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. 

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! 

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! 

Saturday: Rode to Davis! I chose the Bullitt so our friend, Randy, could take his kids on the Mundo. The ride there was quick and pretty painless, even going across the causeway. I love this ride. It's not very pretty--lots of urban cycling through West Sacramento, stinky highway, noisy cars, and a recent obstacle of Caltran's takeover for a section of the trail. 

Big Brother got squirrley around mile 18 and since we were on the bike trail, I decided to let him move around. It was rough for all of our bottoms and I didn't want him to be too uncomfortable. Little Brother loved cuddling with his big brother. 

When we reached the Farmers' Market, we were greeted by Chris and Jon from Cool Davis with strawberries, pastries, and ice cold water! We even got new tee shirts! It was awesome! 

Plenty of delicious food, fresh fruits and veggies, and playground time followed and created some very exhausted children. It was getting really warm by afternoon--93 degrees. My boys were cozy in the Bullitt and Randy's son quickly passed out in the Peanut Shell. However, his daughter was sitting at the stoker bars and started looking pretty tired. She was resting her head on Randy's back and starting to doze when we decided that we needed to move her into a secure seat--the Bullitt. 

Yep, we had three kiddos in the Bullitt bucket. Little Brother was not happy to have been woken up but after some very loud singing and distractions, he realized that we were the party bike. Fifteen miles with a 120 pound cargo and a slight headwind. It was a good thing they were so cute or I might not have made it. The kids were quite squished but had fun. Everyone was really tired and uncomfortable.  

We made one last stop about 2 miles from home. The little ones were worn out and we didn't want to leave them with grumpy memories about our long adventure. So, we stopped at Suzy Burger for dipped ice creams. That revived everyone to last all the way to home where the sprinklers were waiting. 

Sunday: CycloFemme! Last year's CycloFemme wasn't quite what I was envisioning so this year, I enlisted the help of some awesome ladies. We planned a route that had two sections. The first was a bit easier and the second was more challenging but ended at the Sunflower Drive-In in Fair Oaks--13.1 miles total, each direction. We started with 28 riders, coffee, Doughbot Doughnuts (thank you!!!), and lots of bikes. 

There were some new-to-riding folks, some new-to-the-area folks, little ones on their own bikes, little ones on their parent's bike, and everyone was ready to ride! It was so wonderful to meet such great new friends and catch up with old friends. Everyone cruised at their own pace, ranging from speedy to strolling, whatever was comfortable and fun. 

Our second stop was at William B. Pond. We lost a couple of riders, one due to a bee sting and another to a little bike crash (she's okay). The little ones on their own bikes headed back to meet back up in Fair Oaks while their mama giddily zipped back and forth along the bike trail, kid-free. There were cookies (made by my own mama!), fresh fruits (thanks, Randy, for hitting up the Farmers' Market before the ride!), and more coffee (I was begging folks to drink it up. Next year, we go with cold mimosas!). 

The next 7.9 miles had more rolling hills but we pushed on happily, again at differing comfortable speeds. The last half-mile of pure uphill made the ride even more satisfying and the Sunflower Drive-In even more delicious. 

The way home was a lot harder for me. It was hot again--95 degrees today and even though the ride had more downhill in this direction, we had a headwind again and long stretches of tree-less path. I think the two rides in a row got to me, too. My legs felt like goo. I made it back home in our little break-away group of Jen (kid-free now!), my sister-in-law Eliana, and our new bikey friend Mary. 

I am so grateful to be a part of this great biking community and to be constantly meeting new folks who are already in or just joining the biking fun. I'm already looking forward to start planning CycloFemme 2014 and bringing more people into it so Sacramento CycloFemme can continue to grow and evolve into something huge! 

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. 

Our dear friend Bekah showed up early this morning for an extremely quick visit before she had to hop back on a plane. We had to get to my mom's house to get the car and drive to the airport so of course, we went by bike. She had come straight from work and had all her crew gear, not her usual light-packing job. Thank goodness for that awesome rear rack! The perfect way to start a day--Bekah and bikes! 

Next, my mom and I rode over the Freemont Park for the May Is Bike Month Kick-Off! Cassidy was there showing folks how to replace their car with a bike. I left the Bullitt hanging out there to show how easy it is to replace the family minivan. Our friend Jarrod showed up with his crew on his decked-out Mundo. Big and Little Brothers found the fountain and thoroughly enjoyed it. The Big guy was hand-selected by the Mayor-of-Davis to choose the raffle winners. He also got to throw out a few pairs of socks (although not to me) and to an aspiring Buster Posey, this was heaven! The best part was when he threw raffle ticket and then also threw the prize. What an arm! 

It was a long, busy morning. I knew that Little Brother was going to fall asleep on the way home but didn't realize just HOW cozy he'd be. I ended up leaving him in a shady corner in our backyard for about an hour so he could get a full nap. 

Big Brother told me that he couldn't sleep so I said that he could take a book and rest. A minute later I found him like this: 

My final trip this evening was another 4 miles on the BionX Breezer for a meeting. 11.7 miles total today. I have a ways to go to reach my pledge of 500 but it'll be a fun adventure to get there! 

May is my favorite month! Mother's Day, our anniversary, and my birthday all within a lovely set of 31 days. 

It's also chock full of May Is Bike Month swag! I love May Is Bike Month! Two years ago, I won my beautiful Linus at the Bike Fest (and it just happened to be on my birthday, too). Last year, I reached my pledge of 600 miles by the skin of my teeth and won 3rd place for the most Errand Miles! 

This year's going to be even better than the last! They've even started the Energizer Stations already! However, I need some help. Jose's threatening to drop my Tiny Helmets bike team unless we start racking up some real points. That means, I need as many folks out there who are willing to log miles for our team. I don't care if you pledge 10 miles or 1000, just join our team and log your miles! Our goal is to beat 350 Sacramento's team. I think we can do it. Who's in? Go to www.mayisbikemonth.com and sign up. If you've already joined a team, ditch them and ride with us! You can be a part of your Employer's challenge and still be on our team. Sign up your kids! Both Big Brother and Little Brother pledged 500 miles, who's going to challenge them? They're really competitive. I might even have them challenge each other. That would be pretty funny. 

We're the most fun team, ever! Today, my mini team and I ran off to check out an Energizer Station (although we had the day's location wrong) and then hit up Doughbots for some delicious goodies. Bacon chocolate doughnut and an iced mocha is the best way to start a day (although admittedly probably not the best way to keep a day going). We rode around in the Bullitt together quite a bit, getting used to our new set-up. 

The boys already love it. They are so happy to jump in the box. I still need to get the seat dialed in and add a rear rack. Similarly to the Mundo, once you add two kids to the bike, there's not a huge amount of room for anything else. Adding the Bread Basket to the Mundo was what made it more functional so I'm looking forward to getting a rear rack and adding panniers/bags to even out the load. The Bullitt rides even better with the boys onboard and it's very entertaining to have them up front. 

Oh, and we saw a raccoon today. How awesome are we? 

By the skin of my teeth, I made my May Is Bike Month pledge--600 miles logged! Jose won by 7 miles, Big Brother made it to 470 and won a $20 gift card to Mike's Bikes from the raffle, and Little Brother got to 455. Our Tiny Helmets team was in 81st place out of 395! The boys and I were 3rd, 6th, and 7th out of the top errand miles logged. That was an intense month but super fun! Even today, without a mileage goal to reach, I found myself trying to go the long way home and fit in extra miles. I had to stop myself and remember that I'm taking it easy this month. I still managed to log in 13 miles today running around doing errands and going to the train museum. 

Good news, I got a letter saying that my x-rays came out fine and my foot isn't broken. I think it's going to need a nice trip to the chiropractor as soon as the bruise heals but I'm happy to hear that there isn't more damage. I still am amazed at how lucky I was to come out of that with as little damage as I did. 

Some pretty awesome news: Thoughtful transportation choices can help create healthier populations and more sustainable communities. Internationally renowned transportation expert Todd Litman, director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, will offer insights and new ways of thinking about transportation at two events on Wednesday, June 13. Seating at the evening event is limited--register early. 

Todd happens to be my uncle and an incredible inspiration for healthier transportation planning. He was biking around with his little ones (who have now graduated college) way before it was cool (it is cool, right?). He is a very widely sought after speaker and Sacramento is very lucky to have the opportunity to gain his insight. I am already signed up to go! This is going to fill up quickly, register now! It's free! 

My "mishap" or as I call it "incredibly terrible lack of judgement on my part" has left me with a terrible mood and a yucky looking bruise on the bottom of my foot. Surprisingly, I'm not in a ton of pain which I keep thinking that I should be. The Dr. couldn't tell from the x-rays if anything was broken so she gave me the crutches and told me to act as if it was. I'm not very good at that. The swelling has gone down considerably but the purple is starting to shine through. I am, however, irritable, tired, and really irritable. Also, grumpy. 

I managed to not lose any biking days and rode 1 mile--literally around the block--the first day. Yesterday, I had a couple of bike trips adding up to 13 miles, including one where I hauled all my event supplies (including EZ-up canopy) across town. It's amazing to have a bike so comfortable and practical that I can do all that, even when I'm not in tip-top shape. 

Today, I was going totally stir-crazy and frustrated about being 50 miles away from my pledge with only two days left of May so I went on a 25 mile ride to Hagan Park with the boys. That was my limit. I definitely feel my foot now. Still pretty sure it's not broken because I can move it just fine and riding actually feels better than walking but that whole "don't overdo it" is ringing more true to me now. At this point, I am really excited about June coming and not riding with the same obsession that I've had this month. 

However, a new goal has come to light after these last two months of constant biking. I want to do a 365 day challenge! I'm excited about the idea of riding every single day for a year and see where it takes me--both literally and figuratively. At this point, it really doesn't seem difficult at all. If I can still get on my bike with a bum foot, there shouldn't be much that can stop me. My one hiccup is that I have a couple of overseas trips that I am taking this year and that got me thinking about how I would travel (especially by train or plane) with a bike. Amtrak doesn't allow cargo bikes which makes things difficult but an airplane is a totally different story. Packaging up a bike, paying insane charges, then putting it all back together at the airport is a bit beyond my abilities. I started perusing the bike section of Craigslist.org (which I actually do anyway, even when I'm not actively "looking" for a bike) and came across an awesome little folder--the Mobic. It is very reasonably priced and made here in California. They had some "demo" bikes available with some extra accessories and I got in touch with them immediately. I was set up to do a test ride this weekend but Michael's wife's water broke so we are rescheduling for next week. I love that the bike has some great components and folds easily. My folks ride Bike Fridays but they are well out of my price range. The reviews on the Mobic are pretty great and from my discussions with Michael, the founder and CEO, they are on par with Brompton and Bike Friday. It would be pretty great to have a little bike to go with my big bike. As my dad says "the formula for the number of bikes a person should own is n+1, n being the number of bikes the person already owns." I'm pretty sure that for all you bike lovers out there, there is always that "one other" bike that you are just dying to have. 

Anyway, enough drooling, I am very excited about having a new challenge to face and I plan on setting up some goals for the year--less about mileage and more about destinations and activities that I can go to/do by bike. I'm planning some more camping trips and explorations around the Sacramento area, really looking forward to doing some vacation/travel biking (hopefully on a nifty wee folder, maybe), and working on getting more car trips turned into bike trips. 

Also, if you're in the Sacramento area, it looks like next week the Mundo and I (with the wee ones if they cooperate) will be featured on News10 at 9 am! We're part of a section on the Cool California Challenge and they want us to talk about what we're doing to reduce our carbon footprint and how we're managing to lessen our car-dependence. Nervous! I think I'll let the Mundo do most of the talking. And Big Brother. They're really great at getting all the attention. 

I've been meaning to write this post for a while. A couple of things this weekend decided that it was time for me to do so. 

The first incident was when we were setting off on our Folsom trip and happened upon the scene of a recent, gnarly crash. Five roadies on one side of the trail, one down in agony and on the other side of the trail, a mother with her children still standing in the lane, a very dangerous place to be as it's on a blind corner right after a steep decline. We pulled off the road to see if we could offer support. Road rash galore. I went though my bag for some Neosporin and tissues. It was all I could really offer but was surprised that his riding group didn't have anything in terms of a first aid kit between the group. They were standing there waiting for the downed rider to make a decision as the whether he could get back on his bike or not. He was clearly slipping into an injury fog as the adrenaline of the crash was wearing off. I kept encouraging them to call someone to pick him up and they kept looking at him for direction. Finally, we headed back on our way as they were realizing the severity of the situation. This was an older gentleman who was clearly not capable of getting back on the bike (not that anyone probably should after an accident like that) and it was amazing to me that there was a distinct lack of knowledge about what to do in this situation. I'm definitely not an expert but I've taken first aid courses in the past. The truly reaffirmed my belief that a first aid kit and instruction booklet should be standard cargo in your biking bag. We all know not to leave the house without a patch kit, why do we forget about a patch kit for people? 

Some ideas for your kit:

• Bandages in various sizes
  
• Gauge pads
• Gauze wrap
• Bandage tape
• Antiseptic
• Hand sanitizer
• Benadryl/antihistamine 
• Styptic pencil/blod clotter
• Rubber gloves
• Handkerchief
• Rescue Remedy (homeopathic stress/trauma relief)
• Arnica (topical pain relief)

Or, a pre-made fancy one here and a simple one here. 

I'm guessing that one of the kids of the family had swerved into the other lane causing the roadie to swerve and slide out. Ouch! The mother was riding with a kid in a seat on the back of the bike, not buckled in and without a helmet. Her other kid was about 7 or 8, riding his own bike, no helmet, shoelaces dangling precariously close to the crankarms/spokes. They were a moving accident waiting to happen. The poster family for the need of Kidical Mass rides to teach families and children how to ride properly and safely, not just on the street but everywhere. Not knowing what actually happened, it is also safe to mention that there are too many bikers on the trail who also think it's their given right to go as fast as possible even though there is a stated speet limit of 15 mph. They seem to forget that families and slow riders also use the paths and plow right through anything not wanting to ruin their cadence. 

The second incident is a bit more painful to talk about. Not necessarily because it hurts that much but because it was caused by a hugh lack of judgement on my part. I wouldn't mind skipping over this completely but since this is part of my experience, you get the low down. 

Recently, I've been trying to teach my dog to run alongside my bike (right, I can hear you all sighing). I wanted to pick up my Linus from my folks' house and thought I would take the dog to the park and then we'd all ride home together. What's the worst that could happen? I ride slowly with him and stop if he gets distracted. What I didn't really take into account is that we'd be going on busier streets than he's used to and he's a pretty skittish dog. My next brainfart involved my choice of footwear: little flats that have a tendency to slip off. Put the two together and we get a dog that jumped in front of the wheel, I went to put my foot out to keep him from running into the wheel, my foot went into the wheel, shoe fell off, and my foot goes around with the spokes and into the fork. I swear I watched my foot fold in half. Somehow, I managed to get my other foot on the ground and we were safely across the busy street. I hobbled back to my car (about a half mile away) and drove home. Rest, ice, elevation, compression (RICE: see how that first aid training came in handy?). 

I have a big, fat swollen foot, funky spoke-shaped bruises, and a possible fracture. They couldn't tell from the x-rays so they have me treating it as if it was and put me on crutches. That's fun. I specifically asked if I could ride my bike and she didn't really say no. It was more like "take it easy." I can do that. This might be a week of drive-way bike rides, unfortunately. I'm at 536 miles out of 600 for the month--3 more days to go. So close! 
So, bike accidents happen to the best of us. Of course, I wouldn't have been as negligent with my kiddos on the bike but you never know what/who is going to cause you to swerve out or crash. The best you can be is well prepared and aware. I wouldn't have such a lackadaisical attitude if it had been one of my children in this position but hopefully, I learned this lesson the hard way so no one else has to. Dogs + sandals + bikes = a bad idea. Staying calm and together helped me enough to get home so I could treat myself as needed. Of course, if it had been worse, like the fellow on the trail who was dripping blood and laying prone in the dirt, other action would have been required. 

I wil be the first to admit that I got too cocky on my bike. I was too comfortable and letting my guard (and common sense) slip. Just as the drivers in cars need to remember that they are driving a deadly weapon and to treat it like one, I let myself get distracted and unsafe. Hopefully, not everyone has to learn to be cautious the hard and painful way but it is important to realize the inherent dangers of the things we do. I am thankful that I didn't hurt anyone else in the process and I am thankful that I didn't do more damage to myself, that could have been pretty ugly. 

I'm sure my next post will be about brushing off oneself after falling down and not getting scared away from riding just because something goes wrong.