Family Outing on Bikes

He was standing at the side of the road, straddled over the frame of his bike, looking back. He was about 9 years old. Further back down the road was Dad on a bike pulling a his 5 year old brother on a tag-along (bike extension with bike seat and pedals).

Dad, too, was looking still further down the road, where I could glimpse Mom on bike with a child trailer. It looked odd from my vantage point—the trailer that is—with the usual top and front netting but there was a wheel jutting out from the back. How odd, I thought, until I neared her and realised that another bike was perched precariously on top of the trailer and inside were two more boys. I guessed the brothers to be about 7 and 3 year-olds.

After I turned around, I came upon the family, now together but regrouping. The bike coming off the child trailer and starting to head off to continue their ride.

That night tired and exhausted Mom and Dad may be thinking about the adventure and saying to themselves, "Never again," while the boys were in their beds thinking of the great time they'd had. Well that's how I'd like to think of it. Who knows what each would be thinking but after time, I'm sure it will be remembered fondly.

As I looked back on my bike adventures with our two children, they were picnics compared to this. Well there was the time of riding from our campground to Chemainus and back one afternoon when we did have some tire trouble and had to walk the last mile or so.