DIY: Retractable Shade Canopy for Cargo/Longtail/Box-Bikes!

My Little Guy can travel in comfort and shade now without the umbrella I used to have attached to the middle of the rear deck. This shade folds up easily to be stored behind his seat, plus I can one-handedly raise one side up in seconds to more easily slide him in and out of the Peanut Shell seat.

Tinkering on our Yuba Mundo commences… As the kids get bigger and bigger, I find that space on the back of the bike comes at a higher and higher premium.  I’ve removed both the inner and cross bars of the Monkey Bars rack so that the girls have more space (both side-to-side and front-to-back) and I’ve also done away with the PVC pipe umbrella holder that used to stick up in the middle of the rear deck in front the Peanut Shell seat.

A few months back, I found a pair of awesome and lightweight folding shade canopies made for those folding camping chairs that were all the rage about a decade ago (and still ubiquitous at drug stores, grocers and big box stores whenever the summer months approach).  I bought these for $3 each (they retail for $15-$20), and they’ve turned out to be pretty useful. I simply bungeed the shade to secure it to the rear of the Peanut Shell seat and the Monkey Bars (and, really, you could attach it just about any bike), then pulled it forward and used the sturdy velcro wraps on the end of each adjustable pullstring to secure it to the front of the Monkey Bars.  It took about 2 minutes.

Check out how nicely this folds up, fitting completely and snugly behind the Peanut Shell seat. It’s nice not having the residual drag when the canopy’s not needed (obviously).

Here, here, and here are some sites I found for similar shades (since stalking your local thrift store in hopes of finding them is probably not very practical)

 

Another look at the shade as a stand-alone product. The thin black ropes expand and retract quite easily, making the canopy pretty flexible to fit your needs. Plus, you can use it for its actual intended use, as well, for any chairs you have in need of shading.

COSTCO via Cargo Bike!

A JOURNEY IN PHOTOS

(OK, “journey” is maybe a little strong…)

 

So, this was my first time attempting a Costco run by bicycle.  Why I waited until it was winter, four days before Christmas, and a week before TWO of my children’s birthdays (for which we would need provisions), I cannot say. I was pretty sure the Mundo could handle a decent-sized warehouse load, but I left the kids at home (just in case).

The city is beautiful in winter, even if we don’t have snow. I missed having my little ones with me, but a solitary ride downtown was quite refreshing. Usually I’d have to take the freeway to Costco…thankfully, though, not today.

I love that the bike trail is is right on the edge of downtown. I find that I do so much errand-based riding nowadays that I don’t take advantage of the river and the bike trails nearly enough. Serendipitously, though, Costco is right behind the bike trail on the other side of the river, so today I get to enjoy nature, see the water, AND procure 36 organic juice pouches for a houseful of ready-to-party kindergartners.

I love these old foot bridges that span the Sacramento and American Rivers. This one is parallel to a venerable old train bridge, lending a great timelessness to the area.

I’ve been reading a fair amount of Steinbeck this year, and it has me romanticizing life on the rails. I can’t wait to take our girls on a big train trip away from the civilization, where we can soak in the scenery and bask a little bit in the desolate melancholy that comes with chugging through the wilderness and empty flatlands. A train is like a giant metronome whose repetitive locomotion seems so jarring and novel at first because it is at such odds with the modes and means of our frenetic lives. After awhile, though, it lulls us into rhythms and spells we just don’t get on streets and highways. Man, I wish we had a more European or Asian model of transportation in America…I think it would speak to the better parts of our nature if we traveled in synchronicity on the rails, rather than in our isolated and disjointed manner via the almighty automobile. Alright, pontificating is over…for now…

Seriously, Costco’s just off the bike trail (it’s that big light-tan building in the middle). Who knew? (tons of people, just not me, I guess).

Made it. Safe and sound. Behind me are a million parked (or hoping to be parked) cars. You can’t see them, but–trust me–they’re there.

THIS JUST IN!!! Costco doesn’t have bike parking. I know…you’re shocked, too. I had to make due by hitching a lock to this car display. Anybody want to buy a Kia?

No, I didn’t buy CLAMATO for my 6 yr-old’s birthday party. I just felt compelled to take this picture. Who, exactly, says, “Man, this tomato juice is pretty good, but it could use a little…I don’t know…Mollusk?” And, being Costco, it’s sold in two-packs of huge jugs. There are many, many bottles still available for purchase.

So I got out with a full cart (and stuff underneath). Now, it’s time for some serious arranging using the Mundo’s Monkey Bars, Peanut Shell, panniers, hooks, and all the other little things I’ve added, knowing this day would one day come. CUE THE TETRIS MUSIC!

Eureka! The girls’ bench, Baby Boy’s seat, the plastic IKEA containers on the running boards, and hooked bags on both sides of the Monkey Bars were enough to handle the job. I didn’t even have to use my front wheel panniers, meaning that my steering was easier for the ride back. YUBA, you’re always up to the challenge.

Riding home was pleasant and smooth! I had, easily, over a hundred pounds of cargo, but it didn’t make the ride harder (just a tad slower than before, obviously). All told, the round trip was a tad under 12 miles and about an hour in length. It was so much more enjoyable than driving there and playing parking-lot-roulette. And the capper? I left Costco with two dozen uncracked brown eggs and arrived home with the same!

A year of DIY projects with our Yuba Mundo

Here’s a timeline of most of my Mundo projects and tinkerings…

Spring-time capacity? 2 child seats, 1 daddy saddle, 1 toddler seat, 1 large basket

4 on the road.  There’s an umbrella stroller bungeed to the long left running board (It’s hard to see, but Baby Boy is riding shotgun, enjoying The Avett Brothers on the sound system.)

2 “Peanut Shell” seats, with 5-point harnesses, footrests, & padding sit just right on the Yuba’s rear bamboo deck (our tall girls fit perfectly well in them!)

The MUNDO is easily customized–I made this large rear basket attachment with vertical rack and large hooks quite easily with heavy-duty zip-ties, all the better for holding backpacks, helmets, and full grocery bags.

If you’re looking for a good baby/infant/toddler seat, the Yepp mini is pretty fantastic.  It has a durable but soft ventilated shell,  5-point padded harness, head protector and pillow, adjustable foot holders with straps, it can be quickly disengaged with one adult hand, and is easily locked and unlocked with the included key.

The side-view of the MUNDO when we’ve loaded it four-people-deep.  This pic was the inspiration for the name of our site.

This was the first shade-heavy configuration I tinkered with…You don’t need to be a mechanic or a tool whiz to customize your bike, trust me.  I am of little use when it comes to fixing complex things around the house, but a little creativity and willingness to experiment are well-rewarded with this bike.  You can accessorize it quite easily as seasons change, kids grow, your needs evolve, you name it.

Front view with the all-weather umbrella, tin-can-cupholder and toddler windshield (total outlay–about $15 after a quick trip to a hardware store.)

Here, I switched out the blue umbrella for a higher-visibility orange one, matching (coincidentally) the umbrella-stroller canopy shade I attached up front for Little Guy.  It’s swiveling joints made it useful as a both a shade canopy and windscreen for my little navigator up front.

Panniers attached to a front wheel rack and a collapsible basket attached to the rear deck make for extra backpack/grocery/whatever-needs-holding capacity

As the heat cranked up this summer, it was necessary to beef up the infant seat shade situation.  This may not be a pretty finished product, but it was effective.  A black mesh UV stroller shade up front and, up top, a flexible shade extension made from vinyl glued to a dog conical collar made the small orange shade clipped to the handlebars much larger without making it too bulky or inflexible.

Our latest configuration, with all three kids on the back!

The “Monkey Bars,” debuted by Yuba this year, are awesome.  This sturdy and light frame comes with adjustable/removable inner bars.  They can span the whole length of the rear deck or–as above–half the length of the deck.  On our bike, the back half of the deck holds one of the peanut shells for our little guy, complete with clip-on umbrella-stroller canopy for a windshield and UV stroller shade to battle the sun.  While Yuba makes a nice cushion for about $30, I used two $3 chair cushions, and they work great!

There’s always stuff that needs holding.  Two $2 IKEA plastic bag holders carry an umbrella and random clothes and small groceries in the rear while front panniers and black wire shelf frame pieces make a large and lightweight holder for tall backpacks and other items.

EMERGENCIES HAPPEN!  While I have bike repair supplies on hand, there are other–kid-related–emergencies that come our way, too.  The picture on the left is of a diaper-change kit (housed in an econo-sized Band-Aid plastic box) mounted with the brazons for a water bottle cage.  The one on the right is of a small travel bandage/first aid kit attatched with the brazons just behind the crankset.

Much like our four-wheeled vehicles, bicycles now have cupholders out the wazoo (well, ours do, at least!).  Two cages mounted just below the top tube hold water bottles/sippee cups and one cage on the handlebar holds a snack cup while a coffee cup holder I made from a mostly used-up packing tape roll screwed to a C-clamp keeps the java close at hand but nice and level to avoid spills.

The bike is lighter and easier to maneuver now than it was a year ago, which is a good thing considering that my kids keep getting bigger while I keep getting older.

Our “SCHOOL BUS” v2.0

With the new school year, new growth spurts, and increased ability to bike for the long haul, it was time for a major overhaul of our Yuba Mundo.

Gone are the twin Peanut Shell seats taking up the whole rear deck (where the girls sat) and the large Yepp seat for our now-not-so-little boy that dominated the handlebar area up front.  He now sits in one of the Peanut Shells in the back while the girls sit on the deck and hold onto the new Yuba Monkey Bars.

The girls like the bigger-kid feel of being less strapped in (as we’ve already seen demonstrated by our other Mundo-riding friends whose kids sit on the back without Peanut Shells), and Big Boy has a bigger seat now that doesn’t swivel.

So far, so good…everybody is enjoying the ride (including Dad, who doesn’t have to work as hard at the pedals!)

                              Our newly reconfigured “Bus” has less weight and wind-drag, and the steering is easier now that big boy is sitting in a peanut shell in the back (instead of on the stem up front)

Both girls fit on the front half of the rear deck and are pretty secure, thanks to our new Yuba Monkey Bars.  This lightweight trapezoidal frame spans the entire deck and has additional interior bars that can be adjusted to various widths.  If the back peanut shell seat wasn’t there, we’d use the longer interior bars and move the middle bar to the rear.  In that configuration, you could get 4 kids on the back!  (instead of buying a pricier seat like Yuba’s Soft Spot–which is a nice product, no doubt–I used two $3 IKEA seat cushions I had in the basement…voila!)

Since Big Boy and I are riding around a lot, I figured it was necessary to pack a diaper-changing kit.  However, I didn’t want it to take up room in the panniers, so I used a Band-Aid multi-bandage pack from Costco and bolted it onto the downtube using the braze-ons that used to attach to the water bottle cage.  Thankfully, we haven’t yet had a diaper blow-out, but I figure that day will likely come!

Big Boy now sits in one of the awesome Peanut Shell seats that his big sisters had.  Since their size and weight are greater, they’re closer to the middle of the bike, while he sits in back.  He’s still within arm’s reach for me, and I can see him clearly in my side mirror.  I attached a RayShade UV Protective Stroller Cover ($5 each) over top, and used one of our umbrella stroller shades as a collapsible windshield and snack/toy protector, (which clipped onto the Monkey Bars)

Of course, cup holders are a must for drinks and snacks.  I put four up front: two water bottle cages down low where the cross bar and downtube meet, one water bottle cage on the handlebar, and a coffee cup holder I made for about $1.50 out of a plastic c-clamp and a mostly-used-up roll of packing tape (much cheaper and less attractive to thieves than the fancy chrome or brass coffee cup holders)

I wanted a lightweight storage solution up front that would create minimal drag and would be large enough to hold the girls’ full-sized backpacks.  I put a front rack above the wheel and attached some standard panniers to it.  On top of the rack I put an old black rubber coated wire basket I had in the basement, and attached to them 4 shelves from a black rubber coated wire shelf system (like you’d find at an office store) with some zip ties.

I used a pair of IKEA Vairera plastic bag dispensers ($1.99/each) for super lightweight “umbrella/clothing/random junk” holders.  They’re the perfect width and height to sit at the back of the running boards, just under the Peanut Shell.  These are especially handy for stowing sweatshirts, scarves, and other clothes for when the weather changes mid-ride.

So, that’s our new and improved “Bus.” We think it will be as reliable as it’s namesake, if not more fun and environmentally friendly.  Oh, and it hasn’t been accumulating unidentifiable grime and smells since the Reagan Administration.