Our family has been in a little bit of a funk lately. Just the dulldrum lifestyle of the routine has gotten us down a bit. But recently we started to do something as a family that really helps get us outside, moving, and enjoying each other.

We ride bikes!

While Fuller and I were in Florida, D spent some time working on one of the two bikes we purchased sometime last year. He installed a child seat on the back of the blue bike and did something with moving an extra gear from one bike to the other.

Fuller loves going on bike rides. However, he started out hating his toddler helmet. When we would bring out the big yellow hat, Fuller would run from us, crying big alligator tears until we got him strapped in and moving. But we have been going on so many rides now that when we put the helmet on Fuller he just goes and stands next to the bike.

Damon does the riding with Fuller duty. For one thing that is the bigger bike and D has much more strength than I do. When they started out riding together, Fuller didn’t understand that his feet were suppossed to stay in the little foot rests. When D’s feet would cycle around his heel would knock Fuller’s toes. But again, now that we have been riding quite a few times, Fuller’s feet stay where they are suppossed to stay, even if for a little while.

I ride the smaller bike. I am out of shape and still haven’t lost the last 10 pounds of baby weight, which, when I do I will still be classified as overweight so maybe we should be doing something about that too.

Right now, we only ride around our neighborhood but gang, listen. You really don’t know how hilly St. Elmo is until you ride a bike around the neighborhood. We ride to church and it is uphill the entire way. And if we wanted to ride to Blockbuster or Mr. T’s, it really is uphill both ways (uphill until the church and then coast until the light, uphill back to the church and then coast home).

These neighborhood hills really show how out of shape I am in. But D, he knows I am trying and that I need to work on my shifting technique, so he doesn’t mind slowing down while I huff and puff toward Ochs Highway just so I can spend some quality time with the family. The exercise is just a bonus.

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