Bear On A Bike

Bear on a Bike

     I know,  it sounds like a circus act!  But, I have, for a few years, wondered if Bear would ride on the bike with me.  You know, like in the basket.   If I got one.  Well, as most of you know, the last couple of years left little time (ok, no time) for bike riding.    Then, when Jeff was at the Inn at Freedom Village I encountered the little issue of Tulip Time traffic!  Namely, the issue was, I could not go to the Inn and park in the morning (which by the way, required me to convince them each and every day that I was there for my husband, who was a resident, and I had a legitimate reason for parking in their lot. A lot  where they barricaded and posted  “Guards” at each entrance for individual inquisitions. !  Ok, so the “guards” were 80 year old guards but…LOL!

Anyway, I decided that I was never going to be able to leave the Inn at noon ish and then drive the mile  (barely) to work with all the tourists and on several days, Parade line ups about to start!  So, I bought a basket for my bike.  I asked  Chase to get  my bike out of the shed and check to see if there was any air left in the tires.  I put the basket on my bike and loaded it into my trusty (but ancient) SUV, grabbed a back pack just for good measure and was all setJ  It was a great plan and the “commute” form the Inn to work and back to the Inn that week was easy and fun!  I would then load the bike back in the SUV and head back up to be with Jeff before going home later at night. 

And so, this brings me to the 4^th of July.  A Wednesday which is a day I would normally be working and now stretched endlessly in front of me.  (At least until 5pm at which time I was graciously invited to spend time with Derek’s family (Bri’s boyfriend)  having a bbq at their house.)   When I am “bored” I clean, organize and otherwise look for “projects”.   We were also smack in the middle of a major heat wave!  Never mind that.  For whatever reason, it seemed like a good idea to use this day, this free time, to see if Bear would actually tolerate such silliness?!?!   Since the basket is wicker, I lined it with his blankie (yes, he has his own blankie!   That’s not weird.  It’s not!)  so he wouldn’t  get “poked”.  (Ok, maybe all the masses of fur would have protected him but, he is my “baby” and I wasn’t  taking any chances!)  I then put on his leash and gently settled him in.  Hmmm, he looked at me with ???’s in his eyes but, also trustJ  Oh yes, it’s so good to have a dog!   We started off slowly, testing the waters (or wheels as it were) and all seemed to be well.  Getting brave now, we actually left the driveway!  All told, we were gone less than 15 minutes I am guessing but, it was our maiden voyage and I didn’t want to press my/our luck.  I kept a firm grasp on the leash just in case he decided to “bail” or leap out after a bird or whatever but, he really just settled in and enjoyed the rideJ  There was also the small matter of the weight limit in the basket.  I seem to recall the tag saying it would hold a limit of 8 pounds and Bear is closer to 8 ½ pounds.  Logic tells me tho, that they estimate low knowing we are all going to “bump it up” a notch or two anyway and I reasoned (almost comfortably) that it would really hold 10-11 pounds easily.  Right?   Hopefully?!?  Well, in any case, the basket didn’t crash off the handle bars under Bear’s bulky 8 ½ pounds, I was dripping (no way could this be call “glistening” in  the 95 degree afternoon!)  and we called it a day for now and an adventure accomplished!

“Make every moment count”, whether with the furry family members or others!

(((Hugs)))

Brenda (and Bear)

P.S.  Lest anyone think I leave Nick (the cat) out of the “fun” and only Bear gets in on all the action; I believe Nick prefers it this way!  I seriously doubt he would have tolerated the bike ride nearly as well!