Zoo Cruisin the City

 

One of Kian's favorite bronze zoo buddies.

A few weekends ago now Kian and I had a big day on the bikes - I forget how long ago that was now since they all seem to run together for the past few months with intermittent ski versus stay and play weekends.  That particular day we loaded up Marlene's Kona Ute that I customized for Kian, and we hit it hard: Greenlake, then the Zoo, then down to Fremont and the brewery, then Ballard for a late lunch, then eventually back home via the roundabout way.  Super nice, super sunny, super fun day.  Here's some pics and vids.

 Not sure what happened here (the sideways thing)

 Our picnic at the zoo. 

Hanging out at the Fremont Brewery (Ute in background). 

I had a pint while Kian rode the "motorcycle" and munched on free pretzels.

The Ute is a "utility bike" that has about a 3' long wooden platform over the rear wheel and its designed to haul gear.  It came with saddle bags, but my payload is a kid so I've customized this setup.  1) I put wooden slats beside the wheels to keep feet and dangling kiddie things out of the wheel.  2) I attached a stem and cut-off handlebars behind the seatpost so the rear passenger has a non-steerable handlebar. 3) I strapped a cushion to the deck for rider comfort. 4) I put in make-shift stirrups made of webbing and huge caribiners for passenger safety and bump eleviation. 5) and I built a seatbelt that restrains the passenger from any possible in flight terrorist activities (or bailing out mid flight).  Its very fun, Kian loves it compared to being stuffed in his chariot, these days, however the next evolution for him will be a Trail-a-bike: an attachment that allows the kid to actually contribute to forward motion while keeping him/her a little more engaged.