Stitched panorama on the bike path in Burlington, VT – the storm moved over the lake and I got soaked riding home not long after capturing these images.
BAH
The Beetle, Commander, or more commonly known as the ‘Big Ass Hammer’. On a job site, slope side, in Stowe, VT yesterday.
Prototyping
I’ve been prototyping a magnetic decaleur for the Swift bag… I’m fully into V2, and already see how V3 will work out better.
V2
Sketch for V2
V1
Sketch for V0 and parts of V1
Spring Riding
We’ve rolled out first few family rides if 2016. Ava is on a new, larger 24″ ‘mountain’ bike. She will be taking a Little Bellas camp at Catamount this year.
The little one wants to ride everywhere on the tiny little wheels. She has been a trooper so far, riding farther than I imagined she would.
We carry her and her bike on the Yuba when she gets tired.
Both girls have been asking about Silver Lake camping and a bike trip. Ava wants to carry her own gear – she’s been eying a rack and my old panniers for her new bike. I’m excited for both of those ideas.
Daddy Daughter Gear Geekery
I’ve been fussing with the cargo bike in anticipation of some family adventures – the stock Yuba Mundo is a great town bike – but we needed more cargo capacity – so I swapped the front fork for a Surly Big Dummy Fork, and mounted their Nice Rack so I could carry my old Ortlieb panniers on the front low rider mounts. The rack is wide – so we had a platform for other gear, and in the future will strap an Ice Mule cooler backpack there. Nothing goes completely according to plan – so I had to fabricate a small aluminum bracket to get the fork and the rack to play nicely – but after some hand fabrication everything went together nicely.
We needed a tent to fit 4 (for when Jen makes a trip with us) – but I didn’t want to get a car camping anchor. After plenty of reviews and research I settled on the Black Diamond Mega Light with the Mega Bug liner. This is a pyramid style tent, with 1 pole, room for 2 adults and 2 kids and gear, or 4 adults – and the outer tent can be used for winter camping or as a kitchen / tarp stand alone. Under 8 pounds for a family tent. And it packs reasonably small for what it is.
After Lina moved out of the pea-pod baby seat we had some concerns that she could fall off the bike (if she falls asleep, or we hit a rough spot on the road) – so I added the Yuba monkey bars. These work great… although they make towing Ava’s bike more difficult, and the bike is really tippy when the girls climb over the bars getting on and off. We made a little step out of some rope and random aluminum pipe we found at the hardware store to ease getting on and off.
In order to carry all our gear I acquired a second Go Getter bag… these bags are huge – go on and off easily, and can expand and contract to adjust to the load. We’ve been using them for around town. I have been using one as messenger bag when we shop or head into lunch or swim lessons.
Loading up I gave each girl 1 Ortlieb rear pannier that carried their clothes, swim suit, sleeping bag, rain coat, and sweater. We strapped their sleeping pad through the Ortlieb straps on top of the bag. We brought Lina’s life jacket that fit in her bag, and Ava’s bag held the common toiletry stuff of the girls – toothbrushes, soap, sunscreen, medicine, etc. And the Uno cards. Both girls brought their headlamps.
I used my Revelate Sweetroll for my sleeping bag, pad and clothes. This mounts to the handlebar. The pouch held things we might have needed on the bike – sunscreen, bug spray, sunglasses, some snacks, etc., as well as my personal items. On the front rack I had my Crazy Creek camp chair strapped, and my Quickshot folding tripod (never used it). On a longer trip we would have brought the IceMule cooler and strapped it here as well. In the Revelate Tangle bag I had my camp knife, pump, and a water bladder with hose strapped to a retractable line on the bars.
The big Yuba GoGetter bags on the back held tent, bug net, beach towels, blanket, food, small cooler, cook kit, bike kit (lock, tools, spares), and Nalgene canteen.
On the MonkeyBars I mounted each girl a Revelate Feed bag for their water bottles and snacks.
All in I think we had 440 pounds or more rolling down the road – dad + girls + bike + gear + food + water…
Mundo
We’ve been enjoying a Yuba Mundo as our new family ride since early spring. This bike is so much nicer for our use than the Burley trailer, which Ava has outgrown (in height!). Hoping to save some $$ and get some cargo bags this fall, and am patiently awaiting a stiffer fork (we’ve switched to disc brakes) from the Yuba folks.
Begin
Weather is changing.
Soma is hooked to the little one train for groceries, yoga, and playtime. Body weight is up. Mood is improving. Fitness is down. Kidervals to begin. Stopping at parks is a must.
Thinking about a Schlumpf Mountain Drive. 2 speed fixed gear. Mmmm. Where to find the $$.
House hunting continues. Hopefully townhouse selling will commence magically in the next few weeks. We’ve looked at a handful of properties – and only a few would suit our tastes and neighborhood choices. Those that do fit stretch the budget but also our imagination about life in town, good public schools, and being much closer to friends and family. Walking downtown? To the store? I could get used to that.
Montreal Snaps
I wanted to write a longer post about our recent trip to Montreal… in lieu of the post never happening – here are some snaps from a bike friendly big city.
Quack Quack
CSA pick up, playing downtown and harassing the locals.
Fixed Train
Need to smooth out my spin. Very different with the little one and the Burley.
