25 September 2010

Cool mornings




Summer has slipped away, and we are putting on layers against the coolness in the morning air. The leaves are on the ground and we have after months of bone dry rides seen rain.



The orange Yuba has some nice brown Fat Frank kevlar laced tyres, and has lost its slow flat habit. The hole left by the shard of glass in the self healing inner tube was huge and couldn't bridge the gap with the latex sludge.
The Yubas get used so much that the car battery has lost its charge...




15 September 2010

Spiderman, chuckles and the pool




Great sunny day. Mrs Yuba dropped the girls at the pool 2.5 km away and it was my task to collect them on my Yuba taking Spiderman with me when the swiming lesson was over. Got smiles on the way and it was great to roll up and collect the girls as they came out without the hassle of parking. Lots of mums came over to look at the bike. Hope some will ride. If we 4 can anyone can.
What made my ride though, amongst the many smiles we got was the reaction of an old lady out on a walk who turned and chuckled when she saw us. You could feel that we had bought a ray of sunshine into her life. She wouldn't have seen our smiling faces in a SUV.




9 September 2010

Fastest in town

School is back in and we (Mrs Yuba) have been busy organizing out of school activities for the kids as two wheel adventures do not suffice. This morning I was informed that I had a RDVS on the other side of town 15 mins after the kids got out of school. Flamenco dance lessons for the girls in the municipal dance and music accademy. In a car at that time of day it was mission impossible...


Caught dismounting

Straight out of school (its across the road) and onto the back of the Yuba. Mouths dropped and others laughed as we raced off down the road towards town. We picked our way through the traffic and then the pedestrians in the centre. It has been a while since we have been 4 on the Yuba and people do gasp even more, the freak show effect is really strong. Although the remarks we get are more and more positive. Sara you are right, being an exrovert must help. I am not generally, and was just using the most effective mode of transport, sometimes you feel uncomfortable. But i just shrug my shoulders now and try and concentrate on the road.
We were the first to arrive, on time, and were not bothered by the traffic or the lack of parking. All the other parents looked
harassed and didn't stop moaning about the time slot.
Mrs Yuba joined us by bike half way through auditions and is planning to take the girls to swimming lessons on her orange Yuba.
More and more the Yuba's are getting non leisure usage and prove to be the best choice for us....

4 September 2010

Beep beep


Got honked at by some loser in a Benz on the way to the market. He didn't know how to drive and wanted me to pull over and stop. It ended in tyre spin, black exhaust smoke and a stupid close pass. 50 yards later he came to a stop because of a street protest. He probably spent 20 minutes sitting there. I resisted the pull of a face to face, and went my way. I was surprised how angry this idiot made me. We parked up the Yubas and I was told to sit and read the newspaper over a coffee while Mrs Yuba did the shopping, its usually me who does this so it makes a change. Some "me" time sans kids...








On the way back I noticed that the rear tyre was getting very squidgy and that my slow flat is no longer slow. At this point a bus starts honking at me. I thought the driver had spotted my soft looking tyre so I waved thanks and carried on. But he carried on honking and driving along side me. When I stopped the doors swung open and I braced myself for some abuse.

" Wow, really cool bike dude ! Where did you get it ?"

Amazed, I told him quickly, and watched as the traffic built up behind the halted bus and the driver tried to engage me in conversation. There were dozens of people nodding in the packed bus and a couple of them joined in talking. I tried to be engaging but we were blocking a main street in the town centre. I got the feeling that some of the passengers were in a hurry, and there was also the matter of my deflating tyre, and the fruit and veg warming up in the paniers.
I said bye and made it home without destroying the tyre. I am looking at some brown fat franks. Anyone know if these have kevlar in them like the black ones ?

You are never alone or bored on a Yuba Mundo....