The Popemobile!

Happy New Year! Off to a great start by getting around to finishing a project that I had started months ago. Since we're finally getting some rain in Sacramento, it was about time! Now, I can't take any credit for this brilliant hack, one of the awesome folks on the Haul-a-Day Facebook page posted her photos. I love having an online community of family/cargo bikers. 

I'm not very handy so thankfully, this was a pretty easy project and I had some great help. The hardest part was waiting for the hardware store to get enough u-bolts in stock. I used 4 pieces of metal pipe cut to about 6" long (which I then had cut down even more so there wouldn't be a lot of extra pipe hanging down, 4 u-bolts, and a Weehoo canopy. The hardware cost less than $10 and the canopy was on sale for about $40. 

The good folks at ACE Hardware in midtown cut down the pipe and sanded down the edges as best they could. My friend Neil drilled the holes in the pipe to match up with the u-bolts. 

On my first try, I had the extra tubing pointed up and wrapped it with electrical tape to cover any sharp edges. The tape made the tube too thick for the Weehoo mounts so I had to take it all off again. 

I added the zip-tie for good measure and because zip-ties are awesome.

The canopy has an open back because it fits over the Weehoo's high-backed seat. The flap in the front can roll down and create a little trailer-like bubble. The HaD users who first posted this both have seats on the back of their bike which closes up the back similar to the Weehoo's real purpose. Since we don't use any seats, I was trying to figure out what would be the best use of the cover's limited front and back protection. 

​This was my first test: 

The boys had no trouble climbing into the HaD but did argue about who got to sit in front and get the most out of the cover. While there is some back protection from the overhanging visor, there's almost no side protection. Also, the canopy was pretty high, leaving a lot of extra space above the kiddos. 

The first couple of rides went well. I didn't notice any added wind resistance or wobbling. I did get a lot of kid-wiggling, however, and it seemed like they were extra noisy from the sound reverberation in their bubble (although that could have just been the extra sugar they'd been enjoying). 

I made a couple of minor adjustments by turning around the canopy and flipping over the pipes. This lowered the canopy down about three inches and put the visor in front, which seems to be a better fit with greater coverage. Since Sacramento doesn't really get that much rain, we'll probably be using this more in the summer anyway to protect from the sun. Hopefully, we'll have some rain to test it out in soon. I could see this being a great frame for a double stroller rain cover for added protection. 

One of our first trips out with the added Popemobile was to the annual Friends Of The Riverbank New Year's day walk. Our friends Neil and Kara joined us with their daughter warmly ensconced in the Nihola. 

This is the best way to bring in the new year!

We also decided to take the Crazier Train out again so that the boys could wear off some of their residual energy from Portland and the holidays. We stopped by Addison's Bicycle Repairium to get a quote for some of the most-needed repairs for the tandem. I'm hoping to get us out for an adventure in the near future and it would be awesome to be able to take this rig. The munchkins love riding it so it'll be nice to get it in better shape. 

These guys are crazy about the Crazier Train!