Jim’s Orange (brand) mountain bike, August 17, 2007,
photos © 2007 by ybonesy. All rights reserved.
“Daddy, do I have to ride my bike to school today?”
“Yes, it will be fun.”
“But Mom said I could ride the bus some days.”
“Nah, you don’t want to ride the bus.”
“Yes I do.”
“Naaa, you’ll get four miles of riding in today.”
“But I don’t want to ride everyday.”
“Yeah you do. Four miles a day is 20 miles a week. That’s, like…let’s see, there are 30-some weeks in a school year, so that’d be…that’s over 600 miles!”
“Wow, that’s a lot!”
“I’ll say.”
Those are beautiful shots of the bikes! But ya know… gel seats! They make riding a lot less… umm… daunting…
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LOL. I recall using a gel seat once, I think; it felt a little like I was sitting on something alive ; – ).
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Alive or not, I got my bike a couple of years ago, for $1, at a yard sale. That first ride was the epitome of pain. Then I replaced the seat with one from the back room of a bike shop, and, honestly, I wouldn’t have cared if it wiggled!
My $1 bike stays in the house, now, just to protect the seat!
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My seat’s pretty cushy. Hmmm, that sounds weird. It’s amazing how much “seat technology” has evolved. You’d think something like bikes wouldn’t change so fast.
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Great shots of the bikes. And 600 miles, one day at a time. The girl’s got guts.
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I agree with QuoinMonkey (hi!) about the shots. Did you photomanipulate them? The colors are so vibrant and the lighting’s great.
😦 I can’t ride a bike. I don’t know how it stays upright and I don’t trust it will. (Yes, eventhough I see riders on upright bikes all the time.)
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Two screws in my left knee have made running nearly impossible for me, but I’ve learned to love riding. Your daughter may develop an addiction to the wind she creates, the sense of the world moving faster, and the elation of exertion. Anyway, you are so smart to give her the chance. Maybe you could buy a map of the US and chart her miles as the year goes on.
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Oh, that’s a great idea. So she can see how far her mileage would have gotten her if it was all back-to-back.
Jim’s banking on both his girls loving bikes as much as he does. He tried to get Dee riding at age five — bad idea.
Yesterday Em and her bike got a ride home in the truck. It was too hot to ride the bike back. You got to have balance.
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Thanks, QM and Liz. I took the photos in the morning, which got the quality of light I was looking for. I pushed up the contrast and played with some of the color saturation and hue.
Liz, I’m fascinated by the notion that you don’t ride bikes. That kind of random fact is why I love conversing on blogs.
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Liz, I agree with ybonesy about the bike. It’s something we take for granted about people. Like learning how to swim, too. I’m always surprised when people can’t swim. I distinctly remember my Dad teaching me to ride a bike. It’s one of my cherished memories. I like to hear about what people did and didn’t learn growing up.
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Well, guess what? I can’t swim either! 😦 I was overprotected as a little girl and my family always were ready to warn me from getting hurt. I think it’s not in my character to go against their warnings and gave easily into fear so I can’t really blame anyone but myself.
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Liz, I wondered about that..just had a feeling. I was curious if you ever wanted to learn to do either of those things as an adult? Some people feel like it’s too late. But, you know, I’ve learned a ton of things later in life, I never, ever thought possible. Thanks for sharing.
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*laughs* great post
you must have appealed to her sense of grandeur.
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Today’s update: The ditch has become too sandy, and Em had a melt-down this morning on the way to school. Jim is going to register Em for the bus, although I think he still wants her to ride a few days a week. Not giving up on the dream that his girls will some day tour with him or at least go on a few hard mountain bike rides.
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Ah, bummer for Em and Jim. Knowing Em’s courage, she’ll for sure be able to head out on one of those long rides one day. No worries.
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[…] the wonderfully creative and interesting folks over at red Ravine put together this dialogue with photos (or is it photos with dialogue?). Essentially, a young girl is complaining to her father about […]
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