Yikes! Bike rides with kids again.

Well, we had our first ride of the summer season a couple of weeks ago. This turned out to be a very long short ride. After spending too much time getting everything together for the ride (bike rack, hats, water bottles, proper gear etc.), I secured the bikes on the rack and headed for an afternoon of fun, well at least that’s what I thought. I was way too excited. I should have known right then I was living some type of fantasy. Crazy me, I’m still a believer. As I sat in the car line waiting for my son’s school to adjourn I just knew this was going to be the perfect after school event. It only took a nano second for me to wake out of my slumber once he reached the car. “Can we go home before we ride bikes?”, he asked.  I replied, “no” we will be really late.” We were meeting some friends and going home would mean we would be at least 30 minutes late. I asked the reason for wanting to go home and of course, this was the one day that he felt like he needed to use the bathroom (yes, it was more than pee). I offered to take him to a public restroom but he insisted he could wait until later. Cool, we are all set. We met up with friends and about one minute after taking bikes off the rack he announced, “I really need to go now.”  Luckily we parked at a shopping center so we made a pit stop at our friendly electronic store. Ok, now we are rocking and rolling and maybe after being on the trail for all of 2 minutes he declares, “My butt is hurting” and needs to stop to rest. I oblige and after he also has a drink of water we are all set, for the umpteenth time. Now I am enjoying the ride and I be damned if we aren’t stopping again. His butt is hurting and the handlebar doesn’t feel right, the gears aren’t changing properly. Now, I want to have a meltdown but I’m trying to hold it together. After all, we are riding with friends and I don’t want to look like I don’t have it together, but really I don’t have it together. My friend must have sensed things were falling apart and offered her son’s seat cover for him to try. Jesus is real, because once he sat on that seat cover he took off and rode like the wind. I had to pedal like a mad woman to try to catch up with him, afraid he would try crossing the busy street without supervision. We survived. Whew, still wiping sweat.

So….. I decided I just didn’t get enough and we headed back out again this week. This time, I was feeling like a pro after getting our first ride of the season behind us. First things first, I purchased a seat cover. I picked him up from camp and the first thing out of his mouth is “Are we still going biking?” I replied, “Yes” and his response was “It’s too hot to ride bikes.” So I explained the plans and he insists he still wants to go but was just saying it was hot.  I just couldn’t wait for him to try out this new seat cover because I knew it was going to forever change our bike riding experience. We didn’t even make it onto the trail and I hear him say, “I’m gonna take this cover off.” I’m pretty sure I had a fire in my eyes when I asked the reason and he explained it was making his seat too tall. To the rescue again, my friend had a quick fix and lowered his seat. Good save!! Now we are on the trail riding. There were about 10 more abrupt stops and wobbling across lanes. Even though it started off rocky, and we had to stop for tired legs, gear checks, water stops and just because stops, we made our very long short ride of 6.2 miles. Not only did we make it, he even requested to go a little further the next time. And just like anyone who’s a glutton for punishment, I’m sure I will oblige on our next bike ride.

I’m still learning lessons. 1.Perseverance is powerful, and I’m not talking about kids, this was for me. 2. Have all the necessities checked before leaving home (inflated tires, water bottle holder, seat adjusted, seat cover if needed, bug spray etc.) 3. As long as you are moving, fitness is in progress. 4. Take a deep breath and enjoy, believe it or not, it doesn’t last long. Fleeting memories.

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save