Familia de tres Xtracycles

Left to right: Xtracycle Schwinn Panther (big sis), Xtracycle Breezer Villager (mom), and Surly Big Dummy (dad and lil' sis)

After an Xtracycle on long term loan was recently returned, we now have three longtail cargo bikes in the bike barn. During the time the loaned Xtracycle was absent, big sister grew enough to be able to ride it. Since about the age of three, when she first started riding as co-pilot on the Big Dummy, she's been talking about having a longtail of her own. Now she does. There are not likely too many 10 year-olds in command of a cargo bike, so it will be interesting to see what sort of adventures it inspires.

In other news, little sister is on the brink of moving up from 12" wheels to 16" wheels. Out of storage comes our 16 inch-wheeled Schwinn Trixie, an old friend that has seen a string of riders in our family. This venerable steed is a great introductory dirt bike for our local suburban singletrack, and has logged hundreds of miles and scorched thousands of skid marks. With a little tune up, it'll be ready for many more.

Convoy

The convoy cruising through the park...

...and bombing down neighborhood streets.

It's the time of year for the annual visit by my sister-in-law Jennie and her two girls. They are usually here for a week or two during the hottest part of the year. The present heat wave has ensured that this year will be no exception. I'm not typically involved with the activities during the day as I'm at work, but every evening we have a ride followed by cocktails. However, sometimes the events of the evening do not necessarily occur in that order.

Our evening rides are usually a bit of a rolling party, with the Big Dummy hauling a pile of revelers. Tonight, in my charge were about 110 pounds worth of girls (three in total), roughly 80 pounds of bike and trailer, a 40 pound dog, and 180-ish pounds of me. Those on my vehicle who were capable of singing regaled all in the vicinity with a variety of tunes. For whatever reason, Jingle Bells was featured prominently.

Big rig carrying a pink-laden, girlish cargo.

Sisters Jennie on the Pugsley and Julie on her beloved Breezer.

We usually have some sort of destination while riding, whether it is the community garden, a park or a dirt trail. Sometimes we have snack breaks or find activities to do along the way. The heat has been oppressive as of late, so we always appreciate chancing upon a water feature.

Meredith and Scout check out the fountain.

New to swimming, Scout heavily considered taking the plunge, but the slopeless, four-foot depth spooked her.

Out of the four daughters between the two adult sisters, three are old enough to play and do so almost ceaselessly. Any four kids can make an impressive amount of noise, but I'm finding that girls seem to have a particular knack for sustained volume, interspersed with shrill spikes.

Because I'm the only male in the household, and because I'm an obvious Daddy figure, Julie and Jennie occasionally give me grief about appearing to be the head of a polygamist family when we're all out together. It is likely a bit of a spectacle to see a somewhat bedraggled, middle-aged guy with a couple of Mommy-ish women (are they his wives?) and a flock of kids in tow. The fact that all the girls are blond-haired, blue-eyed and unmistakably appear related doesn't do much to dissuade any misguided perceptions.

Girls climbing a tree.

Girls on top of a rock.

Butterfly spotted.

I'm proud to have played the role of de facto bike godfather to my nieces. I've refurbished or rebuilt several bikes of varying sizes that have been passed around between them as each girl grows in size or progresses in bicycling skill. It began about six years ago when I refurbished Chloe's first bike, a 16-inch wheeled Schwinn Trixie that she currently rides. Now at 10, over the past few days Chloe made the leap from a single-speed, coaster-brake bike to a mountain bike with front and rear derailleurs and v-brakes. The transition has gone quite smoothly and her skills are on the rise with each ride. 

The bike she's riding is one that I built up expressly for the purpose of helping big kids learn how to shift and brake on a scaled-down classic mountain bike. The bike is a circa late '90s Kona Hahanna with a small 14-inch frame, but equipped with 26 inch wheels. The frame and fork are nice examples of thoughtfully assembled 4130 chromoly steel, appropriately light in gauge for correctly sized riders, and featuring 1-inch diameter top and down tubes for a compliant ride. I assembled it with top mount thumbshifters, friction front and indexed rear, so that shifting can be learned the right way. The bike is finished off with some 26x1.6 inch knobbies with just the right amount of grip. It ends up being quite light and nimble for budding singletrackers. This will definitely be a bike that stays in the family for use by all the girls.

Chloe rides with confidence on the Kona Hahanna.

She invites you to the gun show with the Schwinn Trixie hanging in the background.

Mother and daughter are all smiles after a few circuits on the dirt track in the park.

In addition to our evening rides, I have plenty of eager assistance with dogwalking duties. Meredith is a talented animal whisperer, who has quickly and completely enchanted our ordinarily shy dog Scout.

These girls are sometimes mistaken for each other or as twins.

Walking in the late evening sun.

Most fireworks have long been illegal in Colorado, but this year, even most of the public fireworks displays in the state have been cancelled due to extreme fire danger. That's no problem for me as I've had an aversion to fireworks for years, and I can't understand what is patriotic about literally burning money in the form of litter-producing, toxic-material-dispersing, Chinese-made explosives. However, tradition is propelled by strong inertia, and kids of all ages expect certain elements in a holiday. 

I'm sure we'll figure out something festive and fun to do. After all, what could be more patriotic than expending a little American muscle power as a rider in a bike convoy?

Four people, four wheels, and four paws.

National Bike to School Day

On the way to school this morning.

Proud girl ready for the ride home.

Hey Daddy, I want to ride every day

Shortly before making the statement that is the title of this post.

We've been putting in a lot of miles recently, riding all over the place. This activity is due in part to a streak of terrific spring/early summer weather, and in part as an adjustment to my repatriation as a citizen of humanity. Big Sis and Scout in particular have been my avid riding buddies. We'll do our best to ride every day.

Check out that rig. The circus must be in town.

The caboose operator is asleep on duty at the end of the road train.

I've become adept at juggling. I simultaneously manage a Big Dummy with an attached Burley trailer and diminutive occupant, keep a tethered dog in check, and issue air traffic control orders to an orbiting speedster with a skid-happy brake lever. Overall, the whole operation moves surprisingly smoothly. Regardless, people often stop and stare as we go by. I'm convinced it's because they wish they were doing what we're doing.

Scout takes a Denver B-cycle ride.

She didn't think twice about trotting along beside me on an unknown bike. The transition to biker dog is complete.

I suppose this marketing effort is targeting the generation who grew up in the '70s. Works for me.

When we're not riding, we're walking. The lake in the park is flush with newly hatched chicks. The girls were focused on the goslings, but reasons likely varied by species among the observers.

All eyes on the goslings.

Vigilant parents.

Dirt biker!

Biking with a daughter and a dogter

A couple of kids; one each of the furry and not-as-furry varieties.

It's the middle of Spring Break, so we took a chance to catch some sun. There are some decent dirt trails at a large open space a couple of miles away, so we packed a lunch and made it into a half day adventure. 

At this point, one had gotten wet, but the other was still dry.

In addition to trails, another attraction was a stream with some great little sandy alcoves to explore. The enjoyment of racing twigs downstream and digging holes in sand seems to transcend species and generations. 

Need a volunteer to help out with that sandwich?

She likes to be the leader.

The springtime has brought out an abundance of flora and fauna. We found quite a bit of wildlife, including aquatic creatures.

This was quite a large crayfish with an impressively big green claw.

This wild creature was newly discovered to be a water lover.

I almost forgot to mention that Scout has become quite a bike dog, and happily runs along on a leash and harness next to me. She's got great endurance and we can go for five or six miles at a time. I still need to build her a rig to ride on the Big Dummy for longer distances and greater speeds.

Proof of the biker dog.

We got home just in time to help Lil Sis with a bath.

First day of school and she's already learning

Eager to learn and ready to ride.

This is the second year in a row that our girl has ridden on the first day of school, something that I hope will continue all the way through her career. Last year, I carried her on the Big Dummy until we crossed the big street, but this year she rode on her own bike the whole way, with parents by her side of course. I could tell that all the dirt riding we've done this summer has made her strong, because she had no trouble motoring up a long hill along the way.

The weather was perfect and we had plenty of time to spare in getting to school on time. It's hard to believe that classes are back in session. This means that summer is unofficially over. However, no tears were shed, because she was more than happy to see her friends and meet her new teacher.

The trail was clear and perfect in the morning.

She picked out a nice shady spot to park, while striking a sassy pose.

After school, I picked her up and we rode home. I had to select a different bike for the task, as the front tire on the Big Dummy went flat sometime after I dropped her off in the morning, and I didn't notice it until I needed to leave. It's a good thing that I have an extra bike or two around to pick up the slack.

The color coordinated purple clothes, backpack and bike obviously play into her steely gaze of confidence.

After a snack and a rest, we decided to change the tire. The learning for the day was not yet finished, as she gained some hands on experience with changing a flat, including patching a tube with the patch kit that she won in the bike rodeo yesterday. She dove right into the task, and before long the Dummy was again ready to roll.

Tarik of the Moscaline blog calls the little silver item a 'dork nut.' As far as I know, there is no better name for it.

Prepping a brand new tube. We patched the old one to become a spare, as it already had a handful of patches on it.

Seating the bead like a pro. Daddy is proud.

How many mechanics do you know who are cool enough to sport a prancing unicorn on their shirt?
I thought so.