Van, Just add Bikes.

The old van ...
It had it's day, but
alas, the cost of repairs
eventually outstripped the
reasonable cost of replacement
and we had to say goodbye. It's very sad, trading in a vehicle that took you, the faimly the dog the boards the bikes, some 80,000 of its 129,000-mile life. Too soon to go. But a new engine harness, a new PCM module, new sniffer leak detector, needs new this, new that, new the other, were a bridge too far.

Boy this is an old pic. The kids were but 7 and 10, so they had smaller bikes, but before we got the hitch, you could fit all four in there, and a couple of windsurfing masts. The van could do amazing tricks like gobble up a windsurfboard slided, slid, slidden, under the second row of seats. You won't see that again. All the new seats have a lot of ... infrastructure underneath them.

But the new one has stow-and-go. And there are a few convenient configurations there. That came in handy today. The new hitch should be welded on in a week or two, but in the meantime, Gordy and I got out for a couple of laps of the partial blue course. Lots of brutal rooty climbs keep the pace down on this circuit. But it has some of the best flow in the park in some other spots.

There's one spot that's a tight switch back up to a root step up. It's granny and pie-plate material. Always winded after that one. First time round, there was enough mo to get over it. Second time 'round not so much, but a first-ever mini-wheelie helped get the front wheel over, and from there just a spind-grind to get the back over it. Fun stuff. A little wheezy afterwards, but not too bad.
Toss some bikes in the back and go.