Last night I sent my mom a text: "Can I have the car? I have a home visit in The Pocket." That was going to be my plan as I was tired, still feeling sick, the BionX wasn't charged enough, and it would be a 15+ mile trip into an area I'm not really used to riding in. 

However, by morning, I realized those were all pretty pathetic excuses. If I was really going to reach my goals of not driving and getting more exercise, I had to make an effort and push myself. Luckily, the boys got me out of bed at 7 am, giving me enough time to get the bike out and plug it in for a few hours to top off the battery. I tried to give myself extra time to account for my inevitably getting lost but I just couldn't get out the door that easily. 

The route was pretty simple, riding along the Riverside bike lane. Once I got into the Pocket area, it was more complicated trying to follow a twisted maze of paths through a park. Luckily, I had my iPhone handy and was able to save myself from too much backtracking. 

I showed up to my appointment about 10 minutes late but not sweaty or stressed (I had averaged about 14-16 mph the whole way but did get lost quite a few times). The best part was arriving in such a great mood. 

Going home was much easier because I was more confident in the route. The park was much easier to navigate and it led me right up to the Sacramento River Parkway. Sadly, the Sacramento River Parkway is frequently blocked from private residences' illegal fences. South Sacramento is missing out on what could be an amazing biking resource like the American River Parkway. Hopefully, with all the work that the Sacramento River Parkway Coalition is doing and the recent positive political actions, this could be up and running in the next few years. 

Got home and immediately loaded up the kids onto the Mundo to meet family in midtown for lunch. I was so happy to have been able to do a long bike ride quickly but not end up exhausted and be able to function for the rest of the day. Even though I used an electric bike, I was able to eat an awesome grilled cheese with lots of bacon and still have plenty of calories left over to have a full dinner. Some people might say that having an electric bike is cheating. I say that driving is cheating. If I hadn't had the BionX, I would have driven today. I am so happy that I didn't! 

Sometimes I worry that I haven't had enough adventures lately and unfortunately, I have no more to report. It was a quiet weekend. Nice to have after our recent excitement, in some ways. It is comforting to think that our biking is becoming such an everyday experience that it is almost too normal to write about. We had a fantastic Little Loop ride with our friends, the De Kok family, on their gorgeous orange Mundo. The girls are still getting used to their new ride but a treat like going to the zoo makes a bike trip a welcome adventure. It's great to watch a new cargo-biking family grow and enjoy their ride. Notice Erik's awesome Practical Cycle t-shirt! 

My crazy month is upon us. Thirty more students to place and only a few more weeks to do so. It will happen. It's what we do best but it would be nicer if we get these sweet students into their awesome host families sooner rather than later. If you're in the Sacramento area, contact me for program details. It's too much fun to miss out! Big Brother still tells me that he wants to grow up to be a Chinese boy, just like his big brothers in China. I love that my boys are growing up with an international world view and they just love that they get to meet and play with new friends every year. 

The new ice cream bicycler, Rachel, of Pop Cycles stopped by the Farmer's Market while I was there tabeling. She didn't stay long as she was busy with an interview but got shooed off by the Farmer's Market organizer because she hadn't signed up to be a vendor. I didn't get a chance to talk with her or try her already famous ice cream. Next time. I'm sure she'll be getting around this summer. 

Later, the boys left with their papa to go to a birthday party and I was left behind to work. I have to admit, it was nice and quiet and productive. I did get a little fun this weekend meeting with friends to celebrate the impending arrival of a new baby girl. All this fun left me less motivated to ride my bike (as I got a ride with a friend instead). This evening, after the kiddos had returned and were on their way to bed, I finally got on my bike. I rode all the way to the chicken coop across the yard, picked up two fresh eggs and pedaled about 15 strokes to get back to the back of the house. Shortest bike ride ever. It was fantastic! I have some better plans for this week but it was nice to have a "normal" and easy weekend. 

Two of the photos taken for the Sacramento River Parkway Coalition to help take down these awful fences. 

I have since bounced back from last Saturday's heated rant. The last couple of days have been cool and calm. There is much to do for my exchange student group but it is falling together nicely. My rides have been mellow and my children have been perfect (totally biased). 

On Sunday, Kate and I held our first "New and Often Sacramento Kidical Mass." We had talked with Warren, another Sacramento Mundo buddy, who has been organizing the previous Kidical Mass events and thought that if we all worked together, we could extend these rides throughout Sacramento, expand our riders, and make them a regular occurrence. We decided on the third Sunday of each month and we'd take turns planning and setting up the routes. This one started at the Rocket Ship in Southside Park at 2pm, luckily it was not as hot as Saturday but it was pretty toasty. I was worried that no one would show up. Kate pulled up soon after on a different bike than her Mundo and kid-free, lucky her (although also necessary as this is only her second week after surgery)! Shortly after that, a new friend whom I had met the day before at the Farmer's Market, Jarod and his two daughters, rode in on their beater trike that Jarod had modified with seats, footrests, cushions and safety belts in the back for his girls. They were decked out with snack cups, an umbrella, and the coolest sunglasses I'd ever seen. Quite a sight! The trike was a used find from craigslist (as many of the best things are) and has served them well for the past couple of months as they got to know the area. However, they also have an infant son to soon add to the load and the trike is a bike more creaky and unstable than they'd like. Jarod was certainly checking out our set-up on the Mundo, even taking it out for a test ride. I think he's hooked! Next, Sol came riding by with his daughter in a WeeRide Kangeroo child seat. She was as happy as could be! Finally, John, of Cycle Trucks joined us and we were ready to ride! Since I hadn't known if there would be any kids riding on their own, our route stayed at about 2 miles max. We took a trip down T st. to the waterfront and then back up R st. to a frozen yogurt shop. The kids all got a cool treat and a nice ride. Total success, if I do say so myself! I'm already looking forward to the next! Mark your calendars and keep an eye on our Sacramento Kidical Mass Facebook page for upcoming details. Thank you all for joining us and braving the heat!

Monday was an even simpler day. All I had planned was a visit to the Electric Bike Shop on J st. where there was a couple who had ridden electric bikes from New York were planning on stopping by and talking about their adventure. Unfortuantly, we never got a chance to talk with them. The news vans and reporters were there getting their clips and interviews. Then, another reporter or two had to talk. So, an hour and a half later, my boys were melting down too much and we had to leave. I was disappointed because I was curious about their loads and charging needs during the trip. The boys were happy because it meant we could then go to our favorite place--Artbeast! We parked our bikes next to another cargo bike--a Madsen! The only unfortuate part about ArtBeast is its lack of a bike rack. There is only one street sign close by (which the Madesen had stolen) and it takes crawling into a bush to get to. I just locked my bike on the sidewalk, not to anything because I figured my Mundo isn't really something someone can come by and throw into the back of their truck, it's pretty darn heavy. ArtBeast is nice about letting us use their locked side gate but with a bike the size of ours and with our milk crate on the side, it's not as easy to squeeze into tiny spaces. I really think that something as simple as a convinent bike rack in front could be the deciding factor as to whether a family rides there or not. If they see others riding in regularly, they could be inspired or just realize that it is safe enough to do. Midtown is very easy to ride around and has clear bike lanes on many streets, K st. included, where ArtBeast is located. 

That evening, my lovely hubby let me duck out of the house early and head down to the corner coffee shop and focus on some work. I was amazed at what I could do without the wee ones screaming in the background. That quick trip was taken on our new folder--Mr. Mobic. The only downside was that the Mobic doesn't have a rack yet and I had a heavy bag on my back. I was surprised at how much that affected my riding, even just that short amount. I am so used to being able to carry more than I could ever need on my Mundo that I hadn't really thought about needing to pare down for an "appropriate" load. Needless to say, it was an uncomfortable mile even though the Mobic is so easy to ride. I must be a bit spoiled by the Mundo's brute strength. 

Today, the boys and I rode down our usual route to the Train Museum where we were meeting friends. Along the way, I noticed a man crouching down on the other side of the road taking photos. It was a bit weird to me, I assumed he was getting some surveying done for the road or something but as we rode by I hear "clickclickclickclickclick." I must have shot him a weird look because as we passed by he yelled out "I'm with the Sac Bee!" Well, you have to stop for your adoring public, right? He ran across the street and asked us our names and what we were up to. He didn't know if we'd make it into the paper but he gave us a card. We haven't yet gotten a photo in the newspaper so that would be exciting. We did, however, notice a message up on Facebook a few hours later with a link to our photo on the Sac Bee website's "Day In Photos." Not too shabby! We'll see if we create the same feedback as Kate and her infamous "Tim Brown" debacle did. You'll remember that Mr. Brown decided that what Kate was doing (riding a bike designed to appropriately hold children and cargo) was against the law and felt it necessary to reprimand her and demand the immediate stop to such an unthinkable action. This was followed by a wonderful discussion regarding cyclist safety and misconceptions non-riders have of cyclists and their unfounded fears. I don't know if the link to our photo will be up after today so instead I took a screen shot. 

Our final exciting adventure of the last few days was a bike ride out to the Pocket area of Sacramento to do a photo shoot for the Sacramento River Parkway in hopes that we can convince the local government to order the removal of horrible chain-link fences and razor wire that has been put up by homeowners along the levee. Not only is this irresponsible and compromises the levee's efficiency and area's safety in a flood or emergency, it also breaks up the beautiful path to ride down into the Pocket area. This could be another amazing resource for Sacramento cyclists, to keep them safe and to get people more comfortable riding more often. I had never even ridden there before. It was about a 10 mile ride down and we had to keep looking up the directions because the trail would disappear and leave us scrambling for safe roads. We were actually pretty lucky and stayed on streets with bike lanes. Coming back, we were able to stick on the trail for longer. It is an incredible difference from riding on the streets (even with bike lanes) to riding on a car-free path--the peacefulness, the safety, the scenery, the relaxation--this is how everyone should feel while cycling. If this levee path can be completed, we could be unstoppable--almost literally as they are hoping to connect it all the way to Martinez and from there, possibly even to Berkeley! It would even make a ton of sense for drivers as they wouldn't have to deal with as many of us "getting in their way."