Learning To Ride

The Boy 15 and I have been practicing our urban riding a lot this summer. Lots of people learn to ride when they're 5. Kids in my house don't learn to ride until after Driver's Ed and a whole bunch of stopping at red lights and stop signs. Plenty of right and left turn signaling. Controlling and sharing lanes - only when it's safe - and the occasional negotiation with a driver.

This route features lots of residential roads, some 40 mph arterials, some multi-use trail and a little bit of playground. There's a full service bike lane and some shared bike/car parking pavement markings.

There is gravel in the intersections, water in the corners, and cracks in the street.

Also, he's becoming quite the riding buddy. He's learning when it's cool to ride close and when it's not.

Bike it!

My Strava KOM is also here - so we do get to race to a summit.

Helmet Skills 101

Do you wear your helmet backwards? I'm looking at you well known local Tour daKota rider from a few years back.

What if the local news were to do a story about some neat cycling thing and there you are...

...in the daily news getting it backwards?

In Smart Cycling classes we start at the beginning - we put our helmets on right and adjust them to fit all proper like.

A Tale of Two Walgreens

Just rode through the Walgreens Rx drive-thru with the family to pick up a prescription. When the transaction was complete the pharmacist wanted to add another comment.

Considering the spectacle of four people on bikes at the pharmacy drive-thru window I steeled myself for what I thought would be the inevitable "please don't bike in our drive up."

Instead he offered - next time you bike through you can push that button to call us. Our sensor only detects cars.

"41st and Louise says don't bike in their drive thru", I said.

"I don't care about them", he said.

"Neither do I." I'm a big fan of my neighborhood Walgreens.