Sharing the Joy

This past weekend in the Madison area was beautiful.  Windy but beautiful.  Temperatures were in the 60s and it was sunny.  Two great days for bike rides.

My daughter, Olivia, and I had a great bicycle themed weekend.  On Friday (she was off school for p/t conferences), we went to Bike-O-Rama in Madison, hosted by one of the local bike shops (LBS) in town.  We also hit Willy Bikes and the Trek store.  We dropped a few bucks, but got her shorts and a jersey, a lock, lights, toeclips for the pedals and a few other things.  She wanted to buy more - "We'll need that on RAGBRAI, won't we?" was a constant refrain.  Even though our plan is to do RAGBRAI together next year! 

On Saturday, we were riding for more than 70 minutes and traveled 11.5 miles.  We fought the wind and won!  When we got home, Olivia was excited to see that we had averaged about 9.5 mph but had a top speed over 18!  She couldn't believe we went that fast.

Olivia, March 10, 2012, in her new kit (shorts/jersey).

Even though her legs were sore from Saturday's ride, she wanted to go again on Sunday.  It was still windy, too.  We didn't ride as far - going 7.3 miles - but actually rode faster.  She really likes her new bike and is quite adept at changing gears as needed.

I'm so lucky that she wants to ride with me.  I have tried to not push my interests on her and I don't compel her to go for a ride with me.  Which makes sharing the ride all the more satisfying for both of us.  And makes the idea of riding RAGBRAI together a real goal, not just lip service.

And my wife Carol loves it too, even if she doesn't ride.  She said she gets a tingle in her stomach when we talk about Olivia and I going riding and it makes her happy.

I was able to get a second time on Sunday.  I took Candi (my Cannondale Synapse road bike) off the trainer and remounted a road tire.  I have a 25-mi loop I frequently ride between home and Middleton.  It was a great ride.  And even though it was wind-aided, I was able to sustain a 21-mph average over 7 miles in the middle third of the route.  I felt like I was flying! 

All in all a great weekend for riding.  And an even better weekend for sharing the joy that comes with riding your bike!