cycling
04. September, 12:07 Uhr
UPDATE: Okay, wow what a day. The journey began @ 8:40am and ended @ 8:10pm. (More below)
I'm sore af right now... meanwhile Ben is like, I'm going to ride my bike tomorrow, no big deal, appearing completely unscathed by the journey. 🙄
I've mentioned before I'm not a cyclist, but I look at these adventures as an amazing opportunity to bond with my son, and even for me to get well out of my comfort zone to do something he is passionate about. It was an incredibly fun day, and I cherish the one on one time as it's something that isn't always possible with a busy family. Even sharing this experience gets me out of my comfort zone as I typically keep a very low profile, but I felt Ben's journey was deserving of being projected to a broader audience. If I wasn't there with him, the journey would seem improbable.
I appreciate the feedback. It was fun reading through the comments on the drive home, including those that are critical. I completely understand the fears of overextending a 6 year olds abilities. I'll start by saying he is not built like me at all and comparitably has the physique of a junior marathon runner. He never shows any signs of soreness as the result of these rides which actually boggles my mind. If I thought he risked injury I wouldn't permit him to do these rides. These are not typical bike rides we take, and we have done 3 long distance bike rides this year, with this obviously being the longest. His main love with cycling is actually skateparks and pump tracks and this is just another dimension of his interest. If I have the ability to support my child with their interest, I'll certainly do so.
...............
Okay, finally to our day: total distance traveled was roughly 120km with an avg speed of 15.2km (7:40 time in motion, 10:50 elapsed. Lack of daylight ended up winning and we ended literally on the boarder between Pickering and Ajax. The math won't completely add up here because we got to Beach Front park in Pickering around 7:20pm and I thought we hit our end point as there's no board walk, so we had to drag our bikes in the sand. (114km) I sit down ready to reflect on the day with him and wait for mom 30 minutes out, as I prematurely hit end on the tracking apps.Moments later he says "let's go" in a completely determined voice, and I'm like, really? We proceeded to trudge through the sand to the other side to put out several more km to where the trail intersects with Frisco road to finally call it quits where my wife picked us up.
http://imgur.com/a/ncylF3M
http://imgur.com/a/FH2lSK3
I had my doubts about the journey a few points around Oakville and Port Credit as he was showing signs of being tired and not showing his same energy. So I was initially thinking, no problem, it wasn't meant to be today and we'll enjoy time at the parks. The breaks we took next changed to outlook of the day.One break was to eat lunch and another for ice cream. It was bonkers how he appeared to be a new kid after those breaks, keeping in mind he was eating throughout the bike ride, but those stops completely shifted his mental and physical out put.
The airshow was a fun spectacle to entertain us as we approached Toronto.
Most annoying part I forgot was having to take a nasty detour in Scarborough as I overlooked the Gardiner demolition. Added an extra 2km, had to walk our bikes up stairs to get to Queen Street and slowly navigate through the densely populated downtown area. That would have been the difference to fully make it into Ajax for Ben, but he was extatic over his accomplishment today, so that's all that mattered.
Highlights: The moment we Hit 100k traveled for the first time was very special.
Obviously getting ice cream is always a highlight, and he enjoyed buying dinner.
Just entering the new undiscovered area past the bluffs for the first time was also really special for him as he was excited to see new part of the map uncovered.
I was surprised at how beautiful the bike ride becomes in Pickering. I wasn't expecting that having never travelled there. Beautiful bridges were crossed around lush forest and marsh areas. The rock formations around the land are beautifully laid out. The scenery certainly keep him going and the ride interesting, as these distances would never be travelled on a plain country road.
PS: Ben now wears shoes on bike rides and not Crocs haha.
....
Original post
Hi everyone, some quick background, my son Ben was in the paper last year for his ride to Toronto:
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2020/06/26/5-year-old-stoney-creek-boy-peddles-72-km-to-cn-tower.html
He is a really ambitious 6 year old who keeps trying to push his limit. Since the Toronto ride last year, he has travelled twice to Scarborough Bluff's, 92kms away. Once last year in August on his 1 speed bike (11hr elapsed, 830 in motion), and once this year in July on his 7 speed Giant bike (8hrs elapsed, 6hrs in motion). When he finished the ride, he stated he could go further, and he appeared to be in good physical and mental condition to do so.
He has had the lofty goal since last year to cycle to Oshawa. This is for no reason other than it appearing to be the next location on the map. Not being a seasoned cyclist myself, I am currently regretting not zooming in further to display Pickering, Ajax and Whitby haha.
I don't take these distances lightly as I know this is out of the realm of what you typically hear of a kid riding, but at this point I know what my son is capable of and know that this could be within his reach, so even if we don't make it the full distance, I at least need to give him the chance to try. Trust me, if I wasn't doing these rides with him, I would have a hard time believing a 6 year old could ride so far. I personally as an adult never rode further than 10km prior to doing these rides with him.
We are leaving soon, hopefully before 8:30am. I'm anticipating the journey to last around 11-12hrs. We'll probably be near Toronto around 1-2pm. I'll be monitoring his stamina while ensuring he is hydrated, well fed and if necessary, will pull the brakes on the ride if it appears to be too ambitious of a goal for today. My rule is always to let him dictate the pace and allow him to opt out if he wants to, while I monitor if we should call it quits based on his physical and mental fatigue.
Anyways, it looks like a beautiful day for a bike ride. I'll update either this evening or tomorrow with the results. I'm using Komoot and Mapmyride to track the progress.
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