Big Turnout for Nov. Kidical Mass ride

Our Sacramento Kidical Mass ride this last Saturday was quite an enjoyable success.  About 70 folks, representing all age groups and almost every kind of pedaled conveyance, converged outside of Practical Cycle in Old Sac with donations for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services in tow.

It’s a good thing that Old Sacramento doesn’t begin to fill up with revelers and tourists until around lunchtime, because we turned most of J St. into two- (and three-) wheeled parking lot!

After a nice time of kibitzing, perusing, and trying out each other’s bikes, our motley crew got into formation and slowly trickled out of Old Sac to make our way through Downtown to our final destination in Midtown.

Old Sacramento’s Wild West-themed buildings and characters (heavy on old-timey gunslingers and “ladies of the evening”) were an odd backdrop for our pedal-powered wagon train. We passed a group of Harley riders on our way toward Midtown and–while they may be far more intimidating–we had them beat in the numbers department.

Past the beautiful Sacramento River, over the freeway and into Downtown we cruised, thankful that the week’s intense winds had taken a siesta.  (Earlier in the week, it was quite possible that gale-force winds, as well as rain, would be our cycling companions).  Not only was the weather not to be contended with, but traffic was non-existent, too, which is always nice.

Longtail bikes, bucket bikes, and road bikes, OH MY!

Either the denizens of Midtown were all asleep, or our dinging bells, penchant for fluorescent orange, and intimidating average speed of 9 MPH sent them scurrying indoors.

Me and my best gal, with donation bags in tow and an industrial carafe of coffee sitting in Little Brother’s seat.

We arrived–safe and sound with our peloton intact–at Edible Pedal in Midtown.  We transferred our clothing and food donations from the bikes to the big blue barrels from SFBFS, then enjoyed some more time to swap stories, ideas and advice (I picked up a few helpful tips for winter riding and more than a few ideas for future customizing projects).

Thankfully, Edible Pedal is located in an alley with a bare minimum of car traffic, as we claimed almost every square foot of asphalt for bike parking.

These, and other barrels, fit just right on one of Edible Pedal’s Cycletrucks.

Special thanks to Elle and everyone at Sac Kidical Mass, Practical Cycle, Edible Pedal, Old Soul Co., and Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, and all the riders and helpers for a wonderful time benefiting a wonderful cause.

SFBFS Food & Clothing Donation Ride 11/23–Sac Kidical Mass

• Join our group ride for the young, old & in-between!
• Collect donations for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services to benefit those in need!
• Enjoy goodies & treats to fuel you up!
• Check out & demo our crazy array of cargo bikes!
• Make some new friends & support a good cause!
• Lions, Tigers, & Bears, oh my! (not really)

For this month’s Sacramento Kidical Mass, we’re riding to collect donations for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services Sat, Nov. 23rd. We will be gathering at Practical Cycle in Old Sacramento around 10am where we’ll have cargo bike demos and treats to start the ride. Around 11am, we’ll set off towards Edible Pedal, picking up donations along the way from special designated locations. Total ride distance will be approximately 3 miles.

Please bring a donation of food or warm clothing for the food bank.
All children under 18 need to wear a helmet and adults are greatly encouraged to wear one as well. We will be following the rules of the road as we ride.

Spring Sunday Family Ride: Farmers Market, Crocker Art Museum & Practical Cycle!

Downtown Farmers Market, Crocker Art Museum, Practical Cycle

Disembarking our steed at the FM. It’s always packed with people (in a good way!) and (word has it) a larger bike parking area is on the horizon.

Today was just a beautiful day in Sacramento, made all the prettier and more enjoyable by being behind a set of handlebars.  Chris saddled up her cruiser and I loaded up our Yuba MUNDO with the 3 kids and we set off for the Sunday Downtown Farmers Market.

It’s hard to beat getting great fresh food, some good deals, fun time with the little ones,and fresh-baked jumbo pretzels in one place.

We’ve found that Farmers Markets, in addition to being a great venue for finding locally sourced fresh food, also make for great outings with the family.  I like that our children have exposure to different foods and cultures and peoples in places like these, and the questions and conversations that arise, accordingly, can be pretty instructive (and entertaining—a Romanesco cauliflower, for instance, looks downright Seuss-ian).

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, What’s This?!?

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Next, it’s off to the Crocker Art Museum, one of our absolute favorite places in Sacramento, and one of the reasons, early on, that we started heading downtown so often (eventually, we decided that we just had to move closer to this place!).  It’s been around for over 120 years, but it’s remodel and massive new addition in 2010 transformed the old Museum into a real gem in the heart of the city and a valuable resource for the region’s artistic community.

Plenty of bike parking outside…

and plenty to explore inside.

We’ve been members for two years now, and the fee has been worth every penny.  In addition to lovely large and prestigious exhibitions of a wide array of artists (like Norman Rockwell, Gregory Kondos, Clayton Bailey, Gottfried Helnwein), the Crocker is home to various smaller exhibits and wide variety of permanent pieces.  It also features a concert hall, art studios, a café catered by The Supper Club, and has fabulous art programs for children to go with its signature children’s art space, Totland.

Making art, reading books, playing with the giant visual storyboard…what’s not to love at Totland?

Baby’s favorite part of the museum, however, seems to be the large courtyard with the wall fountain.  That’s not to say that he doesn’t like to join his big sisters in making art, too.

What a world to explore, huh?

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A quick plug for the current main exhibition:

A Touch of Blue: Landscapes by Gregory Kondos

FEBRUARY 24 – MAY 19, 2013

 

I cannot recommend this highly enough.  A long-time Californian and Sacramento resident and professor at Sac City College, Mr. Kondos’ depictions of landscapes (mostly natural, but urban cityscapes are represented, too) are breathtaking up close.  He is a very physical painter, and his works—often massive—have a very transportive effect on the viewer.  I have a feeling that we will be visiting this exhibit often over the next couple months.

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Next, it’s off to Practical Cycle (a scant few blocks from the Crocker) to look at a couple items on the ol’ wishlist and say hi to the crew.  It’s encouraging to see groups renting bikes for leisurely rides and also to see people checking out electrics, cargo bikes, trikes and other cycles that can help them drive less and interact with their surroundings more.  I’m quite grateful our paths crossed with our friend Elle who introduced us to both this shop and a new way to get around and experience our city.

Want to rent an electric bike, take a cruiser for a spin, peruse a sweet adult trike or check out the funkiest cargo or bucket bikes? Practical Cycle’s got you covered.

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Finally, it’s time to head home for naps (which not all of the children are so obliged to take, it turns out) and getting ready for dinner.  It’s been a glorious day—enjoyable, enlightening, and even productive.  And it still would have been a good day had we gone by car…but there’s a lot we would have missed.