52 Weeks: Week 33

Week 33: Bike Riding

Going for bike rides is one of Ava and Lola's favorite things to do. We used to enjoy going for family bike rides on weekends until thieves stole our cargo bike late last year, and more recently Kim's bike this past week. We've gone from having more bikes than family members to now just owning children's bikes. It's a sad state of affairs but we're not going to let the Bay Area's major bike theft problem stop us from riding, even if it is just the kids for now.

So this week the kids and I got out and about for a bike ride to nearby Albany. Ava and Lola rode their bikes while I pushed Mathilde in the stroller. There is a fantastic bike and pedestrian trail that leads from close by our home in Berkeley all the way to our destination - the kids' dentist! The trail actually continues much further but we've never ventured any further along it. The last few times we've planned to do so something has popped up to stop us. In this case it was discovering that Kim's bike had been stolen and therefore having to head home after the dentist to deal with police reports, insurance claims and blasting our building management.

Anyway, back on track, as it were... The section of the Ohlone Greenway that we ride/walk along is quite a nice little trail. It's about two miles long from Hearst Avenue in Berkeley to Solano Avenue in Albany. While the trail passes through several parks, much of this section runs alongside and under the BART tracks. Riding along side or under a train track may not sound ideal but the kids love it, especially when a train goes past.

Along the way there are murals and sculptures. We always make sure to stop at the metal cow sculptures that were erected as a reminder that this was once farm land. The girls like to climb on the cows (which can't be comfortable!), pretend to feed them and pretend to milk them. Ava has reached that age where she's not always so keen to be in my photos so much anymore, but she really wanted to pose for photos on one of the cow sculptures. I couldn't say no to that. Look, she even smiled - kind of!

As you can see from Lola's face in the shot below it was more than a little sunny next to the cows! She really wanted a photo with this particular cow though, even if she couldn't keep her eyes open long enough to look at the camera!

On Solano Avenue in Albany many of the bike racks on the sidewalk are shaped like bikes. Ava and Lola couldn't resist climbing up and pretending to ride once we'd unlocked their bikes from the rack.

We'll be heading back to the dentist again next week for Ava's orthodontic check up, so just maybe we'll get a chance to see a little more of where the Ohlone Greenway leads.

And fingers crossed we won't have any more bikes stolen!