Today I had to head to Kroger to get a gallon of milk and some other stuff for dinner. I told my wife that I was going to take my bike. Both kids (Garek is too small to know what is going on) came flying out of the living room. Lindsay stared jumping around because she was so excited to go for a bike ride. Emily immediately grabbed her coat and shoes.
All this for a half-mile ride to the store. My kids are awesome.
Lindsay's birthday present of a Trail-a -Bike presented me with a unique problem. There was no way to take Emily along on our trips. A trip to the bike store (complete with disapproving looks from the bike guys) fixed that problem. Viola! The bike train. Here's a picture of it next to my car for size perspective.
Here's a picture of it in action. Yeah. This is fun stuff. 
A while back, I posted about cycling and calories. It was just a little tongue in cheek piece about how many calories I have burned.
A Father's Day trip back to Lorain County is the perfect front to participate in the World Record Bike Parade attempt in Wellington.
From the kind people at the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure:Join the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA), a world-class bicycle tour, in celebrating its 20th annual event by attempting to break the Guinness World Record TM for the Largest Parade of Bicycles. On Saturday evening, June 14, 2008, the inaugural event of this year's week-long tour will be the GOBA traditional bicycle parade, held in Wellington, Ohio, in Lorain County. The current world record stands at 1,901 bicycles and was set by Volvic in Taiwan, July 21, 2007.
I have been on several GOBAs and have found them to be a wonderful trips. (Well, except for the thunderstorm that blew rain up and under my rain fly. ) I have met the people that put these together and they are incredibly dedicated people. If you are looking for a fun trip in June, this is it.
More information here.
If you are in the area, look for me. I'll be on the Trek with two kids in the trailer.
Today I had to make a run to the grocery store. Well, truth be told, I begged my wife to let me go. It was a beautiful day and I would have killed to be on the bike--even if it was only a two mile round trip.
I read Commute by Bike's recent post about flat tires with a bit of smugness. My last on the road flat tire was in 2001. I remember it vividly. I was doing the GOBA trip. I was between Wellston and Nelsonville. I was busy chatting to my riding partner and hit a giant piece of metal in the road. It went right through my tire and sliced the tube. I was able to patch the tire with a Power Bar wrapper and electrical tape. I always carry extra tubes, so that was an easy swap. It was also the first time I realized using a mini-pump while sitting with my back to the road looks a lot like I was masturbating. I still hear about it from friends who saw it.
That flat tire sucked. If you have ever been on a trip like GOBA, the best camping spots go to the people who ride the fastest. Because of the flat, I spent the night on pea gravel. To tell you it was uncomfortable would be a joke. It was awful. It was not as bad as the next night where the rain flooded my tent, but it was awful.
After that, I became obsessive about preventing flats. The day I got back, I ordered Conti's Ultra Gator Skins. I religiously checked air pressure. I started carrying two tubes, just in case. It must have worked because I have not found myself changing tires on the side of the road in almost seven years.
My luck ran out yesterday. I took the girls up to the post office to buy some stamps. My general pre-ride check did not turn up anything. We rode around the neighborhood with the four-year-old saying hello to everyone she saw. We got to the post office without a problem. On the way back, the trailer felt funny. I pulled off and found a chuck of glass in the trailer's tire.
I never thought about beefing up the standard tires on the trailer. I'll be heading to the bike shop tomorrow to figure out my options.
