First Long Bike Ride WITH HENRY!

Sunday morning was a great day. The sun was out, but it was cool and calm. Pharmie even remarked that it felt a bit like Fall. But it wasn't so chilly that we couldn't try taking Henry for a ride. We put pants on Henry (something we've hardly had to do all summer) and got ready to ride.

Henry first had a little ride in his Chariot back on April 1st, but we just went around the block twice:

Ending our first ride in April.

On Sunday, we got Henry loaded up:

We worked our way across the river to the River Road trail:

Somewhere between Lake Street and the Greenway Trail.

Then we hit the Greenway Trail. Henry didn't know what to think of the breeze in his face, and he did NOT like wearing that helmet, but he was mainly enjoying himself.

Pharmie crossing the Hiawatha Bridge with downtown MPLS in the distance.


Henry PASSED OUT about 4 miles into the ride!!

We turned around while Henry was still sleeping at the 7.5 mile mark. He woke up a few miles later, but he just "coo-ed" and sang a bit. He was enjoying himself! We decided to head to Minnehaha Park along the river instead of heading straight home, and he fell asleep for a while longer near the park. Henry was BARELY starting to get a little cranky when we pulled into the driveway after 22 miles!

Me and Henry post-ride!

(You can adjust the straps so 1 kid can sit in the middle, but we'll keep Henry off to 1 side for now because he can lean against the side to sleep.)

So far, our "double wide" Chariot has treated us well, but we still haven't really tested it. We got the double Chariot because we can spend about another $100 down the line and purchase the "jogging kit" which contains a front wheel. That way, I can go running with 2 kids. We are NOT announcing anything - we are happily having non-child-making sex right now.

Our average speed on that 22.11 mile ride was 14.4 mph, and that was with me working! (But I was riding on my heavy "commuter" bike as seen at the top of this post.) Once I got moving with the Chariot, it's hard to notice that it's there (except for your slower-than-normal speed). But when I'm speeding up from an intersection, I could REALLY feel the extra weight behind me. The ride with the Chariot was a good "strength" workout - I felt it in my quads! I think it rode relatively smooth for Henry, and it has an adjustable suspension based on your child's weight.

And speaking of training with a kid, here's my post about running with a BOB jogging stroller from last year. We still OBVIOUSLY love our BOB stroller! In fact, my last 28 miles (since my last race) have been ran with Henry! Here's a photo from before our 9 miler yesterday:

On that run, we did the middle 5 miles in 30:15!! WITH the stroller!! Daddy was working! :)

Anyway, the Chariot is good so far! I'm sure I'll post more about it before summer's end.