On Saturday while Miriam and I were off adventuring with Naanii, and while Andrew and the little ones went grocery shopping, Grandpa took Rachel on her first real bike ride.
She's been riding around our [old] neighbourhood for a few years now, but we haven't really ventured beyond that. Now that we're here with wide open spaces and a new-to-her mountain bike, as well as a willing adult unencumbered by those too small to ride, however, Rachel ventured well beyond our neighbourhood.
Grandpa put her bike up on the trainer stand so she could learn how to shift gears and so forth without worrying about traffic or falling over or anything. Next they went to the church parking lot where she practiced shifting and braking while moving. And then she said, "I'm ready, let's go!"
"Are you sure?" Grandpa asked her. "Because we can go next week if you don't feel comfortable..."
"I'm ready!" she assured him.
So Andrew loaded the bikes into the van and dropped Rachel and Grandpa off at the trail. They followed the trail for as long as they could but also did a little riding along the highway (luckily the lanes here are typically quite wide, with a wide shoulder on either side of the road, so there's plenty of room for bikers).
She's been riding around our [old] neighbourhood for a few years now, but we haven't really ventured beyond that. Now that we're here with wide open spaces and a new-to-her mountain bike, as well as a willing adult unencumbered by those too small to ride, however, Rachel ventured well beyond our neighbourhood.
Grandpa put her bike up on the trainer stand so she could learn how to shift gears and so forth without worrying about traffic or falling over or anything. Next they went to the church parking lot where she practiced shifting and braking while moving. And then she said, "I'm ready, let's go!"
"Are you sure?" Grandpa asked her. "Because we can go next week if you don't feel comfortable..."
"I'm ready!" she assured him.
So Andrew loaded the bikes into the van and dropped Rachel and Grandpa off at the trail. They followed the trail for as long as they could but also did a little riding along the highway (luckily the lanes here are typically quite wide, with a wide shoulder on either side of the road, so there's plenty of room for bikers).
They rode all the way to the Maple Mountain Pharmacy (where they stopped for ice cream) much faster than Andrew had anticipated. He was hardly finished shopping at Costco when they texted to tell him they'd finished their ride. So Andrew hurriedly checked out to go pick them up. I'm not sure if Grandpa and Rachel decided to ride back home before or after Andrew got there, but either way Andrew, Benjamin, and Zoë ended up getting ice cream at the pharmacy as well.
(Zoë got pistachio ice cream, and was always very excited when she'd unearth a whole pistachio—her favourite nut!)
When they got home, Rachel showered upstairs while Grandpa showered downstairs and they laughed when they saw each other after they were all cleaned up:
They'd managed to dress like twins!
Rachel loved her biking adventure and the little ones enjoyed their ice cream outing so it was a good day all around.
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