whew

Sorry I've been AWOL
Between recovering from the crud last week, I've been trying to finish up the "great sewage flood basement remodel of 2010" in preparation for a family visit.   I'm really hoping to get my folks on bikes this weekend- if nothing else when Memorial Drive is closed on Sunday. Thanks to my collecting fetish, I think I actually have enough bikes that we can all ride at once.  Although I lent a saddle out, so we're one short, I'm sure we'll figure it out.

My Dad taught me how to ride a bike -it took a long time and a lot of running pushes on a gently sloping sidewalk at the school across from our house.  More importantly, he showed me by example how a daily commuter rides to work.  We lived 7 miles away from his office, and almost every day he'd ride in on his 70's Fuji,  dressed in screaming neon- the very image of the Bike Commuter Stereotype.    He's retired to a recumbent,  which in his late 60's he managed to ride all the way over Loveland pass (14,000 ish feet)  as part of the 130 mile "Triple Bypass" ride in Colorado.

My Mom,  who used to lug me around on the back of a classic green Schwinn (note to self- check it out when I'm next at home)  has not been on a bike in years. She's in charge of sag wagon support for a lot of events,  but isn't willing to ride on the roads in traffic.  I'm hoping that she'd feel comfortable enough on a closed street with a step over bicycle that she might give it a try.

So many people have tough times dealing with their families over the Thanksgiving holidays.  I can't wait to see my folks, and am so excited to just have a chance to hang out with them for a couple of days.  It's really something to be thankful for.