi was the best ending to the day. He's been really hesitant about embracing Spanish and after one half-day at school, he's beaming and showing off his new language skills! (BTW, did you know that kids who walk or ride to school perform better?) 

Yesterday was pretty exciting with our Kidical Mass ride success! Today was more nerve-wracking as it was my first attempt at public speaking in a conference setting. I felt so "official" with my SPEAKER ribbon and getting to hang out with the real advocacy and program leaders like Jessica Roberts and Shane MacRhodes. Our panel was called Family Bicycling: Empowering Tomorrow's Leaders. 

I was really excited to be a part of this great group and after the breakout sessions I attended yesterday, I was feeling pretty okay about the whole thing. I even had powerpoint slides to help my along. If all else failed, pictures of my adorable kids would help distract them from my blabbering. I tried doing a run-through with my mom and bumbled the entire thing so I decided to take some notes with me.

After listening to Shane and Peter talk about their successful Kidical Mass and Bike Fest programs, I got up and talked about our own family journey to car-freedom. There was only one guy in the audience who was obviously flabbergasted about the idea of NOT having a car (although he also treated the presentations as his own personal conversation). It was great to have some friendly and familiar faces in the crowd, too. Afterwards, a couple from Arcata asked to take a photo of me with my website slide behind us so they could post it on their Kidical Mass page. 

Overall, I think it went well. We all had fun topics to talk about and cute pictures of kids on bikes. The conference was a blast. I got to meet so many wonderful people doing incredible things to help the walkability and bikeability of their local communities. One woman, Elizabeth, from Turlock was there on her own to learn about the best ways to implement Safe Routes curriculum and practices. Her family is the only car-free family in their town! Another guy from San Fran was excited to start planning how he could continue being car-free when he and his fiancee start having kids. I had to point him on to Hum Of The City, of course. I hope to be able to continue learning from these folks and sharing our experience. This is the future of transportation, whether you know it or not (you all know it, of course). I feel so lucky to be a part of this greater movement. 

I finally got to spend some real time at the 4th annual Safe Routes To School conference today. I was a bit nervous about leading the Kidical Mass ride with real people in the industry. I always feel like such an impostor. I just ride a bike, I don't make policy changes or anything important. However, finally meeting Shane MacRhodes of Eugene Kidical Mass, helped put me at ease. Having an expert help organize the ride was fantastic. He even brought unique spokecards for everyone! 

I had already ridden my planned route multiple times in the last couple of days and made a few changes here and there. There was heavier traffic than I would normally plan for a Kidical Mass ride but because the conference is at the Sheraton Grand, we didn't have much choice other than Downtown Sacramento. We already had about 30 people signed up for the ride so I knew that we'd be big enough to have a presence on the larger roads which were mostly multi-lane one-way. The areas that didn't have bike lanes still had sharrows and bicycles were pretty common vehicles on these routes. Our riders were almost all adults and the few kids were all riding on their big buddy's bike (in various forms). 

Our route was 13th st. to T st. (which is usually lovely but it was garbage day...), 10th street led us by the Capitol--where the bike lane disappears and is replaced by sharrows. J street was the biggest and busiest road we were on and the bike lane is pretty useless but it was just for a couple of blocks and we were fine. 

We ended up with about 30 riders total, including some locals and a few kidicals. We had a great variety of cargo bikes including my Bullitt, Shane's longtail Bike Friday, Mina's Madsen, Jen's Yuba, a homemade bakfiets, a demo Yuba Lux with Monkey Bars, a couple Boda Bodas, and Grandpa Greg with his grandson on the trail-a-bike (4th grandkid to pedal that ride!). There were also a few "regular" Bike Fridays, a Brompton, and a handful of Practical Cycles's rental fleet that had been donated to the conference this week. 

After a quick informative intro and ride briefing from Shane, we pulled out into traffic. We followed all traffic laws with me as leader and Shane as sweeper. Every so often, I'd hear on the walkie-talkie "hold up ahead" from Shane and we'd pull over where it was safe to allow the rest of the group to catch up. No one gets left behind on a Kidical Mass ride!

It was an easy but thorough 3 miles around downtown. We made one longer stop at the Capitol for a quick photo op and fortune cookie (thanks, Elena!) snack. As we got back to the hotel, some of the riders broke off to the Farmer's Market a few blocks away. The rest of us closed the ride with a visit to POPcycle (I had garden mint chip--amazing! Thanks, dad!). Rachel had pedaled the POPcycle down to peddle her homemade gourmet ice cream pops. Yummy! It was the best way to close out a fun but warm afternoon ride. 

After the ride, I sat in on one of the breakout sessions--Fleets and Geeks--to learn about bike education and bike fleet options. It really helped me get more excited about the breakout session that I get to be a part of tomorrow morning--Family Bicycling: Empowering Tomorrow's Leaders. I'm having a great time absorbing all the expertise from these folks who are very involved in all the planning and implementing of these great programs to get safer streets for all. I am so inspired to bring some of these wonderful ideas into our future Kidical Mass rides. 

More cargo biking fun!

On Friday, we drove down to Stockton to have an awesome day with our besties. Totally worth driving! The boys were asleep within a few minutes of driving home and stayed asleep for the rest of the night. We didn't bike much that day but it was fun and full nonetheless. 

We made up for all the driving on Saturday when we first stopped at our neighborhood farmers' market then got ready to go camping in our friend's backyard across town. I chose the Mundo because I needed to carry more bulky stuff than the Bullitt can handle and because the roads are pretty crazy for part of the route and the Mundo is often more maneuverable and narrower in tight places.  

Our friends, Jen and her son, joined us on their Mundo. Jen had mapped out an awesome route through the neighborhoods and nearly skipped past all the busy arterials. It was so much nicer than the other times I'd ridden up. We had shade, quiet streets, and great conversations. Riding to go camping is fun but it's even more fun with friends. 

Camping was so much fun! The boys ran around like crazy--it was the best yaya time, ever! 

We rode home this morning, again with our Mundo buddies. It was nice and cool and quiet. The one section on Watt Ave. is horrible, as always but we were soon on the American River Parkway. There's some weird construction about to happen but I don't know what's going on. From what I can tell, there's a good chance that the Watt exit is going to be closed for a long chunk of time. That's going to be pretty annoying for many riders if there's not an easy alternative. If anyone has some info, I'd love to hear it. 

It was a 12 mile ride home. Little Brother had conked out within a mile but woke up midway to join in the big boys' conversations. When we got back, Big Brother actually asked to take a nap. They were asleep in minutes and stayed asleep for three hours. 

I had to get ready for our evening Kidical Mass ride and it was almost impossible for me to wake up from my own cat nap. Luckily, our friends were coming by to ride with us and use the Mundo. That was the push I needed to drag myself up and get a move on. 

Little Brother was the only one who was awake so he was the lucky one to join us. There was no way for me to wake up the big guy so we left him behind with papa. 

There were 20 riders at Kidical Mass! We started with a picnic dinner then a short ride along the parkway and into Old Town. From there, everyone broke into smaller groups to head to their respective homes. 

It was the best way to get reenergized for the coming week. It was an incredibly busy weekend but was so full of friends, biking, and fun that I couldn't think of a better way to spend my free time. 

The very best part of the whole weekend was coming home to my cheery big boy and watching him do this: 

I am so proud of this boy! 

Davis ride tomorrow! We're leaving from Grant Park (22nd and C st) at 8:30am--sharp! The Cool Davis team is going to meet us there with refreshments and t-shirts. Then, we'll hit the Farmers Market for goodies. If you want to stay longer, Whole Earth Festival is also happening. 

Sunday is Cyclofemme! For more info: www.facebook.com/events/465273203563939/ It's the perfect way to spend Mother's Day! 

May's Kidical Mass ride is on May 26th at 5pm. We'll meet at Discovery Park near the archery field for a BYO picnic followed by a family-friendly loop on the American River Parkway. 

I took the boys out to REI this evening to get some sunglasses to prepare for the rides this weekend. I want to figure our a way to create some shade for the Bullitt and am totally up for some suggestions. I don't have the rain cover and would prefer to not spend $300 until the bike is at least paid off (in about 2 months...way better than a car!). I would also prefer not to drill into the box too much, it's still so new. Although, Little Brother did spill half a cup of icee in it when we stopped to chat with friends at a little league game. 

Last night, Practical Cycle was thrilled to host Elly Blue, Joe Biel, and Joshua Ploeg on their Dinner and Bikes tour. Joshua provided the amazingly tasty vegan gourmet dinner. Joe showed the very first public screening of his documentary, Aftermass. Elly contributed with reports of her recent trip to the National Bike Summet. They brought their traveling bookstore, too. I got one of Joe's cargo bike shirts--"One Less Truck" and Elly was so lovely to give me a copy of her book, Childhood, that has some of my favorite folks contributing their personal stories (Kath and Sarah!). I loved that the group stays true to their principles and tour around the country using multi-modal transportation--Amtrak and bikes, of course. Most people arrived to the event by bike, as well. I even got a chance to play chauffeur and take Joshua home on the back of the Mundo while Elly and Joe rode their Bromptons. 

It is aways fantastic to meet members of the greater biking community, especially ones who are really getting out to make a change. One of the things that stuck me from Joe's movie was the parallels between how the Dutch got their bike lanes and the struggles that the Critical Mass riders went through before Portland became the true biking city that it is today. Everyone always assumes that the Neatherlands' bikeways were just always a part of their lives. In reality, after WWII, the Neatherlands took a turn towards an auto-centric transportation mode, making it more and more difficult to walk and bike. The number of deaths skyrocketed, especially among children, so people took to the streets in protest. The bike tracks didn't just magically appear for the Dutch, the public realized that the way the cars were taking over was disastrous and deadly so they put a stop to it. You can learn more from this video below. 

Obviously, even Portland has a long way to go before their bike system can be on par with the Neatherlands but at least they are on their way. It is interesting to me that as the narrator begins to describe the bikeways of yesteryear, he is actually describing Sacramento's current state of bike paths--"narrow, of poor surface, dangerous or even absent at junctions, and not connected." 

What really resonated with me was the realization that things don't change unless people take to the streets to demand action. As Gandhi said, "be the change you want to see in the world." I do see our tiny little biking family as part of the greater shift towards a more sustainable system. While we may not be as visible as Critical Mass, we are still making our peaceful waves in the community. (Speaking of Critical Mass, join our family-friendly Kidical Mass ride this Saturday: https://www.facebook.com/events/341588125941208/ We're going to be a part of the Saint Paddy's Day Parade in Old Town!).

A huge thank you to everyone who came out and stayed up past their bedtimes, to Practical Cycle for donating the space, and to the Dinner And Bikes crew for putting on such a great event! If you find them coming to a location near you, go! 

Nicole's Bread Basket liner (take 2) arrived a few days ago and it's even more beautiful and functional than I could have imagined! The bright orangey oranges and gingham sure brighten my mood every time I see it! It is so wonderful to be able to throw anything into the basket, even small things like my phone or keys. There are two handy pockets for organizing little items and a cup holder. The Mundo has become an even better cargo carrier. Thanks, Nicole! You're amazing! 

We got behind on scheduling a Kidical Mass ride for February but tried to throw together a last-minute ride from one park to another. It turned out to be too last-minute and no one except our friend Jen showed up. It was a terribly windy day so we ended up just staying at the first park and having a great time. We both ran into a bunch of friends while we were there. It was more playtime than ride but I think everyone was pretty happy with that. 

Jen also loaned us her juicer to try out. I watched "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," a very compelling documentary about juice cleanses. Although it's not necessarily something I would do completely, adding more veggies into our diet sounds like a great plan. This is day 3 of substituting a few of our processed meals for slimy juice (although the boys are eating their normal food). I've learned that you can't just throw anything into a juicer and expect it to taste good, in fact, my first few attempts were pretty gnarly. It also takes a lot of prep time and clean up. I've gotten better though. We're still eating food, too, but trying to make sure it's simple and healthy. So far, it's been pretty good. Today was rough because I didn't get a chance to make as much juice as I wanted so by the end of the day, I was starving. Queue the rapid binge. This isn't a diet so I'm not worried. I just want to try to clean up our meals and focus on a more plant-based life. Considering I've probably never eaten this many varied veggies and so few sugars and processed grains, I feel we're doing pretty darn well. 

Finally, don't forget that we have some awesome events coming up! March 3rd is Practical Cycle's third birthday! We're going to have cake and sparkling cider to celebrate at 3pm (of course). Elly Blue and crew are coming to Practical Cycle for Bikes and Dinner on March 13th from 7pm-10pm. A yummy vegan dinner buffet, Aftermass showing, and Elly's radness--all for just $20! Our family camping trip is March 23rd-24th--riding about 30 miles to the group site at Negro Bar for a fun biking overnight ($25 per family). Please contact me if you are interested in any of these fun bikey activities. 

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. 

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. 

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!  

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. 

A beautiful but warm Fall day for our October ride this afternoon. We met at Grant Park in Midtown, a nicely centralized location for many families. Kate rode over in her super cool Pirate Ship Mundo while I had finally given up on trying to decorate my bike. The boys were cute cowboys at least.

The kids loved running around and playing in the playground. They loved the pinata that Kate made even more! After they were all properly hopped up on sugar, we loaded up the bikes and took our parade around the neighborhood.

We ended up blasting up the one hill in Sacramento to get to Sutter's Landing where they were holding a fundraiser to rebuild McKinley Park. The playground was destroyed by a fire a few months ago. SABA had their bike valet booth all ready for us. They actually haul the entire setup with their Bikes At Work trailer! There were local bands rocking out and food trucks galore! Yum!

My boys were properly exhausted after all the excitement and garlic sweet potato fries. I love meeting up for our regular rides and catching up with/meeting so many great biking families! We can learn so much from each other while supporting family cycling safely.

Join us next month!