another family ride

Last weekend I was in Victoria visiting my family. As I mentioned recently, both my parents and my sister are all proud owners of new bicycles. Since that purchase, my parents haven't wasted a single weekend day and have already taken two-wheeled jaunts in every direction. For a single month that consisted of a 3:1 ratio of winter:spring, they've done pretty awesome.

Naturally, when I was in town, we planned a ride. Of course we did. (Coincidentally, brother-in-law is the only one without a new bicycle and the only one who didn't join the ride this time, due to the end-of-semester crunch at school.)



I didn't ride Harriet because we were concerned about her comfort level on a long-ish ride that included some gravel sections. Instead, I rode the latest "new-old" steed in the fleet, a grey-ish Giant diamond frame hybrid donated to my parents by some of their friends.



He's not particularly elegant, but does the job quite satisfactorily. (I've taken to calling him "George" in my head.) It did feel a bit unusual to be leaned over quite so much after being used to my upright bikes, but it wasn't quite as uncomfortable as some rentals I've ridden in the past.



My sister's bike come with a shiny bell!



Both my parents have added mirrors to theirs. I'm tempted to get one (for my bike(s) here in Vancouver, I mean), as I do a lot of shoulder-checking when I'm on the road.



Our destination was Mattick's Farm, where there are stickers on the wall instead of wallpaper.



It's the kind of place that's touristy in a Grandma sort of way but you love it anyways because it's always been there.



We managed to lock up four bikes with a single cable lock. (Not super-secure, I know, but it's not exactly a dodgy area and we were having hot chocolate just inside the doors.) That's George at the front.

I feel lucky that my family can enjoy such outings together even as adults. It's great to be able to share in something that gets us outdoors, active, and having fun.