Like a Clown Car, But Smaller
Today I tried taking both kids for a bike ride for the first time. Last summer I got them both in the trailer, but we just went for a walk since Noah didn't have a helmet. Yesterday, though, we went for the gusto. The worst part by far was the trip to the bike store.
I don't know if you're familiar with bicycle helmets, but they aren't the easiest things in the world to adjust. It's way, way harder when you're trying to fit it to a small child who doesn't want to have anything to do with it. I spent probably a good thirty minutes in the bike shop trying to find him a helmet that would fit right. Meanwhile Ian was running around the store like a maniac, occasionally knocking over a bike or two. Ultimately I found one that seemed like it would work, so we headed down to Alton Baker Park for a ride along the river.
Surprisingly, Noah was much less vocal about his discontent when he was actually in the trailer. The only real downside is that he's too short. If you think about how a helmet fits, it adds an inch or two of thickness to the back of your head, so if you're sitting in anything that would normally have head support, it's going to tilt your head forward by the thickness of your helmet. The Burley trailer we have was actually designed with that in mind, and the mesh part behind the seat is angled back specifically for that reason, but he's so short that his head is against the top of the seat. So Ian is fine, but poor Noah's helmet is going to gravitate toward his nose until he gains a few inches. So much for the view. Luckily Ian is there to dole out goldfish crackers.
I didn't want to push it the first time around, so we just made a quick loop down to the footbridge and back along the other side of the river. When we got back some ducks showed up and Ian and Noah amused themselves by feeding them goldfish crackers. The ducks were appreciative.
I don't know if you're familiar with bicycle helmets, but they aren't the easiest things in the world to adjust. It's way, way harder when you're trying to fit it to a small child who doesn't want to have anything to do with it. I spent probably a good thirty minutes in the bike shop trying to find him a helmet that would fit right. Meanwhile Ian was running around the store like a maniac, occasionally knocking over a bike or two. Ultimately I found one that seemed like it would work, so we headed down to Alton Baker Park for a ride along the river.
Surprisingly, Noah was much less vocal about his discontent when he was actually in the trailer. The only real downside is that he's too short. If you think about how a helmet fits, it adds an inch or two of thickness to the back of your head, so if you're sitting in anything that would normally have head support, it's going to tilt your head forward by the thickness of your helmet. The Burley trailer we have was actually designed with that in mind, and the mesh part behind the seat is angled back specifically for that reason, but he's so short that his head is against the top of the seat. So Ian is fine, but poor Noah's helmet is going to gravitate toward his nose until he gains a few inches. So much for the view. Luckily Ian is there to dole out goldfish crackers.
I didn't want to push it the first time around, so we just made a quick loop down to the footbridge and back along the other side of the river. When we got back some ducks showed up and Ian and Noah amused themselves by feeding them goldfish crackers. The ducks were appreciative.
posted by Gabe at
9:39 AM
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