Bike, Playground, Bike
Let me just start by saying we should have started this adventure earlier in the day. Yes, it was a gorgeous day for January, but the sun sets faster when the tall mountains block the horizon. Then boy did it get cold. John and I were fine, and I think Grey mostly was too. The hardest part about winter bike riding with him is caring for his hands. They take the brunt of the wind coming at us.I have really nice Toddler Mittens, but they are unfortunately just too big still. He needs dexterity to hold on to his Shotgun’s handlebars. When he rides in the backpack or his Chariot on winter adventures, he’s in his Obermeyer Snowsuit with flips that enclose his hands. But that also won’t do for him to hold on. Suffice it to say, I haven’t figured out the solution yet. He wears these Thin Toddler Mittens that are fine for quick outings, but do nothing to protect him from the wind. Thankfully, he was quite the trooper on this outing and didn’t complain a bit.
We live close to the Clear Creek Bike Path and regularly take it to Golden and back for a nice long bike outing. On our way up, we noticed tons of ducks in the creek and ponds alongside the path. John excitedly pointed out a “shoveler” duck that I had never seen before. He is hoping to bag some new species in upcoming waterfowl seasons. A friendly birder helped John identify some of the lesser known varieties we were seeing and then took our picture for us.
It was a Sunday, so the path was pretty full of other recreators, especially once we were in Golden. Grey got really good at using our new Bike Bell on cue to let people know we were passing. He also showed me that maybe he doesn’t need his hands to ride as he let go of the handlebars to dance and clap when we rode by an open air concert in the park.
Our mission was to scope out a new playground so Grey could take a break from the bike seat and burn some energy before the ride home. He enjoyed some under duckies on the swing and then pulled his parents up on to the play structure to ride the slides with him. Mostly, he just wanted to sit in the sand and run his fingers through it.
Notice the sun had already dropped by the time we were at the playground? We pulled away from the mountains and got a little more light on our way back home, but it was all downhill and the wind was strong. Maybe next we need a little baby windshield on the bike. We rushed Grey out of his layers and into a nice warm shower to defrost.
Mom fail. Or, as my dad would call it, a training exercise. Often on adventures, you get cold, hot, wet, dirty, injured, exhausted… Maybe mom success for getting my kid ready for a life of choosing adventure over comfort.
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