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Donuts and Bikes

by Minor Baker of The Bakers in Texas blog, On Twitter @sugabakes

“Let’s go get donuts Dada!” From the steamy mornings in August to the cold and windy mornings in February, this little tradition now starts our weekend more often than not. Just a year ago we would do this trip by car, but thanks to 30 Days of Biking, we started loading up a well-worn bike trailer and heading the 3 miles by bike. With three boys under the age of 3 there is no such thing as sleeping in on a Saturday, actually there is never sleeping in regardless of the day.

This short morning trip is becoming such a part of the routine that even with my twin nieces visiting, “the boy” assumes WE are still going by bike to get donuts. By we, he is including his cousins.  I figure, why not, since that beat-up trailer is able to hold multiple bags of dog food and/or my sister, the mother of said twins on a dare.  With some creative seating, we are able to squeeze all three in and head off down the road.  I am placing special emphasis on the word “down” here, because from our house, each direction leads to a gentle downhill grade.  It is easy to believe that any trip is going to be as easy, gliding downhill with a limited amount of pedaling.  WRONG!

As we near the donut shop, there is a hill, a very normal and average hill, more like a gentle rise if I was being honest.  This “gentle rise” has never been much of problem when just hauling “the Boy” around.  Up to this point, the three toddlers have enjoyed the kind of speed and excitement that comes with cruising downhill pushed by their additional 100 pounds. Out of nowhere, they whip each other into frenzy about the rapidly decreasing speed as we climb the “gentle rise”.  “GO FASTER! GO FASTER!,” they rant as I mash the pedals as quickly as I can. Understandably, my just out of bed legs are struggling to understand what the heck is going on.  I try to reason with my rabid passengers, telling them “It is a lot harder to go uphill.” Maybe it was their still developing brains or the rush of adrenaline from our downhill cruise or perhaps it was the mob mentality of 3 toddlers crammed into a trailer built for two, whatever it was they weren’t going to take this severe drop in speed lightly.  I get the feeling if given the opportunity, they would start whipping me Ben Hur style, just to squeeze a couple of extra MPH out of the old man.

We did eventually make it to the donut shop. After getting each tyrannical toddler a bag of donut holes, we had a quiet trip home.  Mrs. B and my sister wondered why I was all sweaty upon returning home.  I tried to explain the situation with the speed freaks and the BIG HILL, to which my lovely wife wondered “Why didn’t you just take the car?”  I didn’t even have to answer, because the three adventure buddies raced inside and asked my sister when she would take them to get donuts on a bike.  That excitement is the exact reason we take the bike instead.