Bike Ride

One day, a dad and his two kids decided to go for a bike ride.  Both kids, one girl and one boy, had new bikes and were ready to try them out.  They had already gone for rides up and down their street, but today they were going for a long ride on the bike trail across town.  So first they had to load everything into the van.

“Daddy, can we bring some snacks?” asked the daughter.

“Sure,” answered the dad.  “What should we bring?  Carrots?  Granola bars?”

“Cookies!” shouted the son.

“And chips!” suggested the daughter.

“I’ll get some water bottles and some apples,” said the dad.  “You guys go find your helmets.”

The kids ran out to the garage but soon were back in the kitchen.

“DAD! She hid my helmet!” the son was screaming.

“He said my bike was girly!” whined the daughter.

The dad took a deep breath.  “But aren’t you a girl?” he asked.

“Yes, but my bike isn’t.  It’s COOL,” she answered sweetly.

“Okay, give him back his helmet so we can go.”

All of them walked back to the garage.  The dad tossed the backpack with the water and apples into the van and went to help find all the helmets.

“Did you bring the cookies?” asked the son.

“Just apples.  I think they will work best for us today.”

“Maybe some chips too?” the daughter suggested.

“I don’t think the chips will fit in the backpack,” the dad said.

“I can carry them in my basket,” she smiled pointing to the basket attached to the front of her bike.

“Nope, not today,” the dad told her. “Does everybody have everything they need?” he asked as they climbed into the van.

“Yes Daddy,” both kids answered.  But when the dad noticed his son’s feet with socks and no shoes, he asked them again.

“Yes Daddy, we’re ready. Let’s go!”

“What about shoes?” the dad asked quietly.

“Oops,” the son jumped back out of the van and ran back into the house.  He was quickly back carrying his shoes.

Just as the dad turned the key to start the engine, the daughter jumped out of the van and ran inside the house.

“What now?” thought the dad to himself, glancing at his watch.

She was back in a few seconds wearing her pink sunglasses.

Finally they were all three in the car, buckled, and ready to go.

The dad drove to the parking lot at the start of the bike trail.

As they were unloading the bikes from the back of the van, the daughter asked, “Is it time for a snack yet?”

“Let’s ride a little way down the trail first,” suggested the dad.

“I get to be in front!” yelled the son as he jumped on his bike and took off down the path.

“Daddy, make him wait,” whined the daughter.  It always took her a little longer to get started.

“We’re not racing,” said the dad.  “Let’s just take our time and enjoy....”

“WAIT FOR US!” she interrupted, yelling at her brother.  And off she sped toward him along the trail. 

“...the nice weather,” the dad said to himself.

By now both kids were quite a bit in front of the dad, who didn’t even have his helmet on yet, so he hurried to catch up.

The three of them rode along the winding trail through trees and over a small wooden bridge across a stream. “Snack time?” the daughter yelled over her shoulder.

“Maybe when we get to the park,” was the dad’s answer.

After a couple of minutes they came to the park.  There was a shelter with picnic tables and a small playground.

They all parked their bikes and while the kids ran to the playground, the dad unpacked the water bottles and apples at one of the tables.

“Snacks are ready,” he yelled to them as they were climbing up the slide.

“In a minute.”

“Not yet.”

So the dad sat down by himself and started eating his apple while he watched his kids play.

After several minutes, he walked over to the playground.  “Ready to go home?” he asked.

His daughter didn’t answer, she just ran to the picnic table and found her apple.

“Daddy,” the son started,  “can you go get the car?  I don’t want to ride my bike anymore.”

“Sorry Buddy, we all have to ride back to the car.”

“But I’m so tired,” whined the son.

“Come eat your apple and drink some water and rest a bit.  You’ll be okay,” the dad encouraged.

The son walked very slowly to the picnic table.

“Where are the cookies?” he asked.

“Just apples,” was the dad’s answer.

“Just apples,” mumbled the son as he gulped down some water.

Eventually, they all put their helmets back on and climbed back on their bikes.  They rode, much slower than before, back towards the car.  Several times the dad had to stop and wait for them to catch up.

Finally they made it back to the parking lot and found their van.  As they loaded the bikes into the back of the van, the dad asked, “Who wants to stop for some ice cream on the way home?”

“WE DO!”

“YES!”