Bikes, kids, sheep, and a dog

Dex enjoys serving as bell ringer in the front passenger seat. 

July is traditionally a busy month for visitors around the old bike ranch. The latest round included nephews and/or cousins Aidan and Dexter, visiting from Utah via Wyoming with Grandma and Grandpa. We ordinarily take an evening ride whether or not visitors are present, but it's always more fun to have extra riders to show around.

This is how we roll.

Scout continues to be a good riding partner. She's capable of amazing bursts of speed and galloping for several blocks at well over 15 miles an hour, but for the most part, she trots along at a consistent 6 to 8 miles per hour. That's a good speed for pacing riders of various skill levels around our neighborhood.

During one ride, we happened to chance upon some sheep along the fence at the farm. Because I suspect her ancestors were ranch dogs, and because I don't know much about her personal history prior to living with us, I was curious as to how she would behave around livestock. We approached the sheep slowly. When she got to the fence, Scout lay down next to it, calmly sniffed the sheep through the wire, and looked up at me as if in anticipation of a command. I was a bit taken aback. I doubt if she has had any livestock training, but she behaved, to my untrained eye, as if she were an old pro. I don't know if things would have been different if she were on the other side of the fence, but I was impressed in any case. It seemed that she would have been content to hang out with the sheep all afternoon.

My view of Scout on a typical ride.

An apparent ranch dog hanging with some sheep.

Scout at ease with her ovine pals. 

Last summer, I picked up an old/mid school fully chromed BMX bike. This acquisition was in part to serve as a guest bike for visiting kids, and in part to soothe my unrequited desire to own a similar bike, dating back to sometime in the late 1970s. During the visit, Aidan claimed the Diamond Back Assault as his steed for the visit; riding it the way a dirt bike needs to be ridden. The boy and the shiny silver BMX hit every bump and jump they could find. It made me remember my own long summer days spent searching out every pile of dirt in town. It was clear what had to be done. When our visitors left, the Diamond Back went westward to a new home with plenty of dirt riding in its future. Aidan's only cost for the bike was to promise that he gets his Dad out to ride as often as possible. I'm confident he'll hold up his end of the bargain.

Aidan and the Diamond Back Assault.

Big Sis was happy to have another dirt biking buddy to ride with, and they made quick work of finding every trail and stretch of muddy ground during our rides together. In my view, it bodes well for the world to have an up and coming crop of enthusiastic bike riders.

Still loving the new mountain bike.

Hydrating has never been so fun

Enjoying 1.5 liters of cold, cool refreshment.

The CamelBak has been a big hit with my little mountain biker. She's been putting her one-handed riding skills to good use to grab the tube while riding.

Rainy night ride

Night riding is fun. Puddles are fun. Night + rain = double fun.

We took a little ride to test out some newly acquired birthday gear. Of note were the new CamelBak, headlamp and riding knickers. She gave grinning approval to all. We opted for bikes with fenders to enjoy the puddles. Big Sis was a bit surprised to realize that her new mountain bike wasn't equipped with them, saying, "I thought all bikes had fenders." Around our place, with few exceptions it's easy to see how she would get that idea.

Though the little 16-inch wheeled Electra Hawaii has been a great bike, she acknowledged that it's time to pass this one down to her little sis. The Electra's coaster brake and lack of gears were also mildly lamented, indicating that she's become accustomed to the multiple gears and hand brakes of her mountain bike.

As we were riding and talking, it was she who brought up the need to find a larger replacement for her cruiser. In a flash of comprehension, I realized that the idea of having just a single bike is foreign to this girl. I shouldn't be surprised, but growing up on and around a barn full of bikes has apparently made an impression.

I've got a few vintage Schwinns in the herd, but a big bike with 26-inch wheels is still a while off from fitting. In the mean time, I suppose she's going to have to really twist my arm to go hunting for a 20" cruiser.

Sunday afternoon ride

Scout likes me to rub her stomach while she intermittently chews my hand.
This is a distracting but cute animal photo, unrelated to the story.

Following yesterday's ride, I thought it would be a good idea to try out another trail. I remembered a nice dirt path along the Platte River. No, I'm not talking about the Platte River Trail, but instead a minor trail that many people might not even know exists. At least that's how I remembered it.

Before we set off, I checked over our bikes to make sure no tire leaks had cropped up overnight. All good, but Big Sis's bike sure got a good dose of mud. I guess that's what I should expect when I tell her that mountain bikes like to get dirty. As for my helper, she danced around in the bike barn to a rediscovered audio tape of Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper's album Bo-Day-Shus, a relic of my youth. It'll be a while before she can understand all of the lyrics, so it's safe listening for now. It might require some explanation eventually.

Mud. An important part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Busting a move to Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper.

As it turned out, in the approximately five years since I last rode the trail that I had in mind it had apparently become more popular, and marked. It now featured an actual trailhead placard, on which a notice was placed that it was closed to bikes. Bummer. So I had to piece together a Plan B. 

We rode a ways down the paved Platte River Trail, a place that I usually try to avoid on a weekend, especially with a kid in tow. There are just too many weekend warriors out in full kit on fancy road bikes, evidently either training for a race or trying for a personal best in getting to Chatfield Reservoir. In other words, lycra-clad speedsters with little patience for we slow or meandering explorers. So we rode the minimum possible on the paved part of the trail and shot off onto gravel or dirt spurs whenever we found them. In all, the ride wasn't quite up to the greatness of yesterday, but it wasn't bad.

Humming along, shortly before nearly running over a Common Garter Snake speeding across the trail. 

The Platter River Trail is kind of like a bike autobahn (fahrradbahn?), so I prefer the gravel frontage road when it is available.

Trail riding over the past two days was quite a bit of fun, but it's worth the effort to get to more out of the way places with more elevation change. Maybe next weekend we'll try for a somewhat longer ride.  I'm also thinking that an overnighter should be in the works.

Testing out the miniature effect setting on my new camera. Somehow, I don't think I've quite got it figured out.

Riding ahead of the storm

A summit pose in front of the rain approaching from the West.

We finally got some much needed moisture last night, and again today. The rain cut through the haze of wildfire smoke that's been hanging over the Denver area for a few weeks. The clear and dry morning and early afternoon was the perfect chance to get out for a ride before the next wave of thunderstorms were upon us.

Big Sis's new mountain bike proved to be a big boost to her off-road prowess, and seems very capable of enabling her to build on her already impressive array of skills. She rode terrifically, whether climbing, descending, or negotiating trail obstacles. As is reminiscent of my own riding experiences in my youth, her tires seemed to find the only mud puddle still standing. Kids and mud have a magnetic attraction. After the encounter, she reveled in "throwing some mud balls" from her tires.

It's nice to feel out in the country, even if housing developments are just out of view.

Below is my first attempt at editing together a video, which encompasses several of the highlights of the ride. The music is by The Sons of the Pioneers from sometime in the 1930s, because it just seemed to suit the mood. Enjoy!