Cycling

Family Road Biking Added to the Mix

I'm a hiker and I will always be a hiker at heart, but my husband has been road biking for a few years now and has really wanted to add biking to to our family outdoor activities so this summer we decided to take the plunge!  It's been almost four months of family cycling and I'm having a great time and have rekindled the joy of riding a bike.

Family Road Gear

Since my husband was all set with his bicycle gear, we needed to get the rest of us outfitted! First of all, we needed to purchase two major items a bike trailer and a road bicycle for myself:

I haven't been riding consistently since I road around the training base camp in Georgia on a "Cruiser" type bike in 2004.  Even back then I was very spastic and clumsy (which I still am), so I had some hesitations to start road biking.  After a few visits to local bicycle stores I decided on the Giant Avail 5 Women's Road Bike.  I tested out a few fancier road bikes but as a beginner road biker I really couldn't tell the difference so I decided on the Avail 5.  Review will be coming soon...

 

Our three year old son absolutely refused to learn to ride a bike with a balance bike because it didn't have pedals like "Daddy's Bike", so we ended up buying him, 

Giant Jr. Animator.  If you can't tell we kind of like Giant bikes! Our son still does not understand the mechanics of riding a bike yet so when he rides his bike we are usually walking or running along side him.

Riding So Far....

Family riding so far has been a learning experience, as any new activity normally is!  My kids are slowly building up their "Time Limit" in the double trailer.  I'm learning what activities, snacks and toys to bring along so they can keep entertained in the trailer.  Our daughter has a terrible time with wearing a helmet, she absolutely hates it so of course she has a somewhat dislike to the trailer BUT every time she is having a better and longer experience with the helmet so OVERALL it's getting better!

I'm trying to keep the same principles as Chasqui Mom's Toddler Hiking Cycle when we are riding and taking breaks when needed, stopping and letting the kids burn their energy, etc.  A few other things we are learning are:

  • The kids love riding FAST and going over bumps.
  • I'm re-learning how to ride a bike! Not that I forgot how but just its different now as an adult!
  • Bike paths that are family and beginner friendly in the East Bay.
  • Learning that I'm a "Freddy" (a novice rider)! A mountain biker explained that to me recently....
  • How to dress when riding, what not to bring and what to bring...
  • My husband and I are learning to ride while towing our kids in a trailer! It's heavy!

Our routes so far have been close to home due to fact that we don't have a way to transport our bikes...yet! Looking into bike racks so we can start exploring other routes in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I'm really glad my husband convinced me to start riding again because I had forgotten how much fun it is to ride and it is another great way to get the family exercising!

A big "Shout Out" to +CentriPEDAL Bikes LLC, our local East Bay bicycle store, where we purchased our Giant Bicycles.  We are now loyal customers of CentriPEDAL Bikes.  You can also follow them on Facebook.

Related Posts and Links:

  1. The Inspirational Ride to Defeat ALS, Napa Valley
  2. Training for a Cause - Ride to Defeat ALS
  3. Chasqui Mom's Toddler Hiking Cycle

The Inspirational Ride to Defeat ALS, Napa Valley

A few weeks ago, my husband Jesse and good friend Nate road in the Ride to Defeat ALS in Napa Valley with Team Mazzetti.  Even though I did not participate I was very glad I went for many reasons.  It was a great experience for our family, as well as seeing my husband's co-workers/friends ride together as a team.


My children and I slept in while my husband woke up early in the wee hours of the morning to meet up with his team at the starting line.  We had spent the night in the Napa Valley region so there was no risk being late!  In the late morning my kids and I headed over to the Calistoga Area to wait at one of the rest stops.  I had been following my husband on a new iPhone app called "Find Friends" but I don't know if I misread the map or GPS but I couldn't figure out where Team Mazzetti was.


I eventually figured out I came out to the race too early so I headed out to find a park and found a playground at Pioneer Park in downtown Calistoga.  The kids happily played for about an hour until I realized Team Mazzetti was near by, so we hopped in the car and headed to find the team taking a break in Napa Valley's beautiful vineyards! (picture above)


The kids had been away from daddy all day and they were having "daddy withdrawals", so we made sure the kids got lots of hugs from Jesse.  One of the team members could no longer ride, so after we said our goodbyes we shuttled him back to the finish line at the Yountville Veterans Home.

Inspirations...
I had been to two rest stops and later at the finish line...the one thing that amazed and inspired me was a particular family who had a sign that said, "You are doing this for my daddy!!" and it literally broke my heart.  At the same time it brought the significance of the ride, that this was not a race but truly a ride to defeat ALS.  Not only were the families present but people with minor ALS were participating in the ride as well as being present at the finish line.

Over the past couple of months, it has come to our attention that family members of our friends have passed away from ALS.  Jason Fried, a fellow outdoor family blogger (1 Quest 2 The Next), was open enough to share with me that his father passed away NINE WEEKS after he was diagnosed with ALS, nine weeks.... Another friend of ours, Kevin shared with my husband that at the age of 12, his mother passed away from the "horrible condition" after six years of battling with ALS.  This whole process has changed my significance of races with running, riding, etc., to truly finding the meaning behind these activities.

60 Miles - Family Rider!!
My second inspiration was this riding family!!  I'm assuming the woman I saw riding near by was the wife/mother, she's not pictured but she was right behind them.  I saw them at the 60 mile course and my husband briefly spoke to them at one of the rest stops.  I thought to myself to ride 60 miles as a family....that takes dedication! We've recently taken up biking as a family and my kids can barely take 20 miles in the bike trailer so I can appreciate the time and effort that this family did to train

 If anyone knows the family pictured above, please forward the link to them and pass on my email to them: melissa@chasquimom.com.

The Finish Line
I think I had tears in my eyes the entire time we waited for Team Mazzetti.  With every rider came cheers, hugs and riders almost passing out! Teenagers, women, men, elderly riders crossed the finish line all with smiles on their faces, some riders saying the ride's motto "NEVER GIVE UP".  My kids played in the leaves, climbed trees for and hour and a half while we waited for Team Mazzetti to finish.  At last, one by one Team Mazzetti came in and all of their FIRST Century Ride was over.


My kids were happy to have their daddy back, Team Mazzetti was happy to have finished, and I was happy to have seen this great ride.  This has left me with the desired to ride next years Ride to Defeat ALS with my kids! My goal is to ride the 27 mile ride towing my two kids, while my husband does the Century Ride and not only for the fun of it but because it is truly a great way to support this cause.

Thank you to all who supported us by donating financially, both Jesse and Nate met their fundraising goals as well as Team Mazzetti raised over $2,000 combined!  Thank you all who supported us with giving us a place to stay, prayers and sending good vibes!  I truly pray and hope someday there is a way to Defeat ALS as well as other health issues that plague our communities like cancer, mental illness and many others.

Looking forward to next year's Ride to Defeat ALS!

To read about an actual riders point of view, please visit Nate Rische's post "Road Race Report: It's Supposed to Hurt Like Hell!" on The Absence of Something Substantial.  

Related Posts and Links:
  1. Training for a Cause - Ride to Defeat ALS
  2. Road Race Report: "It's Supposed to Hurt Like Hell!" by Nathan Rische
  3. 1 Quest 2 The Next

Training for a Cause - Ride to Defeat ALS

Ride to Defeat ALS
Mazzetti, a construction and engineering firm from San Francisco, California has been organizing a company team for a couple of years to support the "Ride to Defeat ALS" in Napa Valley, California.  Mazzetti started participating in the ride on behalf of a good client's husband with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).  This year my husband, Jesse and his best friend, Nathan will be part of Team Mazzetti on The ALS Association, 9th Annual Ride to Defeat ALS on September 28, 2013. 


"Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative diseases that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord.  Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body.  The progressive degenerative of the motor neurons in ALS evenutally leads to their death.  When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost.  With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed." ("What Is ALS?" The ALS Association. N.p., 2010.Web. 08 Sept. 2013 http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html)

Jesse Avery - Mazzetti
Since 2007, Jesse has been riding recreationally, mostly short rides with occasional longer rides around the San Francisco East Bay.  He started riding more frequently to and from work across the Bay to Stanford University in 2011.


As of a couple of months ago, we decided to add road cycling to our outdoor family activities and Jesse is now towing our two toddlers on our family rides as well as training on longer rides with Nate.  This will be Jesse's first century ride (100 miles), in fact when he decided to join Team Mazzetti he had never done more than 50 miles in a day.  Jesse is very excited to be riding in his first century ride for ALS.

Nathan (Nate) Rische - FedEx
Photo Courtesy of Nate Rische
A late bloomer in a family of cyclists, Nate finally jumped in the world of cycling about two years ago when his car broke down for extended mechanical issues.  He borrowed a bike to ride to work, and then walked down to the local bike shop and spent more money than he planned for his own bike.  He rode to work, then began riding on the weekends for fun, and then his rides kept getting longer and longer.  This will be Nate's first official century, a previous attempt was thwarted by a mechanical failure on his bike.  You can follow Nate's adventures and writings at In the Absence of Something Substantial.

Fundraising - Ride to Defeat ALS
Jesse and Nate are trying to raise $500 each (a total of $1,000) for Ride to Defeat ALS.  Donations go to The ALS Assocation which helps patient programs to research for ALS.  For more information in regards to donations please click here.

To donate on behalf of Jesse please visit Jesse's Participant Page.

To donate on behalf of Nate, please visit Nate's Participant Page.

Personally, I'm really proud and excited for my husband and our good friend Nate.  Jesse and Nate have been riding together for almost two years now without a particular ride or cause in mind but when Jesse received an email at work about joining Ride to Defeat ALS, Jesse jumped right in as well extending the invitation to Nate.  They've been training hard these last few weeks even with hectic work and life schedules.

Thanks guys for riding to defeat ALS!

Related Posts and Links: