Biker Caleigh
Today we went to Claremont to do some errands and go to a birthday party for one of Caleigh's little homeschool friends. It was a 7th birthday party, being held at a local park that has lots of picnic areas and trails.
This morning we got a call from the girl's Mom who told us that the kids were all bringing bikes and going to ride on the trail, so I had to drop what I was doing and fix Caleigh's offroad tricycle. It had been run over by the musket delivery truck last week, squishing one of the rear wheels beyond recognition and slightly bending the axle. I don't know how he managed to run over it as it was parked pretty much behind my Suzuki. I swiped one of the wheels from the trailer that goes with the trike and put her trike back in service, then figured out how to get it into the back seat of the Buick.
Myself, I rode the Suzuki to the party. But I brought a surprise with me in the saddlebag! A while back, Caleigh and I had perused the Dennis Kirk catalog and found her a kids sized helmet in a color she approved of. I wear a half-helmet, but she is only 5 and I decided she would have a good quality full-faced helmet to protect her little noggin. She picked it out, it is "ice blue" and has a clear face shield. Helmets have come a long way since the 1970's!
As the party was winding down, I told he that I had her helmet with me and asked if she wanted to go for a ride on the motorcycle. Silly question! She put it on, and rode her tricycle over to where the Moms were sitting to tell Wendy that we were going.
Where do you put a 5 year old on a motorcycle? Good question! Ron, our UPS guy had told me ho he used to carry his kids when they were little and his method made sense, so I tried it. She sat in front of me, on the junction of where the tank and seat come together. That way, if she started to panic or slip, I could use my left hand to grab her. The problem was that her feet came down so that the natural thing was to put them on the valve covers (too hot to touch). What we came up with was to put the bottoms of her feet flat on the lower part of the fairing, which kept them up and out of the way and also gave her something to brace against in turns.
On the road in the park there was a series of speed bumps at way-too-regular intervals. These were a pain because the bike frame bottomed out on them and the little helmet clad head in front of me would bounce up and whack me in the chin.
After the party, we stopped for dinner and then went food shopping. I followed the Buick, and when we got to the food store, Wendy went inside and I took Caleigh for another ride, this time in the parking lot of the supermarket (actually kind of a plaza, there is a cinema, Kmart, etc etc.). The lot was much more bike-friendly, as there were less speed bumps to deal with and lots of room to ride in circles and figure eights with her.
Now she's hooked. She likes my helmet because it is covered in stickers. I have a sticker for her to put on her helmet, it is her first sticker! I think it is appropriate and descriptive. It simply says: Wild Child!
This morning we got a call from the girl's Mom who told us that the kids were all bringing bikes and going to ride on the trail, so I had to drop what I was doing and fix Caleigh's offroad tricycle. It had been run over by the musket delivery truck last week, squishing one of the rear wheels beyond recognition and slightly bending the axle. I don't know how he managed to run over it as it was parked pretty much behind my Suzuki. I swiped one of the wheels from the trailer that goes with the trike and put her trike back in service, then figured out how to get it into the back seat of the Buick.
Myself, I rode the Suzuki to the party. But I brought a surprise with me in the saddlebag! A while back, Caleigh and I had perused the Dennis Kirk catalog and found her a kids sized helmet in a color she approved of. I wear a half-helmet, but she is only 5 and I decided she would have a good quality full-faced helmet to protect her little noggin. She picked it out, it is "ice blue" and has a clear face shield. Helmets have come a long way since the 1970's!
As the party was winding down, I told he that I had her helmet with me and asked if she wanted to go for a ride on the motorcycle. Silly question! She put it on, and rode her tricycle over to where the Moms were sitting to tell Wendy that we were going.
Where do you put a 5 year old on a motorcycle? Good question! Ron, our UPS guy had told me ho he used to carry his kids when they were little and his method made sense, so I tried it. She sat in front of me, on the junction of where the tank and seat come together. That way, if she started to panic or slip, I could use my left hand to grab her. The problem was that her feet came down so that the natural thing was to put them on the valve covers (too hot to touch). What we came up with was to put the bottoms of her feet flat on the lower part of the fairing, which kept them up and out of the way and also gave her something to brace against in turns.
On the road in the park there was a series of speed bumps at way-too-regular intervals. These were a pain because the bike frame bottomed out on them and the little helmet clad head in front of me would bounce up and whack me in the chin.
After the party, we stopped for dinner and then went food shopping. I followed the Buick, and when we got to the food store, Wendy went inside and I took Caleigh for another ride, this time in the parking lot of the supermarket (actually kind of a plaza, there is a cinema, Kmart, etc etc.). The lot was much more bike-friendly, as there were less speed bumps to deal with and lots of room to ride in circles and figure eights with her.
Now she's hooked. She likes my helmet because it is covered in stickers. I have a sticker for her to put on her helmet, it is her first sticker! I think it is appropriate and descriptive. It simply says: Wild Child!
posted by MVTCoPete | 10:46 PM
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