Fam Time!

We made a fun run to Lowes with the kiddos. Always a good time!

Get out there!

Day Off!

I'm working this Easter weekend so I got to take the day off today. That means I get to get in some family riding! (Anyone see anything new on that Troll? More to come on that.)

The little fella and myself headed to the library in this nice, 60 degree weather! We soaked up the air conditioning for a bit and read a few books together.

Then headed back out for a lap around Nicholasville. Not a bad workout! It's also a great way to spend a day off!

Get out there.

Kiddie Trails

Yesterday I got to hit the trails with the three oldest kids. We loaded up a couple of kids bike, a half bike and a grown up Surly Troll onto the car and headed over to Veteran's Park for some Spring Break dirt.

Riding with three kids between the ages of four and eight can require a lot of patience. We stop a lot and have to really work on communication with one another. But, man, is it fun. It's probably one of my favorite things to do with my kids. I can't wait until all of us can go together!

Things like riding through the little creek get them SO stoked. They feel so much accomplishment and thrill when we ride dirt.

And they do occasionally have to hop off the bike and walk it.

We do, inevitably stop at the big creek for some R&R. A long break of skipping stones and getting muddy always gives the motivation needed to pedal back to the car.

We rode for a good two hours. They were POOPED by the end of the ride. The joy of riding was beginning to get tipped off the scale by the grumpiness of fatigue. We made it back to the ol' Subaru just in time.

Get out there.

Spring Break 2014!

Spring Break started yesterday! I'm taking the week off of work to do this type of thing with the family. Jealous? You should be! Yesterday I hooked up the trail-a-bike to the Troll and spun around Nichvegas for a good 45 minutes. Super tough workout. I forget you gotta develop them kid-haulin' legs. Hopefully we'll have more days like this for the rest of the week!

Get out there.

Man Time

This past weekend I headed out on the trails with my boys again. These guys love riding dirt.

The little man on the Mountain Train is just flat-out hilarious. Somehow, he's the one that gets injured more than any of us, though. He's having too much fun to pay attention, I think. On this ride, I said, "Are you on?" To which he replied, "Yes! Go!" I mashed the pedals only to learn that, in fact, he wasn't on the bike. He was leaning against it and fell hard to the ground. At four years old, he doesn't quite get the importance of communication. You can see in the photo above that dirty elbows and skinned knees won't squelch his enthusiasm.

The big guy hangs with me really well. It makes me a proud father. He works hard and sweats a lot. But he's always rewarded on the downhill. When we climb over a peak and start to zoom on the descent, he squeals and yells to express his joy. It's so much fun to hear.

It makes for a great time for us guys. They love being outside, sweating together and observing nature. I'm looking forward to them growing up as little mountain bikers.

Get out there.

Family MTB

Yesterday I took the photo that you see directly above this sentence. It's one of my favorite photos I've ever taken of Clive. Recently, he's been obsessive over mountain biking. He's been on legit trails a couple times and, as seen in this photo, we just found a spot in out neighborhood where he can rip up some dirt. This is the best shot I got on my iPhone. But he continued to get some great air for a six year old on 16" wheels wearing flip flops. I'm a proud dad.

And since I had planned on taking today off, we woke up, ate some breakfast and headed back out on the trails again.

This was the first time my daughter has been on any type of dirt path on her bike. She did really well. But I have a feeling her passion for MTB will not be near as much as her little brother's.

And then, of course, I had the four-year-old on the trail-a-bike behind me. Jury is still out on this thing. Honestly, it's pretty miserable when being pulled by the LHT. It's better on the Troll. Much better. But it's not easy. It pulls all the weight off of the front wheel. So dropping into granny gear is impossible. I washed my front wheel out twice today in a granny gear. I finally gave up on gearing it low and just stood up and leaned over the bar to climb.

Another issue is the wobbliness of the whole thing. I will say that I'm probably spoiled by the Xtracycle. Admittedly, I've got a tasmanian devil of a child back there. But I never feel like I'm going to wipe out on the Xtra. This rig, however, requires a lot of attention and concentration. It's just really unsteady. On the other hand, I don't think the Xtra would be a good option in the woods like this.

We were out for over two hours today. So at the halfway mark we hung out at the creek and tried to catch minnows and crawdads in a fish net. That's always a good time.

Trips like this are great. They're not technical. They're not much of a workout. But being able to weave something I love into our family's lifestyle is pretty awesome. My dream would be to take Clive, the oldest son, on a bikepacking trip. He loves camping and out of the three kids that went today, he's the most into riding dirt.

It's nice to have some new MTB buddies!

Get out there.

Lil' Mountain Biker

Clive and I went mountain biking this morning at Veteran's. We went a couple weeks ago, too, but I never got around to sharing it on the blog. But this morning, we set out for some father-son dirt time before work.

Last night I bought him a cheapo water bladder to put in his little Kelty backpack. He thought he was super hard-core with his hydration system. Those little things make a kid feel like a super hero. I love that enthusiasm.

He's a great rider. Today he said, "Dad, you have to pedal up those hills. That's hard. But you get to ride real fast down the other side." Yep. You got it, Clive. In the photo above, the exposed tongue is a sign of his concentration. He kills it on the descents. On the climbs, I slow down a bit and have to wait on him. But he hangs with me on the downhill... with a bit too much reckless abandon, I might add.

A slight detour to look at the creek. For the first thirty minutes he wanted to "head to water to try and spot some frogs." Here he is trying it with an aerial view.

I packed him some donuts to eat in the woods. Quote of the day right here. "I like mountain biking. Because you just sit on the ground to eat your donuts." Yes, son. That's why we ride mountain bikes.

And this is Clive saying, "Can we stop taking pictures and keep riding?" I like the cut of his jib.

I'm loving how much he's into this. He screams and hoots and hollers on the ride. The enthusiasm really gets me pumped for his future on the bike. And as of now he's on a coaster brake single speed. But it'll be so much fun to teach him the ins and outs of riding a real mountain bike when the time comes. For now, though, I'll soak up these awesome dad moments.

Get out there.

The Lady Rides

My wife is super. Angie, on her own, is a really strong athlete. But she also loves bikes.

This past week she had planned a bike night with her friend, Abby. Angie rocked the single speed Cross Check and Abby took her cruiser all around Lexington as the two of them painted the town red.

And this weekend she asked if we could go for a family ride. It takes no convincing on my end. The lady chooses to ride on her own.

I married well.

Get out there.

More Than Pedaling

We had our first all-family ride of 2013 this weekend. With the big kids riding their own bikes now, it's an all new setup. I'm still riding the Xtra with a three-year-old on back while pulling a trailer with the baby in it. But the big ones are powering their own wheels.

It's an interesting thing to ride with children on their own bikes. We've got a lot to teach them. They get easily distracted and weave in and out of the group quite a bit. It was a lot of drama trying to get them to focus and stay straight the whole time. I remembered similar issues when we've done larger Bike Lexington events where they close down the streets. Kids ride bikes erratically, with nothing in mind but fun (which I love). But in a group, they can become a little dangerous. Angie and I had to really keep an eye on them and our hands on our own brakes for every minute.

Our child-hauling cargo options still work for ventures outside the neighborhood. We'll just put two kids on the Xtracycle, one in the trailer and one on a trail-a-bike with Angie. But I'd love to teach them some rules of the road while cruising around on safer streets.

Anyone got any tips for teaching kids bike riding etiquette? There's about a half mile stretch of road that we have to ride to get anywhere outside of our neighborhood. The speed limit is 35mph with plenty of shoulder, but I wouldn't risk it... not after this weekend's demonstration. They'd be all over the place.

Some rules we talked about:

• stay behind dad but in front of mom
• stay as far right as possible
• watch the person in front of you and be ready to brake if they stop
• don't stop for no reason
• drive straight, no swerving for fun (even though it is fun)
• if you have to stop, pull off to the right

All of that stuff kept coming up... which is a lot for a six year old boy's brain to think about (especially when you're distracted by the awesomeness of riding a bike. I'd also not that the girl did way better than the boy! He was too interested on the fun side of things).

We'll keep working at it until things get a little better. But they may be bike passengers instead of pilots for another season or two if we're leaving the neighborhood.

Get out there.

Time With the Little Guy

Angie wanted to give me some time on the bike yesterday since the weather was so nice. I'm not one to pass up on the opportunity to ride when the temps are so perfect. But with a recent camping trip under my belt, I wasn't jumping at the opportunity to spend time away from the family. Instead, I opted to take one of the little people along with me.

Our three year old probably gets the least amount of attention from me. He's the third out of four and operates on his own way more than he realizes. He is, by no means, neglected. But his personality and the fact that he's the third, often allows him to fall between the cracks of getting my attention. So I chose a little bit of little man time with him.

I took the LHT with the tagalong bike. I've not done many rides with the Trek Mountain Train. My dad gave it to us to use with our older kids. But this kid is probably a little too small for it. He rocks back and forth a whole lot and nearly runs me off the road. To be honest, the Xtracycle does the job with a lot more ease. The Mountain Train is less stable and you feel it more in the cockpit. It takes a lot of concentration and control to keep from swaying a foot or two in either direction.

We made our way around town, hit up the library, stopped at the park for juice boxes and took a photo opp at a massive monster truck that had his little jaw dropped to the floor. Boys like a vehicle with tires that are taller than them.

All in all, we weren't out for too long. But we had a blast together. He loves riding on the bike and he loves one on one time. He was singing songs about hanging out with dad, which probably a good sign. I love spending time with my kids. And being on a bike is such a fun way to do it.

Get out there.

Family Fat Bike

photo from Moray Fat Bike

Go check out Moray Fat Bike and look at his family fat bike build. It's incredible. I'd love to run this bounciness on a long-bike setup.

Get out there.

Long Ride on the Longtail

I did a lot of meandering on the route in this morning. I had some time and the weather was in my favor. So I slowly made my way across the landscape with out a direct route in mind. The Xtracycle was the ride of choice today. There's a guy at work (who has four kids like me) and is thinking about entering the realm of longtail riding. So I'm letting him borrow the Xtra for a day to see what he thinks.

The Cross Check is at the office. I'll just ride it home today and grab the Xtra tomorrow. Looks like rain is in the forecast for the ride home.

Get out there.

Family Rides

I've been having a great time riding around the neighborhood with the kids the last couple weeks. Right now I'm recovering from a minor medical procedure (Nothing serious... but it'll have me off the bike for two weeks :( You may have noticed the lack of posting.). But I'm really missing rolling around the neighborhood with my kiddos.

My daughter has never shown much interest in riding her own bike until this summer. I think that the Xtracycle has delayed her desire to ride. Why pedal yourself when ol' dad will take you all over town? But as soon as I'm all healed up, the training wheels are coming off permanently. It's time to roam free.

Get out there.

Heavy Cargo

Lots of miles of family biking this weekend. Three kids, ages 3, 5 and 7 on a cargo bike pulling a trailer is a lot of extra weight. I was slower on these rides than ever before (since my kids continue to grow). I haven't quite figured out how to utilize a better system yet. So for now, it's taking our normal routes with the three bigs ones in tow.

Saturday was a trip to the library. And while we were out we figured we'd hit up the park. Weather was so nice, we ended up staying out for nearly three hours.

On the way back, I spotted some riding gloves on the road in the middle of nowhere. Sweet find! (By the way, they're laying on the hood of my car which is reflecting the clouds. That's not a photo of them floating in the air.)

Sunday's ride took us to Lowes to swap out a propane tank. The thing about propane tanks is that they weigh less when there's no propane in there. So the return ride gave me some extra cargo weight to push up the hills. It was a beast of a load.

On the way back from Lowes we stopped at another park that was at the half way point. I didn't stop because I had bitten of more than I could chew and was about to pass out and my legs were all aquiver and it felt like 200 degrees. I stopped because I'm a good dad and wanted to let my kids play :)

There was a random dog licking faces.

And Abe carried around a big log the entire time. He said it was "pretty like mommy" so he wanted to give it to her as a gift. My wife is beautiful... much better looking than that log.

After some quality park/rest time, we made our way back home. Two days of family riding wore me out. That was quite a bit of mileage for about 140 lbs worth of kid behind me. And that full propane tank certainly pushed me over the edge of my capacity. I was pooped.

But we had a blast and didn't have to drive a car for all those good times. I love riding with the fam.

Get out there.

Family Bike Camping Trip

Last week, the boys and I took our first family bike camping trip together. We parked at the North Lexington YMCA, a trailhead for the Legacy Trail, and pedaled our way to the Kentucky Horse Park for some overnight camping action.

The Legacy Trail has some beautiful views along the way. For the most part, you're pedaling through farm land with scenic fields and trees all around.

That being said, I knew the scenery may not keep the attention of two boys, three and five years old. So we made an effort to stop often enough to run around, drink a juice box and have a snack. They did really well on the ride. I gave them the option of riding together in the Xtracycle or splitting up between Xtra and trailer. They chose to ride separately, which was probably the best choice (It's not easy to pedal that much of a load when there's a wrestling match happening on the deck of the Xtracycle).

It was in the high 90s as we pedaled our way down the path. I took the opportunity to park in the shade if they got fussy. But I was surprised at how well it all went. They were so pumped about camping (plus the amount of juice boxes I brought to keep them hydrated) that they were more patient than usual.

We set up their tent as soon as we arrived. My plan was to sleep in the hammock and let them stay in their Cars tent. But they were itchy to get into the pool, so after Lightning McQueen made his debut, we set off for the water.

Go ahead, boys. Wear yourself out so you'll sleep all night :)

Back at camp, resting in the hammock while dad makes dinner.

Food and water were my most extreme instance of overpacking. I wanted them to have energy and stay hydrated. But I brought WAY too much food and water. When it's that hot outside, the nurturing instincts kick in and you fear dehydration. But we were nowhere near running low. At least my paranoia led to lots of snack times and options for dinner.

I had my classic noodles and tuna dinner. Lots of carbs and protein with very little work.

After dinner was playground time. The Horse Park is great for kiddos. We could have bounced between pool and playground for hours. Fortunately for me, though, the darkness was setting in and the boys were getting tired. After all the pedaling and kid juggling, I was ready to rest, too.

Back to camp for fire and flashlight time. When we stayed moving, we didn't notice that it was still pretty hot outside. But soon enough, the boys would want to go to bed, only to be thwarted by the heat in their little windowless tent.

That was the only drama of the entire trip. Their tent was just too hot to sleep in. After fighting their desire to sleep in Lightning McQueen for nearly an hour, they gave up and came outside to lay on a tarp that I brought. I laid it right under my hammock so that I was just a few inches away. They laid under the stars, chatted and giggled for a while, then fell asleep. I was proud of myself for pulling it off. We had made a pedal powered journey in the heat, spent great quality time together and here we were, a dad and his sons laying under God's creation. It was good stuff.

I did, however, feel some sprinkles of rain at about 3am. Really? Come on! I got up, ran a line above my hammock and hung another tarp over myself and the boys. They never woke up. But it did rain pretty good for an hour. I was glad that I trusted my gut on bringing two tarps. I was also glad that I went ahead and hung the second tarp after just a few sprinkles. Had I not hung it up in time, the boys would have gotten wet and woke up. It would have been a tough recovery after that.

Morning brought on a sunrise soccer game that ended with an injury. After about 30 seconds of tears, he embraced his injury and was proud to bleed on his first man camping trip. And yes, those are Cheeto fingers at 7am in the woods.

We quickly packed up to try and beat the heat.

Clive, the big one, wanted to ride in the trailer the entire time. He's too big for it. It totally squishes him in. But he thought it was funny to ride in the baby trailer and who am I to argue. This trip was about living it up. And when you're five, living it up means different things than when you're 31.

From there it was the same farms from a different angle on the way home. We made it back in nearly half the time that it took us to get there the previous day. Even after having tired legs, I think the morning temps gave me the extra boost to roll along a little faster.

It was an awesome trip. I can't wait to make it again. Angie wants to go with our oldest as soon as we can leave the baby with a sitter overnight. That would be awesome.

I did learn a few things...

It's easy to overpack on any camping trip. But when you're bringing little ones along, it's a certainty. In hindsight, I would rather underpack on a trip like this and hit up the camp store if I've forgotten something that's a necessity. With the boys weighing in at nearly 100lbs, plus all of the bike, trailer and gear, my legs were pulling some major cargo weight. It didn't slow me down terribly, but it would be nice to ditch 20lbs or so.

There's a trade off between camping in the heat and having the pool available versus camping in the fall but not having the pool to occupy their time. The majority of our time was spent swimming. Our night would be a bit easier in cooler weather, but I would need to compensate with other activities during the day.

And for parking, I called the North Lexington YMCA ahead of time and they were great. They were excited that we were making the trip and welcomed us to leave the car. That's good to know. They just asked that I email my car's make, model and license number for reference. If you're ever interested in this trip, I'd do the same. And parking the car was a great option. I've done this trip a few times, now, but I've always left from home on the bike. That's too many miles and unsafe roads for a family trip, though. Parking at the Y is a great distance and makes it 100% on the bike path.

Other plans?

I'd love to set up a trip this fall and plan it using this blog. Are there other family bike riders out there that would be interested in doing this trip? The primitive sites at the Horse Park would be perfect for dozens of bikes, tents and families rocking it out for a night. Who's interested? I love to hear from any of you that would want to do a Lexington family bike camping trip. Shoot me an email or comment below. I'll start to compile a list.

Get out there.