Last weekend, the weather was gorgeous! Warm sunshine. Not a cloud in the sky. Leaves coming out on the trees. Dogwoods in full bloom. A wonderful site to see!
It was absolutely necessary that we take advantage of this beautiful weather. Somehow. Someway.
Mike was there to encourage us. “Outside?”, we would repeatedly ask in his own little way (which comes out sounding more like “ow sigh”). “Yes honey. We are going outside today. And we are going to do something NEW!”
We had decided to take Mike on his very first bike ride!
And by “bike ride” – I mean he did just that. Ride.
A couple of weeks ago, our good friends, Matt and Karen, let us “borrow” the bike trailer that there son had recently outgrown. It was a fabulous “try before you buy” offer. Especially important since Mike seems to have become very opinionated about things. If Mike liked riding in the trailer – then it was ours for the asking. If not – then we would simply give it back.
So we loaded up the bikes and the trailer and headed to Third Creek Greenway. A nice, wide, paved, mostly shaded trail that winds along Third Creek through west Knoxville We hitched the trailer up to “the Dad’s” bike (“the mom” wasn’t quite ready to try towing mike…). We strapped Mike in. Made sure he had his sippy cup in one pocket and his goldfish crackers and pacey in the other. And then we headed off!
We rode at a nice, leisurely pace from the trailhead to Tyson Park. Along the way, the trail snakes along, climbs up and down some small hills, and is full of joggers, walkers, and other cyclists. Every time we would go down a little hill, Mike would shout out “WEEEEE!!!” or “WWWOOOOWWWW!!!”. Perhaps the cutest thing of all was – he didn’t know the word “bicycle” so he called it the “daddy go”. He would periodically pull out his sippy cup for a little drink or take a few nips on the pacey (he’s taking it less and less these days…). All in all, he rode in the trailer like he was a king being served by his minions. And perhaps that’s not too far from the truth…
Once we arrived at Tyson Park, we stopped and let Mike play for a little while. Swing? Check! Slide? Check! Big thing that looked like a boat that he could climb around on? Check! What was his favorite thing? The pea gravel. And interestingly enough – he didn’t call them “rocks”. He called them “bubbles”. And he had a whale of a time grabbing handfuls and pouring them over his head!
Then we all mounted back up and headed back down the greenway. Mike still had a few “WEEEEE’s” and “WWWOOOWWWW’s” in him. It turned out to be a fantastic afternoon! And it sure did feel good to be back on the bike after a long, cold winter.
So – Matt and Karen – it looks like we’ll be taking that trailer off of your hands!
“This isn’t my regular stroller! What in the world is this thing?”
“Am I hooked up to the ‘daddy-go’?”
“Mommy and daddy say that pre-ride hydration is very important.”
“Let’s get this party started!”
“Rocks are cool!”
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