Join me and several cargo bike owners for a three-tiered event: the grand opening of Green Machine Cycles (my new bike shop specializing in utility cycling), the latest edition of Chicago's Cargo Bike Roll Call, and the first annual PumpKarvGo, where you can flaunt your cargo-hauling and pumpkin carving skills. We’ll provide some locally brewed beer but feel free to bring your own drinks.

I am working on getting a champion pumpkin carver to attend the competition. Bring the largest pumpkin you can find, or the most small pumpkins, to win a prize. And be prepared to show off your carving skills. We will move our custom-made workbenches to the center of the store to facilitate Jack-O-Lanterning.

The bike shop is looking for a farm or individual willing to receive the rotting pumpkins weeks after the event to ensure an environmentally-friendly disposal. Central to Green Machine Cycles' business is running it sustainably – read more about our intent on our site (greenmachinecycles.com) and in Bicycle Retailer (http://bit.ly/1dblr9H). We will also seek volunteers to cart away participants’ pumpkins to this location for a video and photo project. Reply here or sign up at the event if you're interested.

As always, there’s no need to own a cargo bike to come to a Cargo Bike Roll Call event! Plus, you might have a cargo bike and not even know it (panniers, baskets, racks, you got it!).