Emma hasn't ridden as much or the distances Simon has, so I suggest that I take her in the Burley so we make sure to make it there and back home. This morning she only had a 16" bike that works great, but the gearing is painful for longer rides. The cadence required to sustain a decent pace is pretty high for little legs. Thankfully she agrees and we take a test ride around the block with the Volpe towing the Burley and Simon riding along. Disaster strikes up the big hill just before we get back to the house as the chain breaks. The Volpe has been riding a bit rough and now I know why. We walk the Volpe & Burley back home and I decide not to be deterred and get the Salsa Dos Niner for towing duty. I love that bike. It's set up a lot more comfortably than my Salsa Mamasita from a riding position, plus it has that 1" rear shock that is just enough to take the harshness off any of the stuff I ride. I just removed the SRAM X7 shifters/front der and an X9 rear der from the Dos Niner, to use on the Surly Pugsley, and replaced it with Shimano XT shifters/ders. So this was the first ride with the new shifting setup and I was a bit nervous about how well I set it up. I got lucky and it worked great.
We finally leave the house with B&N in our sights shortly after 10AM. We take the Helen B trail from 56th and Hwy 2 to 27th and Hwy 2 and then jump on the Rock Island south. I was unsure how the Tierra trail was laid out so I decided to take the Rock Island all the way to 14th and Pine Lake and just ride on the wide sidewalk on Pine Lake back to 27th. Simon rode great. He loves getting out of the saddle as he attacks hills. We made really good time to 14th and Pine Lake and then saw that the nice wide sidewalk/path was torn up. We rode the smaller south sidewalk until it too was torn up and then rode a bit in the street. We made it to South Pointe around 11:15AM and found the bike racks by Old Chicago.
Emma enjoyed the American Girl event, even if she got there a bit late. Thankfully she was a great sport about it. Simon found all the superhero books he could and read the entire time he waited. The American Girl event wrapped up a bit after noon and we decided to have lunch before heading back home. Simon picked Taco Bell and Emma was agreeable. We walked over to TB and Simon proceeded to eat his weight in tacos. Okay, maybe not, but he ended up eating 5! tacos. Emma had 2 cheese tacos and some cinnamon twists and I only managed to consume 4 tacos and half a bean burrito. After letting the food settle a bit we rode back via the Williamsburg Trail. The trail had some pretty scenery, including a little lake with fountains that was the temporary home to both geese and ducks.
Crossing Old Cheney was a bit hairy, as a motorist trying to be nice stopped when they had the right of way. Old Cheney is two lane each way and of course any cyclist knows the extreme danger this presents. Cars in the other lane took their right of way and would have slaughtered us if we had gone. I'm pretty sure a boy died with this exact scenario on 56th St. by Edgewood a few years ago. This is one of my biggest pet peeves that motorists do. Take your darn right of way. Fortunately I was able to use this as a valuable lesson that I hope Simon retains.
Simon started dragging on the way back. We still made it home in an hour but we had to stop a few times as he was getting hot as the day warmed up. I poured some water on his head and on his jersey which seemed to help. By the time we got back everyone was very glad to be home but we all enjoyed the trip.
Max felt a bit left out and wanted to go for a ride too. After dinner I headed out with Max in the Burley with Emma and Simon riding along. The plan was to explore the neighborhood for a bit and then go home. A nice relaxed ride until Simon starts struggling up a hill. I swing back asking him what was up and he was complaining of getting tired. He starts up and he quickly realizes his rear tire is flat. Drat, as I didn't bring anything to fix a flat. Luckily we weren't too far from home and he just walked it home. We found a huge screw in Simon's rear tire that was the cause of the flat.
I didn't have any 20" tubes or the non-cement patch kits. In addition, after watching Emma riding her 16" bike on the neighborhood ride, it was clear that she needed to upgrade to a 20" bike as well. So I confer with Katie and I take Emma and Simon to Wal-Mart to purchase some tubes, patch kit, and a new bike for Emma. This is where I'm very fortunate to have a daughter that doesn't like the typical pink/purple most girls seem to at her age, but blue/green/red. I find a bike with a really pretty blue that she instantly wanted. We do a quick sizing and hit the road. Cost of new bike + 3 tubes + patch kit = $50. Not bad at all.
Once we get home I made some minor adjustments to Emma's bike and Simon and I fixed his flat with a patch. Both rode up and down the street to make sure everything was good and then we turned in for the evening.
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1 comment:
You're such a great father. :) It's awesome that the kids will have those 'bonding' experiences, riding with you. They'll always remember riding with their old man. That's right, you're an old man.
It's also awesome how Simon has you pegged - he knows he can always talk you into buying him cycling stuff, since you're into that as well. Simon: "Hey Dad, can I have that Batman toy? No? How about a new bike?" Oly: "Hmmm... I do love buying new bikes..."
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