Mtn Biking with the most amazing girl!!!

Last night I had such an amazing time riding with a girl new to mountain biking. She’s spunky, fun, full of adventure, and no fear!!! I was humbled by her endurance and courage. Who was this amazing girl you ask? My 6 yr old daughter!!!

Yep, that’s right! My 6yr old daughter (well almost 6 anyways – the end of the month is her birthday). RL and Aleah loaded up on our KHS tandem and off we went! I was actually really nervous about taking her out on an extended ride. I’ve taken her on the backside of the loop for some easy riding and RL ventured out with her to the lake yesterday but today was her 1st official day of mtn biking on the fully loop.

We took her on a short 8mi loop that included some nice climbs, a few steep downhills and some sweet singletrack. It was amazing to see her so confident behind her dad. She completely trusted him out there. She looked so little out there on that tandem, she could barely reach those pedals at a full extension..but she made it work!

I was really amazed out how quickly she adapted to her dads style of riding. He of course took it really easy out there but they developed their own language out on that tandem. RL would call bump and she knew to stand even on her pedals and lift her bottom. He would call out “downhill�? and she immediately lifts her bottom off the seat for better balance and to avoid the bumpiness of the downhill. Wow. I was impressed! Even once they weren’t able to make it up one of the hills and she immediately jumped off the bike to avoid falling over.

The only drawback of the tandem style, with her little body, is the view. Poor thing had to lean over to the side to look around dad’s backside. She had to completely rely on RL’s riding and him letting her know what to expect because she could not see ahead of her.

Some of you may know that our oldest daughters refuse to ride the trails with us. The older girls did trail ride ONCE..and after some nasty falls and bruisers they refuse to try it again. It’s with trial and error that we realized the importance of easing the kids into the sport with positive experiences out on the trails. This is where this tandem really helps. Aleah gets the experience of the ride, and gets the opportunity to feel comfortable out on the trails, yet her dad is in control. We hope with more tandem and trailer riding that she’ll feel at ease out there if she decides to ride on her own one day. And we hope our older girls will give it another go on the tandem. I’m keeping hope alive!!!

What can i say? I am a proud mom. I am sure many of you understand how incredible it feels to see friends and loved ones enjoy mtn biking as much as you do! Especially the offspring!

Here’s Aleah and I, below. Notice her pink terry gloves that I gave her? She was so proud to put those on today. She just kept looking at her hands like they were made of gold, big eyes and all! So cute.

Happy Ridin’ everyone!