Rainy Ride (aka First Ride with the Kids)

Today I took the bike out with a load in the front to try to get used to having weight in the bucket. I had a 20 lbs bag of rice, and a heavy box of books in there to simulate the kids. I went out and rode around a local park which has windy paths and sharp turns to practice turning. I didn't crash at all and only had to put out my feet to catch myself once or twice (due to trying to test my limits and skills at turning) at the beginning of the ride. The key to turning is to take it slow and lean into it just like you would with a normal bike. Don't over steer.

In the afternoon, it started to rain and we had to go to a playgroup at the local library. So, instead of walking over there like I would normally and picking them up with a running stroller (which doesn't have a rain cover) or taking the bus to go home, I hopped onto the bike and pedaled over there in the rain. I wore my rain coat and rain pants (more like rain overalls) which I had bought from Home Depot. I got pretty hot wearing this and biking to the kids school (about 1.5 miles). They were really excited for their first ride on the bike. We put on their helmets and I picked them up and put them into the bucket. They normally would have been able to climb in themselves, but due to the rain cover, they couldn't do so. (I will post some pictures of what the bike with and without the rain cover in a future post - when I get around to taking the pictures.) It was a lot of fun biking them (for me and for them) over to the library and a really good workout too. After the playgroup, I biked us home.

I really think that being car-free for a month is going to be quite doable. Got to run. Catch you next time.

--CFD