Two kids and two balance bikes on the Big Dummy is a breeze! Much better than two kids on the city bike with two balance bikes towed by trailer. We met Biking with Brad and kids for a University of Washington parking garage tour. We had planned for rain and with the college virtually shut down for the holiday break, it seemed like a good dry and empty place to bike up and down ramps.
The kids all had a blast on the ramps, but it never rained so after biking around a bit outside, checking out the cool rocks in the Geology Department, and lunching in Eastlake, we headed to the I-5 Colonnade Mountain Bike Park for more technical terrain. We got to Franklin by turning left on Hamlin so now I know the best route! Of course I was paced by a four-year old (on his sweet new 20″ six-gear bike) so I’ll have to try it alone to verify that it’s flat enough.
The littles loved the mountain bike park, too, and I couldn’t believe how much my two-year old rode after riding up and down the ramps in the garage. Brad took his Big Dummy (with huge new Schwalbe Fat Frank tires) on the switchbacks, but I got a bit of rest and talked the two-year old out of hopping down a few black diamond jumps.
I think I could come here every day! It even rained a bit while we were there, but it was almost impossible to tell since we were shielded by the freeway. It’s educational, too. Many pillars sport wildlife posters with animal and mountain biking information.
While we were eating lunch I noticed a cyclist stop to take a picture of Brad’s bike parked outside. Apparently I’m still a little bothered by my bike getting short shrift. But then he took a picture of my bike, too, and I let it go. However, Brad did show me up when his wife took the bus over to the colonnade after work and he carried his whole family home.
Family Ride 
My comments can be found here: http://bikingwithbrad.blogspot.com/2011/12/biking-with-brad-meets-family-ride.html
You are truly awesome!
No, you’re awesome! So not deserving of “cycling mirror image” but THANK YOU! It’s almost as if you haven’t noticed my most ambitious rides are when I’m following you :)
So to get pictures of Madi we have to go to other blogs :) ? I love it! You all need to get together more often. So much fun!
Heh, but you’re a little photo shy, too, Stacy! Your kids take much better photos than mine do, but maybe I’ll give them the reins a little more and see what they come up with.
Touche! I didn’t even think about me :)
Sounds like a very fun day! Seeing a local family haul kid and balance bike to a Kidical Mass ride on their Big Dummy inspired us to get the Yuba Mundo! Both bikes are great family haulers.
Agreed! Love having a complete long-tail frame. Does the desire to load more and more stuff on the bike go away? Not that I can fit much more yet…I need to get more efficient at squishing in the balance bikes plus other gear.
Nope.. the more stuff you can load on your bike, the more stuff you think of to load on your bike. We’ve carried beach chairs, kid, beach towels and a cooler, or even sleeping bags plus mats, kid, and gear for a museum overnight. Then there was the 5-gallon aquarium, fish, and kid trip! You’ll get more creative AND more efficient over time.
Mr Brad has been a huge influence on my biking as well… both cargo and kid free. Parking garage riding is a great idea. Will file that away for a rainy day.
Maybe you’ll both get mountain bikes next, then, for your kid-free riding adventures. I hadn’t appreciated that the parking garage is also a lot warmer outside until Brad mentioned it.