Two days ago I piled the boys on the Big Dummy to meet up with Davey Oil, Baby Oil, and their lovely Xtracycled Nishiki Mixte. I know Davey from Bike Works, but he’s a fixture in many facets of Seattle biking and now he’s got this great new blog, Riding on Roadways, which just so happens to include a lot of riding with kids stuff, along with all the other awesomeness.

We met at the waterfront carousel for a quick twirl before moving along to the Olympic Sculpture Park…but not before I had a chance to snap a picture of one of the tree planters that caused my crash two weeks ago (no, kids not on board):

The OSP was great! We’ve never taken the time to play here, having only briefly stopped when meeting up with the New Year’s Day and Easter Cargo Bike Rides. The kids walked up the stairs to the top of the park where Baby Oil was adorable while my boys filled their rain boots and pockets with gravel and squealed and barked as trains passed by.

I have to say, I was touched by how much Davey loves his bike, Wheelio. Sure, I love my bike, but this is something different. I’m assuming Davey built his bike, so maybe that’s it. Or maybe it’s because he knows how to take care of his bike. Or both. Since I’ve known of Bike Works, I’ve been planning to take Davey’s Adult Basics Class and I have a feeling it will add another layer to my love for my bike(s), too.

One last freight train barreled by when time-to-leave arrived so Davey and Baby Oil circled the Father and Son fountain while I snapped pictures–and then charged straight up Broad Street. He told me he wouldn’t necessarily make it all the way up the hill, but I don’t believe him–he eats bigger hills for breakfast…although I am tempted to give it a try again, since I’ve only tried once or twice on the old mamabike.

Yesterday Davey started a Passenger Pandas Group on Flickr. I got a great one on the ride home (via the waterfront and ship canal, not via Broad Street and Westlake). If only you could hear the howling.

And in end-of-the-month news, I rode a ton of miles during Bike Month and meant to do a midday tally on Thursday, but didn’t get a chance and ended up three blocks shy of an even 400. This month is off to a slow start with no miles ridden yesterday and today on account of a car camping trip. Judging by the amount of stuff we brought, I don’t know if bike camping is in our future. I started out thinking the only items we wouldn’t bring on a bike camping trip were the kids’ balance bikes and our little dog, but we could probably also bring less than quadruple the amount of food we need (and fewer or no perishable items), no pillows, and no queen-sized inflatable camping mattress. And here I thought we were already roughing it.

Friday’s miles: 21.6
June cumulative: 21.6 miles
May cumulative: 399.7 miles