Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
topaz: (Morgan bike)
[personal profile] topaz
Minuteman: Morgan and Quinn Minuteman: Tim
Yesterday's little jaunt did nothing to quench the boys' thirst for riding, so this evening we returned to the Minuteman Trail. This time I followed on rollerblades.
Minuteman: Speedy Quinn Minuteman: M&Q at 128
"But..." said Rosa. "Won't that just make him go .... faster?" Still going strong at the 128 overpass.

We went as far as Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington before we turned around. The Mass. Ave. intersection is well past the 2½ mile mark from Bedford, and by my estimate is closer to three miles. We got back to the car a little more than an hour after we started, and while Morgan admitted to being "maybe a little tired," and did not object to getting in the car, it was also clear that he would happily have continued pedaling for who knows how long.

That's a six-mile round trip.

SIX MILES.

To put that in perspective, that's SIX MILES. It's TWICE AS MANY YEARS AS QUINN IS OLD. (for another day or so, at least.)

When I was a kid riding my bike on Nantucket, it was three miles from our house to the Surfside Beach on the south side of the island. I didn't do that six-mile round trip on my own bike until I was about twelve years old, and even then it was a significant effort.

I am a little stunned. I was hoping to get Morgan excited about biking early, but had not quite expected that even my Energizer Bunny kids would have this kind of enthusiasm. At least I probably don't have to worry that they'll be grown and in college before I have a chance to do a century. :-)

Date: 2006-05-08 11:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com
I'll be your century buddy!
I've discovered that Gmap pedometer (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/) shows the railroad that the Minuteman trail follows, which is handy for computing distances :)

Also, go your kids!

Date: 2006-05-08 01:31 pm (UTC)
ext_86356: (madblog)
From: [identity profile] qwrrty.livejournal.com
I don't need a century buddy so much as I need some way to handle the kids while I'm on the ride! That's why this development pleases me so much.

And, Gmap pedometer! How could I have forgotten??

I seem to have miscalculated by virtue of forgetting the name of the road. We really got only as far as Bedford Road in Lexington, which is just less than 2½ miles from the Bedford end. So, a five-mile round trip. But I'm still enormously pleased.

Date: 2006-05-08 03:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] keyne.livejournal.com
I don't need a century buddy so much as I need some way to handle the kids while I'm on the ride!

You mean like, oh, a co-parent? :)

Date: 2006-05-08 04:03 pm (UTC)
ext_86356: (Morgan bike)
From: [identity profile] qwrrty.livejournal.com
Well, my co-parent was clearly pretty worn out after my last 80-mile ride, so I figured that experiment might not repeat so well. :-)

Date: 2006-05-08 03:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pumpkin-pi.livejournal.com
Wow, thank for the Gmap pedometer link! Teh cool!!

Date: 2006-05-08 04:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com
Yeah, until I get a bike computer, it is the best toy :)

Date: 2006-05-08 02:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] moominmolly.livejournal.com
Woooo! Nice! That's great!

Date: 2006-05-08 02:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] agaran.livejournal.com
Very cool. Kind of amazing. Makes me think I need to get off my fat butt and start getting the kids outside a LOT more often, before THEY get fat butts.

I took the guys to go fishing with John Barrett on Saturday afternoon. They were SO into it that they totally forgot to (1) pee; (2) eat; (3) rest; (4) think about where they were walking; and more. John and I were totally absorbed keeping them from ripping themselves and us to bits with the fishhooks, but when I took them off their lines, there were huge horking howls of protest.

Date: 2006-05-08 04:35 pm (UTC)
ext_86356: (Quinn)
From: [identity profile] qwrrty.livejournal.com
Hah! That's great. :-) I can just see the two of them sitting there on a riverbank with poles in their hands.

One of the great things about taking kids bike riding at this age is that even at their very fastest, it's not hard to keep up with them. Quinn was pushing that bike pretty much as hard as he could the whole way, and he was still averaging about five miles an hour. As an adult it's almost difficult for me to keep a bike going that slowly. :-) So even people who are not really enthusiastic about stuff like riding bikes can keep up with the kids and give them a good run.

Date: 2006-05-08 02:40 pm (UTC)
mizarchivist: (butterfly)
From: [personal profile] mizarchivist
Did you go from the end of the Minuteman Trail in Bedford? If so, that's actually *4* miles. Kendall got an odometer and our usual route is to go from Lexington Ctr. to the end at the Depot.
No matter, that's excellent riding for someone so wee! Hugs

Date: 2006-05-08 04:42 pm (UTC)
ext_86356: (goof)
From: [identity profile] qwrrty.livejournal.com
It was from the Bedford end of the trail, but we rode only as far as Bedford Road, (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=170409) not all the way to Lexington Center. I misspoke. I had thought that road was an extension of Massachusetts Avenue, that's why I was confused.

Date: 2006-05-08 03:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rsc.livejournal.com
That lad is going to have amazing calves when he grows up (or sooner).

Date: 2006-05-08 03:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pumpkin-pi.livejournal.com
Sounds like a great time! Yay!!

Date: 2006-05-09 02:42 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] innerdoggie.livejournal.com
Wow! I'm impressed with your two children. You should go on an 8 mile ride next.

May 2018

S M T W T F S
  12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930 31  

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Page generated Mar. 5th, 2026 06:40 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios