Mini Me:
About 4 weeks ago my son left his bike out next to the road and the trash collectors picked it up. Most kids would be upset by this, but it would not matter that much. My son saw it as an opportunity to get a new bike. After some negotiating with the trash collectors we were able to get some money out of them and the order went in to Harrell’s for a new rig. He was riding a 16” Raleigh with a coaster break and was quite good on the bike. However, he had a lot of trouble on the hills around Columbia and even more difficulty on the trails. Now granted the boy is only 5, but he has been riding on two wheels since he was three. He continues to push the limits and it is difficult to keep him reigned in within the limits. On his old bike I took him riding at Sesquentenal State park and he managed to wreck real bad coming around a corner in the sand. He cried the whole 1.5 miles out, due to the handle bar jamming him in the stomach. After events like this I wonder if I am pushing him too hard or allowing him to ride trails he has no business riding. We got back to the house and I asked him if he would ever ride that trail again. He looked at me with are you serious eyes and said “yeah Dad!” So the story goes on. He received his new bike last Friday from Paul. It might as well have been Christmas with the look on the boy’s face. So of course what is the first thing he wants to do when we get home? RIDE. And I can not fault the boy for that. It is all I want to do. So I give up some much needed training rides to spend some time riding with my son. Friday we ride around the neighborhood hitting some dirt roads of yet to be built neighborhoods and head back to the house. ~3 miles. Saturday he hears me talking to the wife about going riding and he begs to go with me. So… we head out to Sesqui. And I ask him if he wants to ride the trail that he got hurt on last time. His response was, “is it a real mountain bike trail?” Yes son. “Ok, let’s go”. So we hit the trail and he climbs almost everything out there. His new bike is a Trek mnt 60 with 6 gears on the back and 20” wheels. It is a little big, but he handles it well. No wrecks this time and we put in 4.2 miles on dirt before I have to tow him out with a bungee. I figure by now the boy has had his fill of riding and the bike will sit a few days. Wrong! Sunday morning we get up and he wants to ride his bike to the “far away park”. It is about 2.5 miles from the house and it is really hilly in Lake Carolina. So like any cycling loving father we suit up and head out. We get to the park and play a while when he decides that he is ready to leave, but does not want to go back to the house, he wants to keep riding. So we do the Lake Carolina loop. There is one climb on the loop that is about a mile long and can kick your butt on a road bike. We were on the way up when he decided he wanted to turn back. I convinced him that we were almost at the top and that it was mostly down from there. We took a break and started back up. Like a trooper he rode most of it. Finally at the top we started our descent down the twisty paved sidewalks that run along side the road. The enjoyment he got out of that riding was very apparent. He made the comment that it was like a roller coaster with no seat belts. I used this opportunity to discuss the love of climbing to enjoy the descent. I am not sure if he got it, but he sure loves going down. We made the 7 mile loop in 50 minutes. Afterwards he took a nap for about an hour, woke up and played the rest of the day. He rides his bike every day to school and really truly loves it. It looks like before long I will have a great excuse to go camping and mountain biking. It is a great feeling to see my son grow up with this passion and drive that we share.