The weather here in the UK has hit 25 degrees C and it really feels like summer is here again. Yesterday, I went out for an afternoon ride with our 13month old son, Oliver.
When I have to look after him, one of the ways to entertain him is to take him out for a ride on the back of the Softrider, which he loves, especially when I ride through the pedestrianised areas and he can smile at all the people who seem to be smiling at him, (I haven’t yet explained to him it’s the whole set up we are actually sitting on that makes people smile, not necessarily him).
So, I strap him into his seat, put his helmet on, press play on some great summer tunes and set off down the hill towards the towpath of the river Thames.
The hill is quite steep and I just about hit 30mph without really pedalling, Oliver loves it and has his hands are waving about above his head, up in the slipstream that is blowing over my shoulders.
Under the railway bridge, we turn right up Surbiton High Street, then turn left and down to the river.
The riverside walkway is wide and tarmaced, with ‘No Cycling’ signs painted on it every at regular intervals. Well I figure, (like always) Cruzbikeing is not exactly cycling and with a baby on board whose gonna complain?
Many people are perambulating along the path in front of me enjoying the sunshine and as always, there are lots of comments about the Softrider. Having a baby on the back means you never hear a bad comment, even the youths don’t shout obscenities, some even say nice things and today is no exception, lots of ‘Wows’, ‘Corrs’ and smiles directed towards us. At one point, we are both looking fairly relaxed, some great tunes are playing, I am riding along with my feet clipped onto the pedals, both of our seats are reclined as far as they will go, I have my thumbs wedged into the gap between the 2 seat cushions, Oliver has got his feet up on my shoulders and we are both wearing shades… A chap sitting on a bench with his girlfriend, sits up, looks at us both, looks again and says with a wry smile as we pass, “Well I should just kick back and take it easy if I were you!” which, at the time, really made me laugh.
We continue into Kingston Market Square, thread our way through more people with smiling faces and then up and over Kingston Bridge to the other side of the river, to head along the dusty track, which is the towpath in the opposite direction. Here there are picnickers, walkers, joggers and mountain bikers and all manor of watercraft out on the river. I can’t help but have a great big smile on my face as Oliver blows continuous raspberries from the back seat between squeals of delight as the sun reflects off the surface of the river and we pedal in the dappled shade of the giant Horse Chestnut trees. Life is definitely doesn’t get much better than this!
We continue on, up to Hampton Court Bridge and Oliver falls asleep about half way there. At the bridge I turn around and retrace my tracks back towards home, riding hands free most of the way, except for the hill where I actually get a bit of proper exorcise before pulling into the drive.
When I stop, I seriously think about riding off again before the sun sets, but unfortunately, I have to get Oliver ready for bed.
When I look down at the bike, the lower half is covered in a red dust from the dusty towpath, but there seems to be none on me, my shoes, Oliver or the chain. So there is another FWD advantage. I also discovered, being able to wear nice baggy shorts rather than the padded lycra ones, whist seated in a recumbent position, means lovely cooling air can blow up your trouser legs to cool the parts that can’t be reached on a normal bike. Another great advantage for men on a Cruzbike! :lol:
The only picture i can find was taken during the winter, I think it was about 5 degrees then, we look a bit differnt now.
When I have to look after him, one of the ways to entertain him is to take him out for a ride on the back of the Softrider, which he loves, especially when I ride through the pedestrianised areas and he can smile at all the people who seem to be smiling at him, (I haven’t yet explained to him it’s the whole set up we are actually sitting on that makes people smile, not necessarily him).
So, I strap him into his seat, put his helmet on, press play on some great summer tunes and set off down the hill towards the towpath of the river Thames.
The hill is quite steep and I just about hit 30mph without really pedalling, Oliver loves it and has his hands are waving about above his head, up in the slipstream that is blowing over my shoulders.
Under the railway bridge, we turn right up Surbiton High Street, then turn left and down to the river.
The riverside walkway is wide and tarmaced, with ‘No Cycling’ signs painted on it every at regular intervals. Well I figure, (like always) Cruzbikeing is not exactly cycling and with a baby on board whose gonna complain?
Many people are perambulating along the path in front of me enjoying the sunshine and as always, there are lots of comments about the Softrider. Having a baby on the back means you never hear a bad comment, even the youths don’t shout obscenities, some even say nice things and today is no exception, lots of ‘Wows’, ‘Corrs’ and smiles directed towards us. At one point, we are both looking fairly relaxed, some great tunes are playing, I am riding along with my feet clipped onto the pedals, both of our seats are reclined as far as they will go, I have my thumbs wedged into the gap between the 2 seat cushions, Oliver has got his feet up on my shoulders and we are both wearing shades… A chap sitting on a bench with his girlfriend, sits up, looks at us both, looks again and says with a wry smile as we pass, “Well I should just kick back and take it easy if I were you!” which, at the time, really made me laugh.
We continue into Kingston Market Square, thread our way through more people with smiling faces and then up and over Kingston Bridge to the other side of the river, to head along the dusty track, which is the towpath in the opposite direction. Here there are picnickers, walkers, joggers and mountain bikers and all manor of watercraft out on the river. I can’t help but have a great big smile on my face as Oliver blows continuous raspberries from the back seat between squeals of delight as the sun reflects off the surface of the river and we pedal in the dappled shade of the giant Horse Chestnut trees. Life is definitely doesn’t get much better than this!
We continue on, up to Hampton Court Bridge and Oliver falls asleep about half way there. At the bridge I turn around and retrace my tracks back towards home, riding hands free most of the way, except for the hill where I actually get a bit of proper exorcise before pulling into the drive.
When I stop, I seriously think about riding off again before the sun sets, but unfortunately, I have to get Oliver ready for bed.
When I look down at the bike, the lower half is covered in a red dust from the dusty towpath, but there seems to be none on me, my shoes, Oliver or the chain. So there is another FWD advantage. I also discovered, being able to wear nice baggy shorts rather than the padded lycra ones, whist seated in a recumbent position, means lovely cooling air can blow up your trouser legs to cool the parts that can’t be reached on a normal bike. Another great advantage for men on a Cruzbike! :lol:
The only picture i can find was taken during the winter, I think it was about 5 degrees then, we look a bit differnt now.
