Breaking Away

The Zev Winicur Monon Milestone Bike Ride this past Saturday was an unqualified success. The weather was absolutely perfect: no rain, just a slight cloud cover, warm enough to convince you that it's still summer, but not hot enough to melt copper. And, yes, I rode the entire 34 miles of the Monon round trip.

Some friends of mine, a family of four, joined me on the bike ride. To keep their identity private, I will only refer to them as the Pitt-Jolies: Brad, Angelina, Vivienne (10), and Marcheline (9).

The Pitt-Jolies are pretty avid bikers despite their protestations that they really hadn't done much biking this summer. Of course, "not doing much biking," did not affect their ability to ride circles around me. I take pride in the fact that I was able to ride further than both the 9-year old AND the 10-year old. The 9-year old only rode 16 miles, and the 10-year old only rode 28 miles total. Hah!

Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Can you bike further than a 5th grader? And are you proud of yourself?

Both Vivienne and Marcheline did AMAZINGLY well, especially considering that when I was 9 years old, I had just removed my training wheels. I think I was able to ride a mile to school and back when I was 10.

I came home after the bike ride and told my kids that I didn't want to hear them complain when I made them walk around the block.