Since Sam was born I have wanted to get a child trailer for my bike so I could bring Sam and then Maya along on my rides. However, I never thought the cost of the trailer could be justified for how often we would actually make it to one of the trails outside the city so I never purchased one. With the 170 bike ride only a few weeks away, I had a need to get my hands on a road bike since my mountain bike was not going to cut it for the trip. Thanks to a great deal found on Craigslist, I now have a road bike and a child trailer! It was a great two for one deal.
This past Sunday a group of riders from the Cycle of Love went on our weekend journey to train. We only had a few hours to ride due to the busy nature of the halloween weekend so we decided to stay close and ride on a new section of the Atlanta Beltline Trail. The Beltline is going to change the way that we live our lives in Atlanta, even if it is still 15 years from completion (check out the website at www.beltline.org) .
It was awesome to share my first ride on the Beltline Trail with Sam. I am pretty sure that Sam thought he was cool because he got to hang out with the big boys and their bikes! He was super excited to go and packed a bag full of books, toys, and snacks to enjoy in the trailer. We rode for about an hour and then stopped at a playground to let Sam get out for a minute. He played literally for one minute and wanted to get back in the trailer and continue riding (much to the chagrine of Daddy who wanted a little more of break). I am very glad that I got to share some of my training with Sam now with the trailer. I hope that he shares some of my love for biking hen he gets older.
As we were riding the Beltline, we couldn't help but talk about how it would change our lives drastically. The Beltline will be a 22 mile loop around downtown Atlanta of bike trails, walking trails, parks, and a light rail line. It passes through the north end of our neighborhood, about 1/2 mile away at most. When complete, we will be able to bike, walk, or take the train to 95% of the places we go in Atlanta. Our kids, who will be teenagers when it is complete, will have their Atlanta world opened to them without the use of a car (good thing because I am still holding to the no license before 18 theory for Sam and Maya). One of my biggest struggles of living in Atlanta is the lack of the urban amenities that I thought I would have when I moved to Atlanta (easy access to walking, biking, and public transit) and the Beltline will go a long way towards changing that. I can't wait and yesterday was just a tease in terms of what's to come hopefully!
Of course, all the excited of the day was too much for a 3 year old to handle as he fell asleep towards the end of our ride:
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