So I thought I would post some pictures of some fun activities from last summer.  We do a lot of biking in the summer.  I was a part of a women’s weekly road ride last summer which was a blast.  We usually did a 30 mile loop and there were 5-8 riders on average.  And for date night Blayne and I got out on our bikes together once a week.  Iris got a little cross bike so she’ll be ready for the triathalons she wants to try this summer!  So here are a few bike pictures to keep me dreaming for the summer.  Of course, I’ll be having a baby in June so this summer I won’t have as much bike time (maybe in the fall) but Iris and Blayne will.  I won’t be able to just throw the twins in the trailer and take off anymore….3 small ones will be interesting!

The first picture is of my lovely road bike.  Currently, it is up in our bedroom on a trainer for me to ride.  It was such a nice bike and I’ll miss it this summer.  Blayne was talking about which bike he wants me to ride this summer, I suppose I’ll have to show off the new bikes and keep it current since B owns a road bike store, but really I just want to keep this one.  Maybe I can convince him to keep the frame for me, for sentimental purposes.

The next pictures are just various pictures of biking from this summer.  Nothing spectacular (I need to become a better photographer!) but it’s nice to remember our biking and the warm weather and the green grass and the green trees and the bright sun.

The ride started at 7:30 so we were up early with the kids to have breakfast and get packed up to leave.

The ride was supported so we had two stops for snacks and restroom breaks. We stopped at the Excelsior Bandshell and watched a band during one of the stops. Iris enjoyed the music.

Blayne pointed out after the ride that we saw a lot of family tension going on with riders – kids complaining, parents scolding kids, pouting, etc. Blayne handled Iris beautifully and really got her through the tough hills and times when she was tired/thirsty/hungry. It was slow going at times, but that was OK. The point was not to ride as fast as we could – we really just wanted to have an enjoyable successful ride.

I had the twins in the trailer on my bike. The girls absolutely hate their helmets as the design of the trailer makes then submarine down and then their helmets get sunk down so they can’t see anything. About 45 minutes into the ride the crying was driving me batty so we took off their helmets and they were happy as can be for the rest of the ride. They ate snacks and watched all the other riders and kids. They enjoyed the rest stops as well.

It was a great family event and I’m sure we’ll be doing it next year.

Here we are at the Bandshell rest stop.

And at the end of the ride the girls fell asleep.

Pizza to enjoy after the ride was done.

Iris is trying to earn a new kids cross bike (with gears!) right now, so we’ve been doing a series of longer rides. She has one more 7 mile ride to accomplish (w/out complaining) then she earns her new bike. She’s very excited about it.