Biking with the Kids - Kawabe Style

I suppose I used to be obsessive about bicycles and riding. Not any more, but I have the remnants of those days. A Marinoni road bike, a Raleigh mountain bike and a KHS Tandemania aluminum-frame tandem which has been collecting dust in the basement for a couple of years.

My wife was walking our daughter to a birthday party on Saturday. It was really hot and sunny and I figured my wife, who is quite fair, would burn if she had to walk back. I thought I'd do something unique and pick her up on the tandem. It took a few minutes to drag the frame upstairs, attach and pump up the tires, but I managed to do it fast enough to pick her up en route home from the party.

That same day, my son had a mishap at a party he was at, and came home with a really sore jaw. The party was for his best friend's birthday, so he really wanted to go back, despite the pain. I suggested that we try and see if he'd fit on the tandem. The grin went ear to ear as he realized what I was talking about and he gladly got on and off to test whether he was big enough to ride. He was and the kids thought the bike was really cool.

We had a couple of tandem rides over the weekend, and I've expanded this now to picking the kids up on the tandem - Paul on the back and Emily in the trailer. She's too big for the trailer, really, but without a trail-a-bike or something like that, it'll have to do for now. Besides, at least we have a "trunk" to put school bags into.

So yesterday, we had an almost car-less afternoon. Picked up the kids from after-school care on the tandem, drove them to piano, drove home to get the tandem & trailer. Then I picked them up from piano on the bike and did the soccer evening all on the bike.

Going home from the soccer field was a bit of a challenge. 8:15 pm - everyone's in a hurry to get somewhere. Being on a tandem with another 150 lbs of kids and trailer in tow is a good workout. Especially when you go over the bridge on Richmond St. over Hwy. 58. Anyway, my quads felt it when I got home, so that was something I'll probably repeat.

My bike computer for the tandem appears to have bitten the dust, so I have no idea how many km were ridden yesterday. I estimate it was at least 15, so there's 83 notched for the year. Considering I was planning to do at least 100 km per week, I think I have some catching up to do...

200 km in one day in August. It's only three months off at this point...time to hustle.