Sami's here!

After months of back-and-forth emails and calls filled with plans and ideas, Sami made the trek down south from Bend with baby I. in tow. They took Amtrak down yesterday (they actually left Friday but the train gets into Sac on Saturday morning). In proper Bustamante fashion, despite the early arrival time, I went out by bike to pick them up. 

You might remember Sami and her family from our trip last year up to Negro Bar. She wrote about it recently on another website, Adventure Family In Motion. Obviously, these guys are lots of fun and adventurous and put lots of blind faith in my silly plans. 

I actually love having pick-up duty!

I pulled up to the station right as their train arrived, despite it being 45 minutes early (I had a feeling since it tends to come in early often). Sami and I. were in happy spirits and ready to ride. I. was cozy in the Bullitt and Sami ride the Mobic. It was a clear, quiet morning--a perfect welcome to Sacramento! 

Ooo, reflective eyes! It's all about being visible!

As soon as we got home (about a four mile ride), we had breakfast then immediately started getting ready for Kidical Mass. We were on Doughbot duty and had to be on time. Sami switched over to my mom's Breezer which is a perfect fit for her, and I switched over to my trusty Mundo for the ride. I. came with me in the Peanut Shell and took the place of my boys who had gone with Jose to their grandparents' house. 

Jarrod, of 8legs2wheels, had organized our Kidical Mass ride this month to the Crocker Art Museum. We met up, chatted over coffee, hot cocoa, and Doughbots while checking out some amazing new cargo bikes and made some new friends. 

Keith's homemade bakfiets was stolen a few months ago, eventually to be found again all stripped. This is the replacement that he has started making. Pretty cool! The hole is eventually going to be covered with a canvas panel.

This is Chris's new Cycle Truck--a locally made solid frame long john by John Lucas. This one has an integrated rear rack that is strong enough for a passenger.

The first CETMA that I've seen on a Kidical ride and one of only two that I know of in Sacramento. Gorgeous!

A rapt audience listening to Jarrod go over our Kidcal guidelines.

Bike parking at the Crocker. We packed the house and had to spill over to the poles across the street and around the corner.

After the short ride over to the museum, a fun kid-centered look at a few exhibits, and a delicious lunch, these ladies still had enough energy to head over to Practical Cycle to rent their Burley trailer and pick up a new stylish helmet. We then took the long way home along the American River Parkway! Thankfully, after a 27 mile day, we were all ready for a quiet evening of business discussions. 

However, this morning, we were up again bright and early (thanks, I.!). We didn't waste any time riding back over to the Amtrak station to hop on the next train heading to Davis. We arrived right at final call for boarding and when the conductor saw us rolling up with the trailer, she immediately looked horrified. Thankfully, she kept her composure and asked if the trailer broke down, which we said it did (that way, we could get away with it being considered a stroller). This train route does offer bike roll-on service. The last car (which is where she recommended we go) was empty so we had plenty of room to fill it up. The ride to Davis is only 14 minutes long so we didn't have much time to settle in. 

It only took us a few minutes to roll our bikes and gear back off the train, load up and ride off towards Winters. It was an easy 15 mile ride and I was so happy to be able to show Sami around. Davis has some great bike trails and routes. The last few miles of this trip is along quiet back roads where we saw more bikers than drivers. 

Of course, no trip to Winters is complete without a yummy lunch and coffee at Steady Eddy's!

After some playground time, we rode back to Davis. 

Davis is very well known for being a bike town. One look at the UC campus and you can see why. There are bikes every where, really nice and clear infrastructure, and bike stations all over town (however, the one pump I tried to use was broken). 

There was some more playground time and lots of "concerts" by I. Even though she had already been in the trailer for hours, she was still in great cheerful spirits. 

As we were packing up, I checked the time for the next train--it wasn't for another hour and a half! So even though we were already pretty exhausted, we decided to bike home the final 18 miles. Thankfully, Sami picked up some more food that we enjoyed midway. 

Right as we were riding into Sacramento over the I st. bridge, we heard our train come into the station. We had just a few more miles home and the sun was just going down. It was a 55 mile day. I am beat! Tomorrow will be a much quieter day!