Family Time

Yesterday morning my wife headed out for a girls weekend (she took the baby) and left me with these two goofballs. Of course, good ol' dad's first suggestion was that we head out for a nice bike ride.

To mix things up a bit, we drove the car to work, parked it, then headed out on a 12+ mile adventure on new territory. The only objective was lunch and finding a playground.

We hit the road and the giggles began. I'm familiar with the area since I tend to do a few rides around the office when I'm on lunch break or early morning commuting. I knew of four different parks within riding distance. After a couple miles, I could tell they were going to be able to hold on long enough for me to ride to the furthest park.

We stopped, grabbed some lunch and ate at some picnic tables with the only rule being, "You must finish your sandwich before playing on the playground." They obliged to my request and scarfed down their food within about three minutes.

Playground time was great (minus a major head bonk... but seriously, when is there not a head bonk on one of our outings?). We had a blast and no one cried when it was time to leave. We just packed up and headed out.

The return trip was just as fun as the way in. We took a completely different route back to mix it up even more. They kept asking if I was lost since they'd never seen these roads before. It was funny. But we had an awesome time.

Days like this make me love cycling even more than when I'm pedaling solo. I hope to raise my kids in a culture where the bike is a completely viable form of transportation. The trailer is getting a bit snug, but we hope to remedy that soon enough with an Xtracycle FreeRadical. Until then, we won't postpone any trips like this. They're just too much fun.

Get out there.