Saturday Afternoon Bike Ride

The middle kidlets had earned an ice cream treat because they completed their learning quests (I’m going to write more about learning quests in a future post).  I decided that Saturday would be a great opportunity to go on a bike ride on the Lakewalk to get ice cream.  Bike rides on the Lakewalk were high on my list of things to do this summer, but we hadn’t managed to actually do it yet because Mr. SP was without a bike for much of the summer.  His very used bike that was already too small for him bit the dust, and we spent several weeks looking for a new, used, but good quality bike that was the right size.  In the process, we found The Banana a new, bigger bike too, and it was a point of contention around here that The Banana got a bike before Mr. SP even though she already had a working bike.  Sometimes that’s just how things work out, though.  Now everyone in the family rides an adult sized bike (with gears . . . so helpful for our hills here) except for Mr. TOF.

When I loaded up the bikes on Saturday afternoon, I wondered how Mr. TOF might actually do on a long bike ride.  He was SO excited to come, though, and he’s such a good, careful bike rider.  I was willing to try it.  It worked out just fine.  He did ride at a bit slower pace than the middle kidlets, but he kept up well, and did a great job riding in the correct lane on the bike path.  He has to walk up hills sometimes, but that’s perfectly understandable.

See how happy he was to be included?

It was a windy day, so we were able to zip down all the way to Canal Park very quickly, with only one small break to use a port-a-potty.

The ice cream was delicious, and best of all there was a lot to watch while eating it:  trollies, horses and buggies, motorcycles.

Mr. SP found a silly way to wear his bike helmet.

On the way back Mr. TOF needed to take a few more breaks because we were pedaling against the wind, and it’s really hard work for someone so small.  This worked out just fine, though.  There are lots of interesting places to stop on the Lakewalk.  

The Banana looks pretty serious here, but she was having a great time.  I promise.

When we got to Leif Erickson Park, we met a train on the track that runs right next to the Lakewalk.  It’s always exciting to be up close to a train, and when we saw it parked right below a pedestrian bridge, we took a break and watched it.  To make things even more exciting, There was a wedding party on the train, and they were getting out to take pictures at the park.  The Banana was a big fan of their attire.  Mr. SP had a small problem with the chain coming off his bike right at the end of the bike ride, but luckily we were super close to the car at that point and just loaded the bike up and drove it home for Dr. Peds to fix.  He switched gears a little too fast while going up a big hill.  All in all, we rode at least 4.5 miles, which caused the preschooler in residence to sleep very, very well that night.