Maker Faire 2016

This past weekend we took the girls to our favorite event of the year... Maker Faire!

A picnic with Yuba Flip Flop

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Yuba Bicycles. All opinions are my own.

If you follow Little Hiccups on Facebook or Instagram you've probably already seen Lola's new wheels. For the last few weeks Lola has been zooming around Berkeley on a bright pink Yuba Flip Flop balance bike. It goes everywhere with us: preschool, karate, swim class, the playground, the supermarket... If Lola's there, there's a good chance her Flip Flop is too. And now it's here on Little Hiccups!

I'm so excited to share Lola's new bike with you. When I first heard that Yuba Bicycles were releasing a balance bike I knew we had to get one for Lola. Our Yuba Mundo cargo bike has been such a great ride and I knew that Yuba's offering for the littlest members of the family would be just as high quality and as thoughtfully designed. And I was right!

Pedalfest 2014

It has been another busy weekend for our family.

Not one, but two of our favourite local festivals were held this weekend. The 4th annual Pedalfest was held in Oakland on Saturday and the Berkeley Kite Festival was held on both Saturday and Sunday.

We started our weekend by spending the day at Pedalfest. In past years we've gone on a nice long family bike ride to Jack London Square where Pedalfest is held. This year that proved a little tricky with Mathilde too young to ride on the cargo bike. Instead Kim and the big girls rode on the cargo bike while Mathilde and I took Bart and walked the rest of the way. It pretty much took the same amount of time and we arrived within minutes of each other. Perfect!

Pedalfest 2013

Time for a little break from the Canada trip posts - trust me, there are loads more to come!

Before we headed off on our trip to Canada we enjoyed a day of two (and three and four...) wheeled fun at Pedalfest in Oakland's Jack London Square. We had taken the girls to Pedalfest last year and they absolutely loved it so we knew that they'd be keen to go back. 

We jumped on our bikes and set off on the 11km ride from our place in Berkeley. This was the first time I'd ridden the bike in months (I didn't ride while I was pregnant) so I was a little worried that I'd be out of breath half way into the ride. I'm pleased to say that I made it there and back with no problem - although of course, I did make Kim ride the big bike with both girls on the back while I rode on my own!

Our first stop at Pedalfest was to check out the crazy handmade up-cycled bikes. Some of these we'd seen at last year's Pedalfest, some we'd seen at Maker Faire and some were completely new to us. The girls loved riding on what we called the "Bomb Bike". The girls and I sat on the bomb part of the bike which swung around as we took corners. They also rode the bomb bike with Kim. You can hear Lola's reaction to the back swinging around in the Vine clip below. 

Riding the bomb bike

Bicycle built for two... or three...

I REALLY want to get myself a bike.

The Bay Area is great for bike riding - apart from the hills - and it's quite a popular mode of transportation here.

As we don't have a car I walk everywhere with our Bugaboo Bee stroller - Lola in the stroller and Ava standing on a skateboard attached to the back. I like walking everywhere however it's not the fastest way to get around. A few extra wheels would really come in handy.

Because I have to take the kids into consideration choosing a bike isn't so easy. I want to make sure that I choose the safest option for them.

There are quite a few options out there that I'm currently looking into. Each has its pros and cons.

Winther Kangaroo

Winther Kangaroo