Biking to the park was...oppressive...somehow.
Like, I barely made it there. I had trouble keeping up with Zoë and Alexander and their bikes don't even have gears. I needed to be on such a low gear to even go straight. I powered through things and we made it but, boy, was it ever the hardest bike ride of my life.
I couldn't quite figure it out. Sure, it had been a while since I'd taken the kids on a bike ride, but I've been running...
Could it have been that my backpack was too heavy? I had my laptop, water for everyone, a bunch of glass bottles (that we stopped to deposit at the collection bin):
We were just dragging.
At any rate (and the rate was slow), we eventually made it to the playground. The kids got to work in the sand and I got to work on my computer.
Alexander has a big chunk of snow here (we assume it's a remnant from a snowman) and is breaking it apart so they can make wet snow:
Here's Benjamin slipping around on a patch of ice:
It was really quite lovely today—about 60°F (about 15°C)—but I still positioned my computer so my screen could be in the shade but my back could be in the sun.
Here are Phoebe and Zoë sharing a hug:
They coordinated their outfits today, right down to their hair and their socks (not that you can tell in these pictures because they took their socks off to play in the sand, but they had on white socks with a purple heel and toe, and they put their hair in ponytails).
Here's Alexander looking particularly grumpy (he tends to feel angry at the park a lot...especially when playing tag with Zoë and Benjamin, who he feels have an unfair advantage over him (and perhaps they do)):
Phoebe's hair is crimpy from being in braids...but instead of looking crimpy it just kind of looks straight...which is a new look for her (and makes me worried she's going to grow out of her darling curls—but she'll be darling either way).
Anyway, when I told the kids it was time to start heading home, Benjamin said, "When we get home you'll probably want to pump up your back tire. It was looking a little flat when we were riding over here."
Benjamin likes to ride in the back when we go places, so he can be sure everyone in front of him is alright, and I think that's a very noble gesture. But I do wish he would have told me about my flat tire before we were getting ready to head (like, perhaps when we were doing all the vehicle switching). It sure would have saved me some trouble.
"How flat is it?" I asked from my bike seat.
I have trouble seeing my rear wheel while I'm on my bike. My view is blocked by Phoebe.
"Not very," he said. "I think you'll make it home."
So we started on our way. And—boy, howdy!—was the going tough. I felt like I was riding through sand or something. It was so hard! I eventually had to get off and walk for a bit.
I checked my tire and it wasn't too low, so I hopped back on and rode for a bit. And walked for a bit and rode for a bit. Until I finally had to admit that my tire was flat flat. I could ride no farther.
I asked Benjamin to ride ahead of everyone, fetch the bike pump from home, and come back to meet me. I told Zoë and Alexander that they could ride ahead as well. We'd crossed all the major roads, they only needed to cross one more road, and they definitely knew their way home.
I pulled Phoebe out of her seat and had her walk beside my as I pulled my poor bike along. It squeaked and whined as it limped along. I was feeling rather squeaky and whiny and limpy, myself.
And Benjamin was nowhere to be seen!
By my calculations, he should have been home and back again by now. I took out my phone and texted Andrew to see if he could assist Benjamin in any way (perhaps by finding the bike pump for him—I didn't know what was holding him up). And then Phoebe, the bike, and I kept on making our way slowly forward.
Finally, Benjamin came speeding down the sidewalk. He skidded to a stop in front of us, flung his backpack off his back, and pulled out the bike pump.
"Hallelujah!" I said.
"I rode on 8 the whole way!" he said triumphantly.
"What do you mean you rode on 8 the whole way?"
"I stayed on gear 8 the whole way. I feel like that makes me go faster. I had to walk up the hill because I couldn't make it, but the rest of the time I was only on gear 8!"
"Why didn't you just...use a lower gear and bike up the hill?"
"Because I wanted to use gear 8 the whole way!" he explained. "It makes me feel like I'm working really hard!"
"That's because you are working hard the whole time on gear 8!"
He helped me pump up the tire, and then rode behind me all the way home to make sure I'd get there, because he's a good kid.
But we did explain to him that when you're on a special mission—that requires some speed—it's okay to work smarter, not harder, and use your gears so you can make it up the hills faster...and get back to your stranded mother in distress sooner.
Just because you used, like, gear 5 (or even 2) doesn't make your rescue any less valuable (and may, in fact, increase its value...because of the speed you gained from not having to work so hard).
Having a fully inflated tire felt like magic. I was like, "Oh! This is how it feels to ride a bike. I remember this feeling of inertia...or momentum...of the bike propelling you forward! It doesn't have to be so hard!"
Little things like checking your tire pressure, switching gears...can really make your ride a lot smoother!
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