I led another kids' ride today, 23 miles down the Sammamish River
Trail/Burke Gilman. It ended up being all girls age 11. Weather started out
foggy, then overcast, then brilliantly sunny. One of the 11 year olds was my
daughter, who got a little sun burned because she's allergic to sunscreen
with SPF more than 15, and all I had was #30.
The ride turned out fine, but I felt sorry for one of the girls, who was
riding her brother's old rusty Huffy. The headset was loose but frozen. The
brakes were in such bad shape that we finally just removed the set in the
back because they were rubbing so much on the rim (and no way to adjust)
that she was really struggling. And her seat was wobbling all over the
place; we finally got the right wrenches to get it into the right position.
Another rider, quite petite, was on a little girl's single speed "Dream
Journey" Huffy, but the simpler mechanics meant that she was actually much
better off than her friend.
The ride took 5 hours. I was going a little nuts riding sweep at 8.5
miles/hour, but I have now lived to tell the tale. And while the MUT was
very busy, arguably, this is who should be on the trail, a line of kids at
8.5 mph, learning trail etiquette and group riding techniques.
--
Warm Regards,
Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky