New Highs

Hillbilly babies heading off for an evening ice cream run last night. Yum!

If I wait any longer to write this today, I won't feel as awfully tired and gross and you won't get an accurate description of today's adventures. It was awful and gross. We started the day pretty awesomely, however. I biked over to the Oak Park's Farmer's Market, the boys walked since I already had the Mundo loaded up with all my event equipment for the Pinata Festival later in the day. We had arranged to meet up with Erik and Anna, the newest Mundo owners in Sacramento who happened to live nearby. Their shiny orange Mundo showed up and we got a chance hang out. Anna hasn't ridden much lately but trucked over with their two girls like a champ. They've been getting comfortable and getting used to the bike with regular little rides around their neighborhood, without the kids, with one kid, and finally, most recently, with both. I am so impressed at their dedication! The only thing I noticed about the bike is how high the seatpost is. Turns out, they must have gotten an extra long one because it couldn't be lowered any more. I tend to ride with a really high seat because it works for me and I'm pretty comfortable stopping on tiptoe. That's not usually the case for new riders getting the feel for the weight on the bike. I recommended getting a few inches cut off to give them some options. Other than that, they have a really nice set up going on. A breadbasket up front for extra cargo space since the two Peanut Shells take up the back. Maybe a small pannier on each side in between the girls' seats could add more carrying capacity. Unfortunately, I had to leave to my next event and Little Brother was beginning an epic meltdown. I quickly rode home to drop off our yummy strawberries (I promise that this is relevant information for the next part of the story) and then on to the next adventure. 

Yuba Party!!!

On my bike for my booth at the Piñata Festival: stool, 4' table, 7' pull up banner, 2 vinyl banners, 10'x10' EZ-Up Tent, shopping bag full of paperwork, table displays, candy, and globe, gallon of water, regular bike gear (first aid kit, patch kit, etc), gigantic tablecloth, and trifold poster. 

Which turned into...

Today's forecast was a whopping 106 degrees. Yuck. This is where my story gets hairy. It was hot! As you can see, even with the canopy, there wasn't much shade either. And, thanks to my awesome strawberry purchase, I didn't have enough cash for lunch. Strike three. Four hours later and I was melting, hungry, and super tired. Not a good combination. Luckily, there were a few people who braved the heat and stopped to talk with me but overall, it was a lower turnout than it should have been. The piñatas were great and the music was fantastic. Too bad my brain was pudding. At 4pm, I managed to pack everything up in record speed, I'm getting really good at this! Riding home, I swear my eyeballs were about to explode. My brain was pounding and in my head, I kept threatening to punch people that got in my way (it's not pretty but it's the truth). No one actually got in my way, luckily, it was like a ghost town in Sacramento on the first 100+ day (which is actually amazing that it's the first and already mid-June but it takes a few of them for us Sacramentians to get used to the heat again). While I was moving, the breeze kept me fairly comfortable but I wouldn't want to ride like that for very long. Getting home, I was greeted by screaming children and a really yummy berry smoothie. 1000 calories of food, a few minutes nap, and a cool fan (we don't have a/c in our house either) helped me get my wits back. 

I figure, if I can ride like this, I can do anything. It was actually pretty awesome. Have you read the Craigslist "Fixie Don't Care" post? It's pretty funny. Good ol' failed hipster. Read it, you'll laugh. Unless you're a pretentious hipster. Don't be a pretentious hipster. It actually just made me laugh again and just a few hours ago, I was hoping to punch someone. Laughing is good for you. 

Anyway, my whole ride, I kept thinking: Giant cargo load on a scorching day? Mundo don't mind. Screaming kids eating sticky popsicles? Mundo don't mind. This Mundo is pretty cool. Even cooler than the most pretentious hipster's fluffy beard.