Back to the Wheels

With fall in the air, at last, the girls have gotten back into riding bikes and scooters. Tom tried taking Julia's training wheels off last night as she is uncomfortable when the wheels tip, but she was apprehensive. She's a daredevil on the diving board or flipping off the jungle gym, yet she is very cautious on her bike. Today, I may try taking her to a street that is flat and quiet for some practice. We'll go when her older sister is in school to cut down on distractions. I'm hopeful that if Julia can make some headway, she'll be able to bike while I run. Pretty soon, Ava is going to be too fast to be my partner.

Riding Warm-Up

I just took Julia for her four-year-old doctor's check-up. It's hard to believe that she's not a baby or a toddler anymore (though she looks like one when she sucks her thumb and holds her blankie).

We just switched her to a bigger bike and she loves it. She's timid on the hills but the school parking lot is a perfect warm-up before we head to the sidewalks in the village. Big sister, Ava, gets a little bored biking in the parking lot, but put her on a scooter and she has a blast while getting some good exercise cruising along.

It's April school vacation for us. Though it hasn't been balmy spring weather, it has been drier than predicted and so we've taken advantage of a dry and empty school parking lot.

Triathlon Training

I'm preparing for a triathlon this weekend. I wouldn't go so far as to say training as it is a mini-triathlon with short distances and I haven't even practiced transitioning from one sport to the next. But I've been nervous about the bike ride. Last year my chain fell off just as I got into the big uphill. This year, I have a new bike (well an old one that was free by side of the road) and most of the time that I am on it, I'm pulling a kid or two in the bike trailer.

I needed a solo ride and told my husband that I was going out during our toddler's afternoon nap. He said that if I waited until after nap we could all go together. As much as I like our family bike rides, I needed to ride alone -- not just for practice, but for freedom, too.

And so I made it out on my own. I went up a long hill, much like the one on the race course, and I enjoyed sweating it out. I'm not sure that I could have made that whole thing with the trailer attached. 

I got home just in time to go to a concert in the park with my family. I felt invigorated, relaxed, and happy to see my kids whose whines earlier in the afternoon were good incentive to go for a ride.

An Off-Road Ride

The other day, we did a creemie ride. A creemie is Vermont's terminology for soft-serve ice cream. My husband, Tom, cruised with our preschooler, Ava, via a trail-a-bike or tag-along and I hauled our toddler, Julia, in our Burley bike trailer. Our destination was the next town over but we had to take a detour to avoid busy Route 100, which has been especially busy with utility work forcing traffic into one lane. 

Our detour took us on a path that varied between grass and a single track to loose sand and gravel. We were on road bikes traveling uphill so I had to dismount a few times and Julia asked why I was walking. I didn't mind hopping off and on the bike a bit as I was in shade with mountain views. We soon reached a dirt path alongside a golf course and my brakes whined on the downhill but I didn't see golfers turn their heads in our direction.

We reached our destination, a general store, just as the creemies became available - 11 a.m. We ordered three maple flavored and one vanilla for four bucks - an affordable treat and a fun family outing.