Biking is in the Blood

We had our first family bike ride today, after a relaxing morning assembling the bike seat and tagalong. (ha!) We rode to the office, then to the Daily Grind, and then all through the cemetary, where we narrowly avoided crashing into one another. My bike legs are still shaky, it's been a long time. On the way home we went to the pit just to have a look, and then to Tecumseh Acres playground where Sean was showing off his fireman pole-climbing prowess for the boys. (I was impressed!) Then we came home and rode around the neighborhood before collapsing on the couch.
Tecumseh is so much prettier by bike than by car. The smells and sounds of our little city are lost when you drive, drowned out by bickering and the radio. I got to enjoy Ashton so much, because the way his seat fits on my bike it's almost like I'm snuggling him on my lap. I also get to hear everything he says, which was much more than I've ever heard him talk in the car. The first ten minutes of our trip was filled with "Whee, mama, whee!" then he said hello to everything we passed, inanimate or not. Everyone stared at Sean and Mase in their three-wheeled contraption. I made Mason put on his elbow and knee pads, because let's face it, Sean hasn't riden in a while either. I had an endorphin rush when we got home, nothing is better than exercise without feeling like you are exerting yourself. We all had such a good time together, I felt like a sappy commercial or greeting card. Fresh air, beautiful flowers and trees, friendly neighbors, my amazing children--the frozen coffee drink helped, too.
Some of Sean's best memories of growing up are of biking together as a family. He has told me over and over about biking around Devil's lake, and the nightly rides that were a ritual for his family. I love the idea that we started the same thing for our boys tonight.