posts tagged with 'cycling'
another kind of camp
I need to pause from my series on our recent camping vacation to acknowledge another kind of camp: our day camp just finished up for the summer, with a bike ride up to the ice cream store to celebrate.
ready to go
We did a lot of cycling over the course of the summer—more than most of the kids had ever done before. Sometimes they didn't like it and wished that it was over, but I made sure that in the end it always felt fun and worthwhile (that's what careful route planning will do: I put all the hard parts first!). And as the kids were stretched, so were the parents: some of them were nervous about sending their kids out on the roads (or at least the sidewalks) but everyone did great—I'm happy to report that we didn't lose a single one all summer. And at the end, I think both kids and parents ended camp today with an expanded view of what they and their kids could do on bikes—and maybe in general!
The kids also ended it covered in ice cream...
a lot of ice cream
... and happy to be cycling together!
aw
It was fun; maybe we'll do it again next year!
spring cycling for Harvey
March 31 and there's still over a foot of snow across the street on our neighbor's lawn. This evening as I read to Harvey I had a sudden memory of once, some distant moment in the misty past, sleeping with the windows open as gentle spring breezes wafted the curtains and scented the air with their perfume. There are no gentle spring breezes yet; winter still has us pretty much in its grip.
That said, there was definitely some sun today, and some warm weather—and we took full advantage! We spent most of the day outside, playing in the yard, and in the street, and roaming further afield. A considerable distance of roaming, actually; counting it up afterwards I figure that Harvey rode his bike a little over six miles on outings today, not counting the innumerable times up and down our street.
Ever since got his training wheels off, a couple weeks ago, he's been pretty serious about his cycling. There was a little setback a couple days after his two-wheeler breakthrough, when a friend backed over his bike with her car and rendered it unrideable; but on the upside that led us to dig through the shed to find a replacement that ended up being a better fit for an increasingly confident rider. (His confidence also extends to not caring a bit that it's pink and Barbie-branded.) Consistent riding means his balance gets better and better, and his turns are now as nimble as mine—more so, even, with his shorter wheelbase. No more, playing bike chase, can I out-turn him to turn the hunted into the hunter.
As much as we enjoy games like that on our dead-end street, he sees me modeling cycling distances for transportation and wants to get in on the action. Sure, he wasn't enthusiastic about joining us on our family walk to Whole Foods this morning (once we got going, Leah said, "Isn't life nice when none of the adults have to work!"), but he did great once we got going. Then we joined our neighbors on a ride up to the library—but we didn't have time to go in, since we had to get home and take over the Lijah care when Leah went to do an errand. Well, that wouldn't do for my pair of library lovers, so we hooked up the trailer for Lijah and headed right back up the hill. So yeah, a little over six miles without a complaint.
Even though we're riding in mittens, getting out in the fresh air makes spring feel a little more real. And with all that good outdoor exercise, we fall asleep so quick we have less time to mind the closed windows!