Yakima Review

There's no question that I'm a fan of Yakima. I've written about it before but I realized that this is another opportunity.

Since about 1999, I've had a roof rack on my car with some sort of system for bike transport. For the longest time I had only had roof mounted racks by Yakima where you had to remove the front wheel, then lock in your forks.

Well, time passed, I sold a couple bikes and went on to sell one of my bike rails with the fork locking system (I did actually hold onto one of them). Fast forward to present day life when I'm back to cycling daily and find myself needing to transport multiple bikes at one time.

A couple months ago I bought a Yakima gear box for the top of the car from a guy on Craigslist. While I was in his garage I saw a pile of racks in the corner.

"Are those in working order?"
"Yes."
"I'll give you ten bucks for one of them."
"No."
"Please."
"Okay."

That was about it. I'm not sure if I'm that good of a negotiator or if it was because the guy barely spoke english. Either way, I didn't even really know what I bought until I got home.

This rack (pictured above) was different than anything I'd ever had before. "What is this monstrosity of an arm sticking up?" But I eventually got it mounted and understood the engineering behind it all.

No, I'm not a big fan of this rack. The stability is noticeably less than the Steelhead rack that's mounted right next to it (you can't really see it in the photo... another reason I prefer it; it's not as clunky looking on the car). I don't think I'd want to travel like this for a long distance. But I do think it's okay for short runs transporting bikes back and forth to work. It is more convenient than taking the wheel off when I'm only driving six miles, though.

All in all, it was definitely worth the price. It seems a little goofy to have two different racks mounted on one car. But in some ways it's nice. My fixed gear, for instance, doesn't have a quick-release front wheel. So it's a pain to get in my seatbag and get out the wrench. When I'm transporting it, I always appreciate this rack.  Either way, I can see why people do it. I prefer locking the fork, though.

Either way, Yakima stuff always works. Their stuff has lasted me over 10 years and I've never had anything break. I'd recommend any of their products to anyone.

Get out there.

Symbolic Video

This is probably my favorite bikey video I've ever seen. It's pretty awesome.


Tow Truckin' from Xtracycle on Vimeo.

Plus, it's from the guys over at Xtracycle. This is an awesome company that does some really great things for the world of cycling AND they offer incredible customer service (I've been DM'ing them through Twitter with questions and they get back to me immediately every time!).

Get out there.

Family Time

Yesterday morning my wife headed out for a girls weekend (she took the baby) and left me with these two goofballs. Of course, good ol' dad's first suggestion was that we head out for a nice bike ride.

To mix things up a bit, we drove the car to work, parked it, then headed out on a 12+ mile adventure on new territory. The only objective was lunch and finding a playground.

We hit the road and the giggles began. I'm familiar with the area since I tend to do a few rides around the office when I'm on lunch break or early morning commuting. I knew of four different parks within riding distance. After a couple miles, I could tell they were going to be able to hold on long enough for me to ride to the furthest park.

We stopped, grabbed some lunch and ate at some picnic tables with the only rule being, "You must finish your sandwich before playing on the playground." They obliged to my request and scarfed down their food within about three minutes.

Playground time was great (minus a major head bonk... but seriously, when is there not a head bonk on one of our outings?). We had a blast and no one cried when it was time to leave. We just packed up and headed out.

The return trip was just as fun as the way in. We took a completely different route back to mix it up even more. They kept asking if I was lost since they'd never seen these roads before. It was funny. But we had an awesome time.

Days like this make me love cycling even more than when I'm pedaling solo. I hope to raise my kids in a culture where the bike is a completely viable form of transportation. The trailer is getting a bit snug, but we hope to remedy that soon enough with an Xtracycle FreeRadical. Until then, we won't postpone any trips like this. They're just too much fun.

Get out there.

Why Didn't We Get the Big One?

Well, obviously we did. Yes, this is the family tent my wife got me when I turned 29 last month. We used to have a pop-up camper that was perfect for camping with all of us, but it didn't fit the rest of our lifestyle. We didn't feel like we needed such a huge convenience item for something that was completely based off of the idea of roughing it. So it sold and we've gone the last year or so with no family camping efforts.

Not now. We have a tent that's plenty big enough for the five of us and perfectly capable of offering a peaceful (separated) night's sleep for everyone. There's a bedroom for the big kids, one for the baby and one for me and the lovely wife in here.

It's, by far, the biggest tent I've been in... and not at all of the backpacking variety that I also have. But it's absolutely perfect for a family of five with three small children. This week we've been discussing where our first trip will be.

Get out there.

iPad Bike Signal App

I've got an iPad on the way when the 3G's come out at the end of this month. Unfortunately, it's for work only. This usage may qualify as grounds for dismissal. But this is pretty cool, albeit a bit unpractical.

Sprocket Pocket App gives you the pattern to make a pocket for your iPad on the back of a jacker. Lean forward, you get the forward arrow. Lean left or right and you get a turn signal. Sit up and you'll see the stop sign. Not bad!


iPad Sprocket Pocket from MAYAnMAYA on Vimeo.

The Bug has Bitten...

...the biking bug, that is.

I'm sitting in my office and just saw two guys roll out for a lunchtime ride. About 90 seconds later, there goes another headed to Sonic for lunch. I, too, will be riding shortly enough.

Welcome, Spring. It's good to have you back.

Get out there.

Sunrise

I know, I know. This pic isn't anything close to what you might see over at EcoVelo. But it was quite a lovely sight to see it live this morning. I've said several times that sunrise is one of my favorite things about bike commuting. It's an awesome visual stimulant before heading into the office. Another reason to get on the bike instead of getting in the car.

Get out there.