Healthy Cycling

07.00hrs

Day off work - check. Wife at work - check. Weather good - check. Golden Child in school - check. Should be OK for a 60-70 mile ride today. A few hills up around Rochdale, Haslingden, Darwen, Blackburn and Bolton. Some effort but with rewarding, sweeping descents on quiet roads. Great!

07.30-09.00hrs

Oh no! What is this? The Golden Child does not feel well. The Golden Child is vomiting. Family-man must come before Cycle-man. "Hello. Is that the school...". Cycling not happening today then. A day with my poorly child. Bless her. She does look peaky.

11.30hrs

The Golden Child is looking much better. No more vomiting and she also managed some breakfast. "Dad can we go out?" "Why yes dear. If you are feeling better. Would you like to go to Heaton Park...on the tagalong?" "Yes pleeaase Dad!!"

12.30hrs

It's not lots of effort with sweeping descents but we still had a great time together. I do love my girl.

and both helmets on the bikes!

Bicycling Breakthrough

A proud Dad (and Mum) announce their one and only Golden Child can now officially (and with ease) ride her biycle without stabilizers and not only that but can also start and stop by herself. She will be getting a new, bigger, lighter, geared bike for Chrimbo'. Well done Golden Child!

A Bicycle Made For Two

Another thing on The Bucket List (I will have to formalize this list some day) is to ride a tandem. Not because I aspire to owning one but simply because I wonder what it would be like. I'm actually following contributing to a thread on CycleChat at the moment about the attraction of riding a tandem. So, when I saw one the other day locked up in the middle of York I just had to stop and take a closer look. 

Central York

This one is a real quality bit of kit - a Thorn tandem with Rohloff hub and hub lighting no less. And pulling a kiddie trailer as well! Very impressed I was but time (and the OH) would only let me hang about for a couple of minutes so these are the best pics I could get. 

I may actually realise my ambition quite soon as I do have tentative plans for a day out on two hired tandems. However, this is very much in the planning stages at the moment, subject to the agreement of my brother in law and will of course be weather dependant. Wish me luck.

Travels With A Daughter

This week I have been cycling with my daughter. We went on a return trip from Salford to Radcliffe along part of cycle route 6, through Prestwich Forest Park - an 'Urban Woodland' redeveloped industrial area now with lots of mountain bike trails - before crossing the M60 Motorway onto an old rail line called the Outwood Trail.

I know she has a great time on her tagalong but I don't get to see her face much while we are chatting on the go. I thought I'd use my bullet cam to catch some of her expressions. I liked them so much I made a little film. This shows an (edited) outward section from Prestwich to Radcliffe.

More Fun In The Park

Me, the Missus and Golden Child went for a family bike ride today. We cycled to Heaton Park, cycled around and around, went to Simister for a drink and then returned home. The Golden Child did brilliantly and the Missus is getting better too!

Fun With The Golden Child

Don't worry. It's not all carbon road bikes from now on. I am still just as enthusiastic about other types of cycling.

I've been having fun the last few days with my daughter. She is so close to losing the stabilizers IMO but balks at any suggestion I remove them, even for a trial period. Difficult to bargain with a 5 year old when her mind is set and I'm not going to force her to give them up. She is happy with them and that is the main thing for me. I am disappointed because I would like to go for family bike rides with her and the missus, particularly while we have some Summer left. She used to love riding in a trailer buggy when she was smaller, which we hired on a couple of occasions, but she is getting too big for these now and I certainly don't want to buy one. 

My brother in law had a 'tagalong' to take his youngest out for rides. It is a saddle on a single wheel driven via a standard pedal/chain arrangement but no front wheel. Instead, at the front comes a pole which sports a handlbar. There is a hinge at the end and a clamp which fastens to a seatpost on an adult bike. The hinge moves up and down and left and right. I say he had one because his youngest has outgrown it and he got rid of it, luckily he did this when I asked him if I could borrow it. He just gave me it and said he was glad of the room! Thanks Andy.

My Marin hardtail has been chosen as the steed to pull this rather than the Santos. I miss being able to throw a pannier on for picnics, etc, but know I'm mainly going to be using it on trails and tracks with various grades of mud and stuff but generally in good weather. I can still take a small picnic and toolkit in my trail/hydration backpack. I also didn't want to have to move the seatpost mounted light on the Santos. I cut up an aluminium can to make a shim for the seatpost as it was a little loose without but apart from that and putting some air in the tyre it was ready to go. 

I suggested to the Golden Child we had a ride and she said yes (cautiously mind you. She's like that). We ventured to the park down the road from us and she loved it. Just a short trip the first time but when I asked her if we go further the next day she was over the moon. We went through a local park/clough and picked up National Route 6 along The Outwood Trail through Ringley Woods all the way to Radcliffe and back - a trip of 10 miles. She had a cracking time, pedalling some of the way and singing her heart out most of it.

View Tagalong Bike Ride in a larger map

The whole assembly with child handles much better than I expected. We have been leaning into corners and she isn't getting worried when we are going slowly. I thought it would wobble a fair bit but have not really found this an issue. I can pull it quite easily and only needed the small ring once to climb the hill up to the motorway bridge. I see it as good training really. Tissington Trail here we come. Just have to get her Mum as enthusiastic now!

Having an ice cream in the park

A New Bike?

Here is the missus having just tried out a 15" Claude Butler Kensington. 

She liked the ease of the hub gears, the step through frame and the 'comfy' saddle but was disconcerted to have some front wheel toe overlap when she wobbled at the start. This was not helped because she was placing the arch of her foot on the pedal rather than the ball. However it happened this put her off and it is fair to say she was not blown away by the bike. 

She is leaving the final decision on which new steed she should have to me (thanks).

The search goes on!

The Missus and Golden Child (with protected identities as requested)

A Pootling Success

Yesterday was a lovely, warm spring day. The Golden Child was in school and the missus and I were both off work together. The missus said "What do you want to do today?" and I replied "Go for a bike ride together?". And that is how it came to be.

The missus is not a confident cyclist. She learnt to ride a bike in her 20s and never gained much experience or confidence after that. She bought a completely unsuitable "mountain bike" a long time ago which weighs in at just under a half a ton and handles like a pig. She has hung on to and is reluctant to change steeds as she feels there is no point throwing good money after bad. She has cycled a little more frequently with me but likes nice quiet trails and parks. She does not like cycling on the roads.

For a local ride we normally drive the half mile or so to Heaton Park and then unload the bikes which irks me somewhat but needs must I suppose. I have kept suggesting she would be fine cycling to the park along the quiet(ish) road if I cycled behind to shield her from vehicles. On this day she was obviously persuaded by my argument (or got fed up hearing it!) and agreed. Result.

We had an uneventful road based section with a hop off and push at a busy junction, a very pleasant pootle in the park with only one accidental dismount, a relaxed picnic lunch and a safe cycle home. The upshot is the missus had a great time and wants me to get her a more suitable bike. Brilliant!

Now what should I go for? Any suggestions? I need a lightweight(ish), easy to handle and maintain bike. I know I need to avoid deraulliers (she hates them) and so will be looking for hub gears. It's going to be used primarily in fair weather and on gentle terrain. I'm tempted using this as an excuse to get a Brommie which I could also have use of but is that just being a tad too selfish? What other bikes can anyone suggest?

Back On The Bike

My girl, AKA The Golden Child, was doing really well on her balance bike last year and I had plans to wean her off the stabilizers and have her pedalling on two wheels as well. No such luck. One fall as she came to a stop and found a pedal in the way of putting a foot down put paid to any such fatherly ambition. She then lost interest in the bicycle and would rather scoot everywhere.

Wanting to encourage but not push too much I resolved to leave cycling to Summer 2011 but a weekend trip to CenterParcs was too good an opportunity to miss. I can now report the bicycle is a favourite means of transport again. Now when do I ditch the stabilizers? 

Having fun at CenterParcs

A Slower Pace

My wife never got the hang of cycling as a child and so has never pursued it as an adult despite my enthusiasm.

A recent trip to see the in-laws saw me encouraging a family cycling trip along the prom at Whitley Bay one fine sunny day. I dusted off her old bike and the two of us + Golden Child had a somewhat mixed cycling experience. My wife did better than she expected but the daughter - who is so close to losing the stabilizers - was obviously not keen and started complaining of "tired legs" within 30 seconds. The upshot is the wife and I went for a ride around Heaton Park this morning at her suggestion!

We covered less than 2 miles, she almost fell off once after misjudging her approach across some tram lines but apart from that I think she had a good time. She managed to cycle back up the hill from the boating lake and even having to slow for excitable dogs didn't dent her confidence or resolve.

She is never going to be a road going cyclist (unless they are very quiet) but I think we can look forward to some more family days out on our bikes. Just need to work on the Golden Child now.