Weekend Minion rides, and Bike Light Genius

This past weekend we finally got Minions #4 & #5 out for a ride in the park. We purchased a cheap little Next bike for Olivia (#5) a few weeks ago, and up until this weekend she had only had a chance to do a little riding on the sidewalk in front of our house. And Rebecca (#4) hadn't really been riding very much at all this year either. Realizing THAT was a crime, the spouse and I decided to take them for a ride through the park.

After the husband aired tires on various bikes, we set off. The first part of the journey is always to just get to the beginning of the park. We are fortunate that one end of the park is so close to our house. In order to get there, though, one needs to ride down a hill. No problem for big kids and most adults; but a bit of a scary prospect for a 7 and 9 year old that are both still on training wheels.

We tooled through the alleyway cautiously with the girls, husband in front, and me taking up the rear to make sure Olivia didn't get left behind. Then we hit the sidewalk at the end of the alley, and around the corner to the top of the hill. Rebecca has both coaster brakes, as well as a handbrake connected to the rear tire. She is pretty confident when it comes to riding down the hill, and was adamant she had no desire to walk her bike down any part of it. Olivia on the other hand, has coaster brakes, plus a handbrake for the FRONT tire. (Which is stupid - seriously - WHY would a bike company put one handbrake on a little kid's bike and have it be for the front brake? An evil company that wants all children to go flying over the handle bars. At least that is my theory anyway - but I digress...) She walked most of the way down the hill, which was probably a good idea.

So we get down the hill, everyone in one piece, and then Travis gets them across the street and soon we are at the beginning of the MUP (Multi Use Path - I believe that is what it stands for. I just started seeing this acronym recently. I must be out of touch!) Things are going well - the beginning of the bike path has a very slight long slope going down hill, so the girls are able to start their ride with a little help from gravity. Travis and Rebecca took off, and soon were far ahead of Olivia and myself. Though Rebecca was pedalling her little heart out, I could see Travis pass her and circle back several times, giving her a chance to catch up. I did the same with Olivia.

We got about 5 minutes out, and then - boom! Problems. Rebecca's front tire was flat. Travis had aired it up at home, but I guess it had a leak in the inner tube. I asked him to run home and get the car so that she didn't have to walk it all the way home, especially since it was starting to get a little dark. He complied, and Rebecca and Olivia took turns riding Olivia's bike and walking Rebecca's bike to the parking lot. Going back towards the park parking lot, Rebecca tried to race to beat her dad coming back - and soon the chain was off Olivia's bike. Travis fixed it before he packed up Rebecca and headed back home, and Olivia and I decided to try to go for another quick ride before it got too dark.

It was a nice little ride - until her chain fell off again. Sigh. We at least were able to spend some time together, and got in a nice walk home.

Sunday night we tried again. This time Travis decided to stay home. I made sure he had the phone near him (just in case) and the three of us took off. Olivia decided that she would try to ride down the hill instead of walking. That was a bit terrifying - about half way down she freaked out, and had a look of horror on her face and did one of the worst things she could - she took her feet OFF the pedals! I was able to get her to put them back on and stop just before she ended up in the street.

We made it to the park, and took off on the MUP. It was a fun ride - we had a little rest on one of the newer benches in the middle of what we call FireFly Forest, and then rode on to the main park. Once we reached the middle of the park, we rode about half way around the lake, and Rebecca asked if we could go play on the playground equipment after we finished the lap around the lake. I said sure, and she took off, promising to meet Olivia and myself at the playground.

One great thing about this park is that you really can see your minion as they run, walk, or ride on the path around the little lake. Olivia and I rode at her pace, and could see Rebecca ahead, usually directly across from where we were. On the whole ride I had been instructing the girls on how to call out "Excuse me! Passing on your left!" and other riding etiquette, and they were both getting a lot of opportunities to practice it here. I could see Rebecca pull over a few times when getting near families with small kids, so was happy she was being cautious.

Olivia and I arrived at the playground a few minutes after Rebecca. She was already playing, and I noticed she had pulled her bike off the path, which was good. Olivia soon jumped on the swing next to her, and they pumped their little legs out.

After about 10 minutes, we started back on our journey. I had really wanted to bring them down to the new bike path, but it was getting too dark. We rode a little farther up away from the lake, and then turned around. I wanted to hurry back home, because we would have just enough light for the girls to not be scared. However, it was not to be.

Rebecca had pushed herself a bit too hard, and was really exhausted as we made our way around the lake. If it had been earlier in the day, I would have just had them take a 15 or 20 minute break. Instead, I called the husband and asked him to "Daddy-Vac" Rebecca home.

By the time he was able to get to the park, it had grown a bit darker, and much to Olivia's dismay, I asked him to bring her as well so that she wouldn't have to ride home in the dark. She wasn't happy, but got over it well enough. I soon made my way home, and all was right in the world.

I didn't have a chance to ride Monday night, but did sneak in a very VERY short ride Tuesday night. It wasn't until after 9PM, and I really needed to have a light with me. I haven't found a bike light yet that doesn't fall apart on me that I can afford, so have been just carrying a crank light with me. It is a pain in the neck to hold on to it. When I used to ride my comfort bike I had a flashlight or two secured with a bungee cord in the bottom of a bike basket, and that worked out well. The bike basket doesn't really fit my Trek very well, nor is it very fetching, so I needed to figure out something else.

While I was searching for a few more bungee cords and trying to figure out how to secure the flashlight, my husband pointed out that I should use some of the zip ties we have. AHA! I used four and attached it to the light, kinda giving it a lovely strap thingy, and then used two more to secure those straps to the handlebars.

I cranked the light up, and then took it for a quick spin. It provided enough light that on coming traffic should have no trouble seeing me. I went down the MUP in the park for a bit, but turned around because I really hadn't cranked it up enough for it to be bright enough for me to see comfortably. I then finish my ride around the neighborhood.

Next time I will be sure to crank it up fully. I secured it upside down on the bike so that the crank handle is accessible so I can even crank it while riding. It isn't as stable as I would like - if I am in a very dark area, I find that I need to push down on it a little to light up the ground right in front of my bike. I can tweak that, but I think I have a better idea: I am going to install two small lights onto the side of the middle bar of the body of the bike, or just above the forks. These would provide light a little lower where I need it the most.

I am still figuring out what to use - most likely some cheap little flashlights from Fry's or maybe I will splurge and get a couple of small Mag lights. Zip ties of course - I cannot believe I haven't thought of using those in the past. Very handy, those.

I am starting a new job Wednesday morning, so not sure when I will have a chance to ride again. Rebecca and Olivia are very eager to get back out for another ride, so hopefully at least by this weekend.