Monday, October 13, 2008

Biking with Sage

Cycling has always been a big part of Sage's life, I biked well into my ninth month of pregnancy. I was certain the giant bruise on her head was not from descending through the birth canal, but from me kneeing her so many times on my bike rides.

The first few months I brought her to spin class. I would set her car seat down in front of my bike so she could see me. She watched for 60 minutes, 3 times a week, as I sweated on that stationary bike, going nowhere, but really fast if I do say so myself.

Then came the glorious moment when she was big enough to ride in the bike trailer. I was back to my usual weekly group rides, towing Sage 30 to 40 miles two to three nights a week. 

Now that she's almost 3, she wants to ride her own bike. And, hey, the kid now weighs 30 lbs, so I can only tow her about 25 miles before I'm ready to be done anyways.

The Potty-Fairy brought her a princess bike this summer that she loves to ride around the block.

But what about when she rides with me? I was starting to think that it's time to get a Trail-A-Bike. It's a small half-bike that attaches to the back of an adult bike. This would be great for rides around the neighborhood. But what about road bike riding? Touring? Going on 30 and 40 and even 100 mile adventures? I've been thinking that my road-riding days were going to be over for a decade or two.

Until I came across this:


It's a child adjustment kit for tandem bikes. Suddenly, all the wonderful possibilities of road riding opened up again. There are so many adventures Sage and I could embark on together on our tandem bike. And, maybe, we could even try a tandem mountain bike . . . ? Hmmm, that's one to think about. 

Now all I need to do is convince Chad that it's worth investing a couple thousand dollars into a tandem bike and child stoker kit. I sure hope the economy bounces back soon or I get a great raise so I can treat myself and Sage to one of these. 

Click on this site for more information on Child Stoker Kits.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Working out just isn't working out

With the fall weather creeping in, my energy seems to be seeping out. This week I ran my slowest 5k ever. It was a torturous 40 minutes where I felt like I was trying to wade through water. But, I still did it. 

I've been too lazy to gear up in a cold weather cycling kit, so I've retired my bike to the indoor trainer. I crawled on last night with a goal of 90 minutes of spinning. Unfortunately, what I was doing felt nothing like spinning and a lot more like trudging. Ever hike in 4 ft of snow in snow-shoes? It kinda felt like that. But, I did it. Well, 60 minutes of it anyways.

Today is a rest day for me. I'll do some pushups and crunches tonight, maybe go for a short walk with Sage—and all of that sounds like too much right now. 

Even though this tiredness that is draining the marrow out of my bones feels like forever, I know it will eventually pass. 

As we all know, there are peaks and valleys. I must be working my way up to a peak right now, because walking through a valley sure doesn't take this much effort.

I'm going to keep moving on. I'm going to lace up my running shoes, crank on my cleats, clip into my bike, hit the trails, and pull out the weights. Slowly. Painfully.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Is she really only 2?


Last weekend Chad and I took Sage on a hike at the State Park. As we were getting ready to hike, Sage threw one of her terrible-two tantrums. She got down on the ground, cried, and screamed that she didn't want to go on a hike. 

Following the advice of Dr. Kevin Leman, we walked away. As was expected, she screamed and cried and eventually ran after us. 

But what was unexpected was what I barely noticed her whimper as she ran for me. "But we're family!" 

I didn't think about it too much until tonight. Something was on Sage's mind and she wanted to talk to me about it. Here is the transcript of the conversation.

Sage: Remember that time you and daddy walked away and I was crying?

Me: When was this, at school?

Sage: No. At the State Park.

Me: Yes, I remember.

Sage: You shouldn't have left me alone. We're a family and we should be together. You shouldn't do that to me.

Me (surprised by her mature line of reasoning): Honey, we weren't going to leave you. You were screaming that you didn't want to hike with us.

Sage: But I wanted to hike with you. We're a family, I wanted to be with you. 

Me: We want you to be with us. Next time don't scream and we can all hike together.