More errands / more admirers for the bike

I woke up today really wanting to find another reason to ride today. I decided that I'd take the kids on some errands after work. We set off around 4:00 to head to Crossroads. Stopped at Sports Authority to get the kids' first soccer cleats, shinguards, etc, in preparation for soccer starting soon. They were so excited!

Then we went back to Petco for more supplies for the new cat (coming tomorrow). As we were browsing the toy section, a man who had seen us ride up made a special point of coming over to say how impressed he was with how I handled the bike and was able to bring both kids along when riding it. I thanked him for his thoughtfulness.

When checking out, the clerk took one look at our helmets and all that we had in our cart (30lb bucket of kitty litter, soft-sided pet carrier, misc toys, small bed, bowls) plus the bag we had from Sport Authority, plus the 2 kids, and said "are you really going to fit all this on your bike??" "Oh yes!" I said. "I have an xtraycle!"

Clerk: "Where is it? Can I see it?"

Me: "Well, it's parked way over there (me pointing) because you don't have a rack in front of your store. By the way, can you please suggest to your manager that you get one?"

Clerk: "Sure. Will you ride it over here, by the window, when you're leaving, so I can see it?"

Me: "Sure!"

The kids were so excited to get all the stuff loaded on and show off the bike. It was actually a bit tricky to bungee-cord the heavy kitty litter bucket onto the snap deck because the bungee cords kept slipping off. (Note to self: order wide loaders and cam straps from xtracycle web site tomorrow.)

We got all loaded up and rode over to the store window. The clerk was waiting in the window, smiling and waving as we approached. The kids were all smiles as we showed off the bike. With a few cheery "dings" on the bike bell, we were on our way.

We rode home with a pretty heavy load, but made it easily and got more smiles and waves along the way. The kids decided they should say "Boo!" to everyone we passed, which drew alot of smiles, too.

Bike miles today: 4