Sunday pleasures

So a few weeks ago, I said to hubby that we should declare Sunday our family day and that we should try keep it free as much as we can to do stuff together.  And he suggested with a hint of apprehension in his voice (possibly due to my unknown reaction) that we could maybe start bike riding. (I think he thinks I have an allergy to exercise...) It took about 2 seconds for me to think about this and then run with it!  So... after a very stressful visit to Anaconda and with our wallets a little lighter I became the proud owner of my first mountain bike, a black helmet, (why didn't I get the pink one, hubby wondered. Errrr....no thanks...) and some knicks ("you'd better get some of those otherwise I know your first bike ride will be your last, and I don't want to have to hear you complaining for weeks about how much your bum hurts!" Errrr... okay... so we'll get the knicks!).  Monkey also didn't miss out and we bought him a helmet and also a bike trailer off e-bay. 

It's been about 16 years since I rode a bike and quite a bit has changed since then. For starters, bike helmets are fitted to your head with a dial that tightens or loosens the helmet. Gone are those little foam thingies you had to replace when your noggin got bigger!

I think the other thing that's changed is my fear factor. Having seen how crazy drivers here can be I'm not sure if I'm ready to graduate to riding on the road again just yet.. Riding around when I was young on those wide country roads was fine. And even the memories of riding down 'thrill hill' on my brother's BMX with no brakes and probably no helmet makes me shudder and run through the list of 'what ifs'. 

So as much as husband decided we should ride to our starting point last Sunday, I quickly talked him into driving there.  We decided to kick off our new found Sunday ritual with a ride along the river. It was better than I expected. There is certainly a sense of freedom pedalling along and it opened my eyes up to a different part of Townsville that I had never seen - such a beautiful and hidden world of pathways meandering through a natural park setting and overlooking the Ross River. (ooh there's a ghost from my marketing days working for a land developer!) Monkey loved it too - I heard him chattering away up ahead, saying hello to people we passed on our route.  Half time break gave him a chance to stretch his legs and go up and down a slippery slide 27 times. All in all, it was a lovely hour and I surprised myself by not falling off the entire time, and surprised hubby by not complaining at all when the going got tough.  It really did bring me back to my happy childhood memories and I can't wait to get back on and go again.