Minnesota and Miyazaki

I’ve been feeling like a fraud lately. The gist of this blog is to encourage people to add a little bit of biking to their life, yet I’ve only been on my bike three times this month. Not exactly leading by example, am I? Sure, I have some reasonable excuses: high temperatures that are mostly below freezing, a sinus infection for the past two weeks, and a daughter that insists on riding the bus to school because “it’s too cold” to go by bike. But then I think of the people in places like Minnesota who are commuting to work and school in much worse weather conditions and realize that my excuses are pretty lame. I love to ride my bike, I love to bundle up with hats and scarves, so what’s stopping me?

When my daughter was invited to a friend’s house this afternoon, I decided it was the perfect chance for another bike ride. The temperature was right at the freezing mark, but surprisingly, my daughter gave no resistance and actually admitted that she missed riding her bike. It didn’t hurt that her friend was impressed by her arrival on bike and the sparkly letter stickers my daughter used to personalize her new helmet. Positive comments from someone other than her bike-crazy mother always make the ride more fun.

After the slightly colder ride home later in the afternoon, we treated ourselves to some movie time and watched Spirited Away by the wonderful Japanese filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki. Sadly, no bikes were involved in that story, but there's a great scene involving a bike in one of his previous movies, Kiki's Delivery Service:

We are big fans of Hayao Miyazaki's work, and look forward to this summer's US release of his latest movie, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, which is based on the story of The Little Mermaid:
Daughter is especially interested since hearing that two of the voice actors include Frankie Jonas, little brother of the Jonas Brothers, and Noah Cyrus, little sister of Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana).

In the meantime, we will try to expand our definition of "good biking weather" a little closer to Minnesota standards and maybe next time bring along one of our Miyazaki DVDs to lend to a friend.

Warm Ears and Warm Pretzels

A brief flash of snow flurries inspired my daughter and I to go for a bike ride to test out our new bike helmets with winter lining (removable for summer). The cold weather affects my daughter more than me, since she is legally required to wear a helmet (full of head-cooling vents), while I may opt for a thick knit cap to pull down over my ears. But when there is the threat of icy patches, I'd feel much safer with a helmet. So we found some Bern Berkeley helmets with a removable, faux-shearling lining to keep our ears warm and our skulls dent-free.

Our destination was Pretzel Boy's for some fresh, warm Philadelphia-style soft pretzels.The helmets passed the test, and the pretzels hit the spot.I feel like Penelope Pitstop in my new helmet. (Hmm, where's my other glove?)

Back at home, we transformed into Princess Peach and Baby Peach and hopped onto our motor bikes for some wild rides on Mario Kart Wii. Wii bike, do you?

Pride goes before a fall; the lawsuit follows it.

I arrived at my daughter’s school yard this afternoon to find her little circle of friends taking turns riding her bike around the basketball court. This wasn’t the first time for most of them – it had become almost routine back in the spring before school ended. But her bike is the next size larger than the bikes her friends own, so the demand still exists. My daughter was obviously proud that they were so anxious to take her beloved bike for a spin before she left. I was happy to see the girls smiling as they circled the court, gaining speed at each corner, hair streaming behind them… which reminded me that they weren’t wearing helmets (we stopped sharing the helmet after head lice enrolled in our school last year). Then it occurred to me that they were riding a bike slightly too large for them, without helmets. As the last girl hopped on and rode away, she informed us that she had never ridden a bike with only hand brakes. Visions of lawyers danced before my eyes, as I yelled after her to squeeze the brakes slowly to stop. She didn’t need my advice, however; after not quite turning the next corner, she side-swiped the chain link fence which brought her to a complete stop, laughing and unscathed. As we rode home, I lamented the loss of innocence of a simple childhood pleasure, trying out a friend’s new bike. Oh well, at least everyone had a turn, and no one got hurt, and we get to keep our house. Until next time, if there is one.
(You may notice there are no photos or names to accompany this post, since not all of the children involved were mine, and I can't risk being sued by another parent for putting their child on the internet. In fact, all characters in this post are fictitious; any resemblance to persons real or otherwise is entirely coincidental, etc., etc.)
Sigh.

Firsts and Seconds

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging about my second love affair with the bicycle.

Blogging is a completely new sport for me, so please forgive the "training wheels" feel for a little while. Hopefully, a smoother ride (read) will come when I figure out how to work all these gears and get my rusty brain lubed.

If anything can get an adult back onto a bike, it's a child (or a DUI charge). Once your child masters two wheels and takes off down the street to see the world, you'd better grab a bike and be their guide. I hadn't owned a bike since I got my driver's license, so a few years ago I headed to one of the big sporting goods chain stores and picked out a cheap, one-size-fits-all bike. I chose a mountain bike style for its fat, knobby tires. Surely I couldn't wipeout on those tires! I also bought a helmet since I didn't trust myself on a bike without coaster brakes. It took me quite a while to get used to riding a bike again. No, you never do forget how to ride a bike, but you sure can feel nervous. It didn't help my confidence that I could never get the seat height adjusted to a comfortable level or stop the brakes from screaming at the slightest squeeze. But I was able to ride alongside my daughter instead of running behind, and after a few months I began to relax and enjoy our short trips around the neighborhood.

Last summer my daughter discovered the joy of coasting downhill, overcoming her fear of losing control. However, she did not welcome the uphill struggle on her "single-speed" little girl bike. This really limited our route options and made the trip home from school a chore. So at the end of the winter, we decided it was time to move her onto a bigger bike with gears. We came home from the bike shop with not one, but three new bikes, and oh, what a difference it has made! Our daughter now adjusts her pedaling comfort level with the twist of a wrist. My husband and I have solid bikes that fit us perfectly, with tires that roll so smoothly we never want to stop. The joy of riding a bicycle has returned to each of us.