Friday, May 22, 2009

Growing Pains

It’s hard to take part in Bike to Work Week/Month when you’re a suburban stay-at-home-mom. (Yeah, I know, get a job!) Last year my daughter and I took part by riding our bikes to school, as we did most weeks. This year, however, we actually drove to and from school on each day of Bike to Work Week. How could I be so wasteful? Well, my daughter has been on crutches for the past three weeks. A heel injury caused by a growth spurt and running during track practice has put a stick in her spokes for an indefinite amount of time. She seems to be enjoying the crutches as her new mode of transport; meanwhile, I’ve transformed from Happy Bike Mom to Grumpy Car Mom. On these beautiful spring mornings and afternoons, it is torture for me to drive less than a mile to school, crossing the bike route twice each way. Of course, I am still able to ride my bike wherever I please while my daughter is in school all day, but it’s always more enjoyable to ride with a companion. Our rides to and from school each day gave me my bike fix even if I didn’t leave the house for the rest of the day.

Losing my bike buddy has made me quite jealous of my husband, who has been hitting the trails each weekend with two friends as they prepare for a 75-mile charity ride in October. One friend, B, is an experienced cyclist who is starting again after taking a few years off. The other friend, J, hadn’t ridden since his teenage years, but was inspired to join in after seeing my husband complete a 100-mile ride last spring with the same amount of experience and only three months of training. Despite the differences in their cycling abilities, the three men were enjoying their early morning rides together. This past weekend, however, their ride came to an abrupt halt when J’s pedal clipped a gatepost in passing, leaving him face down on the path with a broken nose and ribs. (Yes, he was wearing a helmet. Didn’t help much.) Doctor’s orders are no cycling for the next six weeks, but I hear J still plans to participate in the charity ride in October. Our friend J has always been a “Can Do” kinda guy. I’m not so sure I could be that brave after such a fall, and I’m hoping I never have to find out.

This weekend we will be making a quick trip to Ocean City, New Jersey, for the official opening (cleaning) of our family’s summer house. My husband and I will bring our bikes along to try to squeeze in a long overdue ride together to blow the dust out of our hair. Hopefully, I will be able to get a few photos of other people enjoying a leisurely bike ride, something that is nearly impossible here. Our daughter will be quite content watching everyone clean and giving her cousins lessons on the proper use of crutches.

Enjoy the weekend, and be sure to stop and smell the roses!

My fragrant trellis roses - no thorns, no pain!

4 comments:

  1. Oh your poor daughter! maybe she can swap stories with mine about the various pros and cons of upper/lower limb injuries ;0) its funny how parellel our lives are at present as this week has been "walk to school week" in the UK with a big banner outside daughter school - I too have driven every day and felt extemely guilty, along with yearning to get on the bike! I dont have a summer house though so very jealous of that!! Hope you have fun down there this weekend. Oh and curiously I was just onling about t post a picture of flowers from MY garden too spooky!

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  2. At least we have the whole summer ahead of us, and the injuries won't last forever. Let's think positive! Just to clarify, the summer house was bought by my parents when I was 12. Now my sister and I bring our families on the weekends, and my mother spends most of the summer there. We are so lucky to have it, and our children realize it, too.

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  3. Beautiful roses! Sorry to hear about so many injuries. Hope your daughter is on the mend and will be able to accompany you on bike rides very soon. J definitely sounds like a "can do" person if he's planning on riding 75 miles after a fall like that.

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  4. I can contrast J's fall with my mother's fall many years ago. She fell while riding in our neighborhood and luckily only had a big scrape on her face. But she never rode her bike again!

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