At first, I did not enjoy riding. Its not that I didn't know how to ride it, but until you really get the hang of shifting gears, it is hard.
Alliance, Ohio is not exactly the most friendly place to commute by bike. You get yelled at a lot and drivers definitely do not know the rules of bicycles on the road. Rules such as, a bicyclist has the same rights to the road as a car, and it is actually illegal to ride your bike on the sidewalk.
Anyways...I did not always enjoy riding my bike.
Hills were hard, Tyler was faster than I was, and it was miserable biking in the cold. Of course, I could have just taken the car, but we committed to using the car as little as possible and I was determined to get to the point where I loved riding my bike.
We moved to California, and biking here is a lot different. We have our own bike lanes and cars are a lot more respectful and cautious. There are even these billboards displayed:
Over the past few months, I have truly fallen in love with riding my bike. I prefer it over a car any day, especially because traffic around here is terrible. I'm happy to say that we bike everywhere except to the beach and to the mountains. I love the exercise and I love the feeling of freedom riding my bike gives me.
For Tyler and I, riding a bike just makes sense. We want to help restore the world and for us, biking is a way to do so. When we had Landon, one of the first things we wanted to do with him, was take him on a bike ride. Obviously, we couldn't do that, but we were highly anticipating the day when we could go on a family bike ride. As soon as he was able to fully support his head, we started biking with him.
Now, I know what you are thinking...
You are crazy for biking on the road with your 5 month old. However, we feel strongly that he is just as safe in his bike trailer as he is in the car. In fact, there are more car accidents than biking accidents. And! Drivers are so friendly and cautious when they see that you have a child's trailer on the back of your bike.
Besides the helmet, he enjoys riding in his bike trailer a lot more than riding in the car. He either talks to himself, chews on his blanket, or just falls asleep. We have the pillows for extra cushion and comfort. His trailer is attached to my bike and he gets to sit back and enjoy the ride while I do all the peddling.
We recently went on a bike ride along the beach and it easily became my favorite thing we have done in California. Not only was the ride beautiful, but I had the honor of riding beside my husband while our little boy rode behind us. For me, the day was so fulfilling and I felt so blessed to have the privilege to ride a bike in such a beautiful setting.
I can't wait for the day when we buy Landon his first bike, but for now...I like that he is riding safely behind me.
P.S. If you are driving, and you see a bicyclist, give 'em some respect and be a little more cautious when driving past them.
No comments:
Post a Comment