How quickly a year has passed! Yet at the same time, it’s hard to remember time before the Big Dummy. OK, not really, but a cargo bike is life changing. Riding a bike turns any trip into an adventure for us, but the cargo bike has increased that feeling exponentially. It’s hard to put into words, but it’s much more than this bike making it easier to go farther and carry more than a normal-sized bike. I’m not the only person to feel this way. There’s an amazing network of passionate cargo bike people working on a crowd-sourced cargo bike documentary: Less Car More Go. Watch the trailer and be transformed:

We’ve had some exciting adventures this past year:

• I rode Chilly Hilly with one kid
• We were one of the Three Stories from the Road video shown at the Cascade Bike to Work Breakfast
• I overdid it in the cargo-toting department when I tried and failed to retrieve a free box spring
• I threw a Cargo Bike Roll Call
• We survived our first (and very hilly) bike camping trip
• I hauled extra kids, extra bikes, and even cargo bikes

The small days are big fun, too. My dad has been visiting, so today started out with us all walking to school (we usually bike…do I even need to point that out?) and then the three-year old and I drove him to the airport. I considered hitting the grocery store on the way back home, but it’s really fun shopping by bike so I put it off until kindergarten had let out.

Then it was business as usual on the bike: we interacted with classmates as we rode away from school, oohed and aahed at the unmoving lines of cars from the bridge over the freeway, and I spoke with several people outside the grocery store about my bike.

I had hoped to finally costume my bike for the special day–Halloween was too rainy, as was Cranksgiving–but this afternoon was also too wet for the cardboard and paint getup. Maybe I’ll be able to make it work for one of the two upcoming Critical Lass rides.

I forgot grocery bags so three cloth shopping bags (fancy ones–$3.99 a pop) ended up being the bike’s birthday present. I had planned to buy a few of the 99-cent Trader Joes bags with nylon handles that tie so nicely once they’re on the bike, but I like these bags even better. They’re as wide as a bag and a half and therefore fit even better in the FreeLoader bags. While it’s possible to fit three normal-sized grocery bags on each side, the middle clip makes it a bit awkward so I generally only pack two a side. These bigger bags solve the problem and their handles are long enough to tie together for keeping contents securely inside, too. Now, if only I can remember to store them on the bike for next time…