The Four Have Become Two
For some dumb reason my summer has been short on biking. Lot’s of short run-an-errand rides and what not, but very few rides for fun and distance. Along with that I haven’t been working on bikes nearly as much as I normally do. Thankfully I had a chance meeting with two forlorn alley bikes that I tore down yesterday and should be ready for a new rider tomorrow. It’s nice to have a little grease under the fingernails again. And that odd citrus degreaser taste to the uncovered cup of coffee on your work bench. I’m sure it’s clearing out my arteries as we speak.
But even cooler than my dinking around the garage is that this last weekend we stuck the tag-a-long on the back of my bike for Elsa. Her legs are finally long enough. Now she can pedal along with me. This is huge. Last summer we couldn’t really bike as a family because she was too young to keep up on her little bike and old enough to reject sitting passively in the trailer. But now she can keep up. She can ride along. She’s in and active. She loves it. I love it. Feel the love people.
This sparked in her a sense of freedom. The power of going fast. She subsequently realized her training wheels were holding her back. And now they’re off. Hurray!
She still needs my hand on the back of her bike but she’s growing in confidence. And now that they’re off there’s no going back.
I think I’m more stoked about this than she is. I’m okay with that.