We Are Biking!

I fixed up Offspring #2's bicycle. The tires were flat, the seat was stuck, and the handlebars hung low. Now it's working and Blunder and I have learned to bike together. Because of my limp, it's much easier for me to bike the dog around the block than walk the dog around the block. It took a while but we have a pattern down now. I bike and she walks or runs along. I hang on to her retractable leash with one hand. She has learned that she can stop to go to the bathroom. At first she thought she had to keep going but now she knows she can stop. She can't stop like she used to when I walked - at the margin of every single driveway we passed. She can stop two or three times and I'll wait. I've learned to know when she will probably stop so I can brake in enough time. We went around the block at first, gradually building up time and miles. Now we're riding 45 minutes. She'll run the first 2 or 3 miles and then I lift her up and put her in the basket so I can really ride fast and she can rest.She has learned how to let me know she's ready to take a rest. She'll lag behind and when I ask if she's tired, she'll approach me. When I reach down my arms she will leap up into them. And then she rides in the basket and I bike. We've been riding around Elmcrest Park. I don't want to get too far away from home at first and it's a pretty park with smooth paths to bike on. A large part of Elmcrest Park is soccer fields. When those fields get busy, there can be hundreds of people out there playing or watching. Last night, as we passed by with Blunder in the basket, a girl pointed and said, "Look at that dog in the basket." The entire team of teen aged soccer girls said, "Awwwww! C - u - u - t - e!" in unison. Seconds later a soccer ball got between my front wheel, my back wheel and my pedals. That part wasn't so cute. But I'm glad they said cute because I was worried I'd look like someone else. After all, Blunder is half cairn terrier, just like Toto.