This close...

Sunday was a long day - 12 hours to put together the shed.  There are a few finishing touches that we had hoped to do this evening, however, the rain just didn't let up.  We should have better luck tomorrow, and we will post pictures when everything is in place.  In other related news, I called TST Overland Express this morning and was told that our quadracycle arrived early this morning!  The paperwork I need to bring to customs, however, won't be ready until tomorrow.  I hope to take care of that tomorrow morning, to allow as much time as possible for the quadracycle to be delivered the same day.  

Dave and I have also been looking at marine seats (to upgrade the standard seats that come with the quadracycle).  So far we haven't found anything worth sitting on, but the TST and Canada Customs office are in the same area as a number of outdoor/boating stores, so I might find something tomorrow.  It looks as though warm, sunny weather is in the forecast for this weekend - we hope to be ready for it!

In the mail

I just received a call from TST Overland Express. Apparently our quadracycle is already in Chicago! It will cross the border at Emerson and then head to the TST Winnipeg office. There is a possibility that we will have it on Monday!

Laying the foundation

This morning we had 2 yards of 1/4 down gravel and 15 (24"x30") paving stones delivered. These will become the foundation for the new shed. When Dave gets home from work today, he will start spreading and leveling the gravel. We hope to have these 15 paving stones, as well as an 8' x 8' area of decorative pavers in front of the shed, in place before Sunday (Shed Building Day).

I spoke with David Rhoades yesterday morning, and he says our quadracycle is already built! Barring any truck-space issues, it will be shipped out June 5th. Here's hoping that delivery/customs is a breeze!

Out with the old...

This weekend was perfect demolition weather. Lots of sun, but not too hot. Saturday morning, Dave started by removing the shed roof, then continued on to the walls. His technique involved hanging from the rafters like a monkey and delivering powerful kicks to the walls. Not only was it fun to do, it worked like a charm.

It took most of the day, but it got done.

On Tuesday morning, we have a couple yards of quarter down gravel and paving stones being delivered. We'll use these to fill in the "pit" that the shed left behind, and when that job is done, we will borrow a truck and trailer to bring the scraps to the dump and pick up our new 8 x 10 shed/Rhoades Car house.

We bought a "car"!!

After months of researching, we have finally bought a quadracycle! We have been car-less for 2 years, and ideologically we are cyclists, but we miss certain aspects of car ownership. For instance, being able to talk to each other while riding, carrying large loads, and seat comfort. We really hope that our new Rhoades Car will give us the best of both worlds.

A huge determining factor in our decision to purchase a Rhoades Car was Adam & Ruth's blog Quantum Quadracycle. They live in Ottawa and their website is by far the most helpful one we have found on Rhoades Cars and quadracyling in general.

After a failed attempt to order our bike yesterday (it was Memorial Day in the US), I got through to Beth who takes care of orders at the Rhoades Car HQ in Tennessee. We are ordering the 4W2PLF (4 Wheel 2 Person Long Frame) model, which luckily was in stock. The 2 person frames are on back order, so it looks like our bike got moved up the priority list. Beth told us that our bike will begin it's assembly on Monday, June 1st, and should ship out on Friday, June 5th. We were expecting to have to wait 12 weeks or so, but it looks like it might make it here in 3!

After placing the order, I made calls to the TST Overland Express office in Winnipeg as well as the local Canada Customs and Revenue Agency to make sure that I have all of the information needed to self clear the quadracycle when it arrives into Canada. Bikes and other cycles (non-motorized) that are brought across the border (from the US into Canada) are free from tariffs/duty as long as they are made in the US. Only GST/PST needs to be paid in order to "release" the purchase from the customs bonded warehouse. Thanks again to Adam who walked me through this process!

Next step - demolish a shed to make room for a "car" hole!