Some neighbors are getting married today and they are having a bicycle parade. They wanted some ride support for those who didn’t want to pedal, and since I’m nearby and all, figured that I might offer up some rides. Sure. Why not.

A challenge in this situation was getting both of the rides up to Camel’s Back Park here in Boise by myself. Kelly was gone for part of the day, so she wouldn’t be around to pick me up and take me back home. I did have an offer from the wedding party to get hauled, but naw, not necessary. I have a rickshaw, a lock, a car carrier for bikes, and a Schwinn. Simply mount the bike rack to the back of the rickshaw, put the bike on the rack, and off you go.

I wasn’t sure how this would work now that I have the huge Wald basket rack on the back, but all was good. It did make it less stable than before the basket rack, with all that weight now off to the side, but no problem. I hopped on, rode to the park while being careful about not slamming the bike into something, and before I knew it I was there. I locked up the Rickshaw, took the bike rack off, bungied it to the basket rack, and I was ready to go again.

The ride home is cake, since it is downhill, plus the Schwinn is a way easier ride than the Rickshaw with the Schwinn as cargo. It was actually too easy. I uncharacteristically missed my turn and had to backtrack a block to get home. When it’s time to be there for the festivities, I’ll just ride myself back to Camel’s Back on the Pedicab, someone else will ride it back to the neighborhood (with passengers) and I’ll take the Rickshaw back with passengers.

Four rides today, three on the Rickshaw and one on the Pedicab:

• I rode the Rickshaw to pick up Faye Faye from Winco, and we both headed back. Fun. Managed to circle the fountain at the Grove along the way.
• Faye and I went to Bikes2Boards on the Rickshaw to look for some thick tubes for my Pedicab, but they didn’t have the size I wanted, unfortunately. They had a size up, though.
• Bryce and I went to Albertsons for hamburger buns on the Rickshaw.
• Bryce, Faye, and myself were on the Pedicab while Kelly rode along on her new (to her) Nirve three speed cruiser.

Kelly said we rode about five miles on the Pedicab evening ride, and the Rickshaw odometer is reading 235.55 miles, or roughly 12.5 miles over the last five days.

Tonight’s Pedicab ride was interesting for a variety of reasons. It was the first time we had two child seats on either one of the rides. The Main Street has seat belts. The child car seats are designed to lock in from seat belts, and the Pedicab is wide enough to hold two seats. Problem solved.

Very near where the picture above was taken, a grazing deer was just on the other side of the fence from the path.

And yes, we climbed the rail bridge path off the Greenbelt all the way up to Orchard, The first bench climb for the Pedicab, at least with this Rickshawala at the helm. I was geared down and going slow. Three straight days of riding and my legs are getting soft.

The chain came off twice, always while shifting. I can’t wait for Brad to start in on the Pedicab tomorrow. Each time I mentioned to Bryce that Brad was going to fix it correctly (as opposed to me just getting the chain back on). After we came home tonight, Bryce was quick to point out that Brad has tools, and he’s going to fix the Pedicab.

I show pictures on this blog with Bryce on the back from time to time, and indeed he does get to ride often. But, my daughter Faye Faye also gets to ride. Today, Bryce rolled around downtown with me, and when we got home, it was time for pizza. So, I called in a Papa Murphy’s pizza order and Faye and went on the trip. Faye loves riding on the Rickshaw.

Current mileage on the odometer: 223.98, so I’ve put up about 20 miles on the Rickshaw so far this season. Considering the rain we’ve had and the miles the Pedicab has taken, not too bad.

I hauled glass in for recycling today on the back of the Rickshaw. Here’s a picture:

Rickshaws certainly can haul things besides just people, and in fact I saw a few rickshaws doing cargo duty when I was in India last year. It worked out pretty nice for me today, and I’ll likely do this again.

I would like to clarify that just because I used a cycle to recycle, that doesn’t make me a hippie. I’m a recent MBA graduate. I don’t think I’m allowed to be a hippie anytime soon, if ever.

Odometer reading: 215.96 miles.

I wake up Tuesday morning knowing there was going to be some Rickshaw action for the day. Not only was there a new ride to look at (see part two), but me and the Rickshaw had an appearance in the afternoon at McMillan Elementary. Mom and friends were making a presentation about China at the school, and as a special bonus, a whole bunch of kids (about 40 in all) were getting a ride in the process. The kids loved the Rickshaw. Here’s a pic of the last ride of the day, with the final student and their teacher on the back. I took a short leg on the school’s loop walking path this time:

It was interesting. I typically hauled three of the seven-year-olds at a time. The kids enjoyed it. We put a raised platform on the foot grate so the kids had a place for their feet. Everything worked out well. It was fun, and I wouldn’t mind doing another school presentation in the future.

Total mileage for the day (for the Rickshaw) was about 3.5 miles. The fun per mile rating was crazy high.

(Backdated to day of event. Actual post date: May 9, 2010)