2010 July 11 | shebicycles

Archive for

#330daysofbiking Days 95 & 96: Xtracycle weekend

heavenly (Day 95)

The best recipe for summer weekend adventure-fun? An Xtracycle … and everything and anything your imagination can add.

Saturday night at the drive-in

Saturday (Day 95) was only a brief out and back on our road on the Xtracycle; one of those days filled with kids, watching the Tour, yardwork, and just general around-the-house stuff. In the evening, we decided to head over to the drive-in theater in Etowah. When was the last time you watched a movie at a drive-in? Seems like there are very few around any more, but this place is great – clean, family-friendly, and a bargain (on car-load nights). We did not ride bikes there I am sorry to say; distance, darkness, and our typical giant crew of kids and friends and girlfriends made it a little impossible. So, it was our gang, including a bunch of college-age kids, all watching Toy Story 3 at the drive-in on a summer night — good times! 😉

On Sunday (Day 96) I finally got to give the scupper-hole kayak trailer a trial run on the Xtracycle. Mark had engineered a great little removable hitch-type of contraption that attaches to the back of the Xtracycle frame; the tow-strap hole slips over the “hitch” pin. Loaded up the boat and headed to the river. It worked beautifully!

About a month ago I had tried loading the boat on the Xtracycle’s Wide-Loader – which was ok, but with the shape of this boat’s hull, the pedal clearance was a little marginal. Hauling the boat with this trailer seems a little heavier and slower-going, especially on inclines, but also more stable and pedal-safe over the distance. And very easy for me to load and secure for hauling.

Mark and I had a beautiful paddle, exploring some side channels that we had never visited before. They seemed to go on endlessly – we never did reach the end. The lush, green tree-cover and shoreline foliage made it feel almost like the Amazon, we joked. Spotted a beautiful Little Green Heron, a couple of Great Blue Herons, a King Fisher and some swallowtail butterflies. Mark said he was waiting for a snake to drop out of one of the overhanging branches (thankfully, we were spared such a treat).

Rode home in the early evening. End of a wonderful summer weekend; loving all of the “living outside”. (And as my friend Darryl says, “loving the bike”!)