Saturday, July 5, 2008

Katie's First Ride

For you gearheads yearning to hear something about bikes on this purportedly bike-oriented blog, today's your day. Katie experiences her first bike ride, albeit somewhat vicariously since she's happily ensconsed in a Chariot trailer. It didn't last long, partly because the helmet I bought last month is a little too generous in size, basically protecting not only her head, but her eyes, ears, nose, and larynx (almost).

N.B. I always wear a helmet while biking. Always. Except today, in solidarity with Katie. Once she has a good-fitting helmet (like tomorrow), we'll all three wear our helmets every time we ride bikes. It's just good sense. Or do I have to go into the gory details of helmetless bike crashes to convince you?

Oh, and by the way, just for the record: don't ever ride against traffic under any circumstances. I don't care what your Dad and teacher and gym coach said; it's just plain dumb. Oh yeah, also don't blast through stop lights and stop signs without stopping. You make all the road ragin' SUV pilots and glass-piped pickup jockeys turn all blotchy red and start making funny sounds, like they're having trouble breathing, and you make it hard for the rest of the biking world. Suffice it to say that when a pickup and a bike tangle, the bike always loses. 'Nuf said.

Earlier today and yesterday morning I rode with Big Jim, so my legs are a little fried. I was happy enough to take a couple of passes around the block with Katie, and then load her into the stroller for a short walk. She has to get used to all these restraining devices, like trailers, joggers, strollers, car seats, and for Pete's sake those grocery carts with a built-in kiddie seat. I confess I never once noticed them in a store until today, when Soulmate suggested we put Katie in one. We ended up taking her out right away and it just kept us from being able to put stuff in the cart. So much for modern conveniences.

Well, it's 4:30am, and we've been up for 3 or 4 hours. The smallest of the 3 of us is bright-eyed and bushy tailed, the other two are more of the bleary-eyed variety. There doesn't seem to be much movement on the time change thing. She is so cute and playful that it would be a really fun time if we'd slept the night. It's harder to be charmed to death when you're sleep-deprived. We were hoping to make an appearance at church, but it looks like we'll be sleeping in today...

3 comments:

Jonathan said...

Just like most things that keep up safe, their just not very convenient, eh? I'm wondering if they make an adult-sized version of that carrying thingy? Of course, I'd be stuck sitting in it, non-moving, in my driveway, since I'm unlikely to find someone as nice as you to ride the bike to pull me.. Sigh

We love the videos and we want to welcome you to the 4am club. It does get better...at least until they're teens and coming in a wee hours of the morning. Thankfully you'll learn about GPS and web-based tracking by then... Love from the gang in the PacNW

Anonymous said...

congrats again. now you have a 'good' excuse for poor race results this year...

You'll bring her to the Tour of GC to show off, eh?

Also, never have your loved one take a photo of the top of your head; it shows off your bald spot. Trust me, I know... ;)

Doc said...

Jon,

The helmet was the smallest we can get, so we'll have to deal with it. I've been pulled around by my teammates often enough, I know how good it is!

Redbeard,

What are you talking about? I don't have any poor race results this year! I don't (and won't) have ANY. Well, maybe I'll take a shot at Henderson just for grins, and to whet my appetite for next year. Bald? Who cares?