Monday, May 07, 2007

Father Son Ride

This Sunday, Marcus and I took the boys out the Pine Nuts for a father son ride. This was my son's 2nd ride on his mountain bike, and Marcus's son has been on his mountain bike for about a year. I was glad that my son had a buddy, because kids always do better when they have someone they can relate to.

The trail was an intermediate level kid trail. There were soft patches of silt, rocks, whoop de doos, tight single track, and a moderate hill climb. Since this was my son's 2nd ride on the bike, he was wondering just what the heck I had gotten him into. He said, "Dad...you should've picked a better trail! Next time let's just go hiking.". I could see his point...we'd been climbing for about a mile. We took frequent snack and water breaks. My son just got a new Camel Bak, and it worked out really good. He loves wearing it, and could get a drink anytime he wanted. He drank all the water I had given him by the end of the ride, so it's good to know he's staying hydrated.

We finally decided to turn around. It was time for my son to learn about the payoff of climbing for an hour. His composure really changed when we got to the first fast downhill section. As seen in the picture here, there was a turn around a tree with a jump at the end. The kids got real excited for this section, so we did it over and over again. After we got our fill on the jump, we did the long downhill to the car. It was crazy to see the little guys flying down the trail over all the whoop de doos. The short wheel base and little wheels made the bikes pretty twitchy, but both boys showed superb bike handling skills. I'd yell out to my son to slow down a bit, and his back wheel would lock up as he grabbed a fistful of back brake. The back end would come around, but he'd always come out of it. It was a great way to end the ride. Both boys were excited about the big downhill, and had pretty much forgotten the pain of the uphill.

More photos of the ride HERE.

10 comments:

Chris said...

Sounds like a great time. I am sure he will want to step up to full suspension soon for those jumps. Start saving your money. :)

~ lauren said...

yay! they're so cute on those bikes!

Scott said...

You should sprinkle some EPO on Charlies cheerios. Get him started early. Sorry. Sick joke I know.

Marcus said...

Classic moment of the ride... When we were all being quiet because we thought we heard a motorcycle.. out of the silence Jared rippps an audible fart and starts giggling uncontrolably.. Thats my boy!

Marcus said...

Whats EPO stand for? I think I need some to counter act the benadryl!

Scott said...

Erythropoietin or EPO is a glycoprotein hormone that is a cytokine for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow.

I think J-Mo is on it.

Scott said...

Erythropoietin or EPO is a glycoprotein hormone that is a cytokine for erythrocyte (red blood cell) precursors in the bone marrow.

I think J-Mo is on it.

Jeff Moser said...

I had no choice but to start taking EPO. My wife has been smoking me!

Jeff Moser said...

Chris - Who knows, maybe he'll be a rigid single speed punk. You're probably right though. Kids like to jump. I know I did.

Lauren - Yes they are! It was cool to see those little legs power up the hills. And those little Camel Baks!

Marcus said...

Well, EPO's sound to complicated. I will stick to my usual routine of snorting my proprietary mix of chili peppers and coffee grounds.

Chris- yeah, money. Crap, and with my taste in Mt. bike parts, well Jr. cant have anything but the best! I need to hit the Fandango on payday to double my checks!