Another First Ride

Amanda has become a bit more of a fair weather rider over the last couple years. After a couple of nasty wipe-outs on ice she totally gave up winter riding and started walking the 6km to work and then takes the bus home – or visa versa…

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


Due to some misplaced keys she missed her bus this morning and so decided to take the bike. Luckily, I had given it a brief spring tune up on the weekend (though I’m sure there will be complaints when she gets home and I’ll be out doing a proper tune up on the weekend again)…


Keira was so pumped to see her mom on a bike she chanted “MOM! BIKE! GO! MOM! BIKE! GO! MOM! BIKE GO!” for at least five minutes after she had rolled out of sight!

First Rides…

A couple of first rides for the year…

While I continued to ride through the winter on my winter beater I abandoned hauling the kids behind the bike in November. Once it got snowy and cold it was just too hard pulling the both of them. Also once we got places – like the library or gymnastics – having to keep track of three helmets - in addition to three jackets, pairs of mitts, boots, and snow pants – was a bit much…. I didn’t run out and buy a car or anything… we just walked everywhere. Well I walked everywhere – they still rode in the Chariot….

(Remember: click on the pictures for a bigger version)


On Friday the third of March it warmed up a touch and we’d all been cooped up in the house sick for the previous three WEEKS it was time to get out. The girl was SO pumped to go out for a ride she did nothing but scream “ BIKE! BIKE! BIKE! BIKE! BIKE!” for the twenty minutes or so that elapsed from when I suggested the idea to when I actually got her into the chariot. Of course it was mid-afternoon so she fell asleep within a block of our house and slept until we got to wherever we were going. I think it was Steep Hill… it’s all a blur…

Looking forward to lots of excursions this year. Things will be so much asier now the the girl walks.


Last Friday I pumped up the air in the tires on the Surly and went out for my first fixed ride of the year. (Despite what Sheldon Brown may have said about fixed gears being great for winter – winter in Saskatchewan is a whole different kettle of fish – and even I have to admit riding fixed here through the winter is a bit mad…). It was fun. Refreshing. I’ll have the road-fixie out next week when more of the ice is gone.

I rode about 10km and didn’t have a single brain fart – you know when you haven’t ridden fixed for a while and your brain sort of forgets about that whole can’t-stop-pedaling-thing and you relax and for a microsecond try to stop and you almost go over the handlebars and skip a heartbeat then recover and have to pay a bit more attention to what you are doing….? You know that feeling? Well didn’t happen this year. I am one with the fixed bike.