Bicycle Trip Training

We have begun training for our bicycle trip this summer. We did a six mile trip through some trails by our house. A "train" this long draws some attention with the Germans. We were riding past one older German Man and he waved us over. He said he wanted a picture but that he didn't have a camera. I replied " Ich habe eine Kamera". He gladly took a took a photo for us. He wanted a copy of the photo so I asked if he had an email address. He relplied that he did. He couldn't find a pen. He asked several people passing by if they had a pen. There was no pen to be found. So Kaden had an idea that he could write his email in the dirt. He wrote his email in the dirt and I took a picture of the address. I sent him the picture that night.

Riding was a blast. At first it was difficult keeping my balance with the loaded panniers on the front fork. After a minute, I got the hang of it and it became much easier. Riding on flat parts isn't too bad but if there is any type of a hill I rally my little engines behind me to help out. They are cute and are eager to help out. Kaden has strong legs and is a good motor. It took Lauren a little while to figure out which way to turn the pedals. She figured it out and was a big help. Ava was good mannered for the whole trip. It was cold out that day and I was proud of how well the kids did.
As part of the training I wanted to eat out on the road. We loaded up some gear and food. We picked a spot not far from out house.

We sat up a beach tent to act as a windbreaker. We stoked up the Coleman stove and had some grilled cheese sandwiches, pears, and juice. The kids had a blast and loved it.

Ava preferred to stand outside of the tent.

As part of the training we decided to start getting used to sleeping in a tent. We put up the tent in the basement. Ava didn't care to sleep in the tent so She slept in her crib. Kaden, Lauren and I spent a couple of nights in the tent. It reminded me of an old joke: I have been camping for 25 years and I have never slept in a sleeping bag...but I sure have laid in a lot of them. The whole night I spent sliding off of the air mattress and trying to find my pillow. The next morning I ordered sleeping bags for Marnie and I that has a built in sleeve for the air mattress and pillow to prevent one from sliding off.

Lauren did great sleeping in the tent. We worked on controlling our volume. I explained to the kids many times that when you are camping in a campground if you are too loud they will kick you out. The first night was rough but they did much better the second night. It was some good training.

Kaden did well. He has a mild case of steamroller-itis. I would put Kaden clear on the other side of the tent. In the middle of the night Kaden was laying across Lauren's sleeping bag with his head pushing into my side. I helped him back to his side of the tent and after that He did fine.