Biker Family

I got my birthday present on Sunday, really a belated Christmas present. My birthday is this coming Saturday, St. Patrick's Day. Last year, I asked for a bike as a gift. Don was planning on getting it for me for Christmas, but England nipped that in the bud. So, Friday, we're sitting at the table talking and Don says,

"Well, I wanted to surprise you for your birthday, but I don't think there's any chance of that happening, since I can't find what I want to get you and you're going to have to pick it out."

"Yay!" I yelled. "I'm finally getting my bike?"

"That all depends on if we can find one for you that you like," he responded. "I looked at Wal-Mart, and you ought to go look the selection over and see if you like any of them."

"Wal-mart? Why Wal-Mart? I picked out one I liked at Target. Can't we go there and look?"

"I don't do Target. Too many people I know have been hit in the Target Shopping Center and I don't want another car accident."

I looked at Wal-Mart. No luck. So I talked Don into stopping at Target on the way home from Church on Sunday. We parked way out in the middle of the parking lot, away from all the other cars. That made Don a little less uncomfortable.

No success. I found two that would have worked, but Don insisted that I look at "the 'other' Wal-Mart", the not-so-good, not-so-large one on the other side of town. So we went there from Target. I found a 21-speed that had been marked down. Although it's steel and not aluminum, I don't think that will matter any to me. I don't ride that often or that well. I just need something of my own to ride when Don takes the kids for his weekend bikerides.

We added an extra water bottle and a nicer water bottle cage (from Dane), a helmet (from Deanna), gel-padded gloves and a wider, gel-filled seat (from Daelyn) and checked out. When we got home, I changed clothes and took the kids, along with half the neighborhood, around the block a few times. We had fun and I got the feel for my bike.

While in Wal-Mart, I looked at bike racks. Last summer, on the way to Don's parent's house in West Virginia, we were discussing how to more efficiently load the van. We had a rooftop rack and could purchase or borrow a rooftop carrier, but our bike rack fit overtop our rooftop rack, precluding us from using both. I commented to Don that someone had to have invented a way to do both. We watched the cars on the other side of the Interstate and, sure enough, someone HAD invented a way to do both. You put the bikes on a rear-end bike rack and then put your rooftop carrier on the top of the van. Very efficient, and lots of storage.

Than we totaled our van and bought a new one - one with a significantly smaller trunk. We've had MANY discussions about how to fit the bikes and all our "stuff" into such a small trunk for our trips. I told Don we had no choice but to go with the rear bike rack and the rooftop carrier.

The salesman helping us with the bike told me that you can buy different size racks for the rear of car that hold one, two, or three bikes. If we bought one that holds three bikes, we can put Don's, mine, and Deanna's on the back rack, put Dane's and Daelyn's in the trunk, and all our luggage in the rooftop carrier. Sounds do-able to me! Don refused to even look at the rear racks, which frustrated me no end.

Last night, a huge box arrived after dinner by UPS. Don stepped outside and announced that the box was for me. "For me?" I thought. I couldn't imagine who it was from. I walked around the dining room table and glanced at the address label. All I saw was the brand name "Thule". Within seconds, I realized that my sweet husband had bought me not only a bike and all the luxury accessories, but a large rear bike rack for my birthday.

What a guy!! No wonder I married him. He thinks of everything.