First Ride With The Boy

I've been wanting to take my son out for a bike ride for a while now, but merely wanting something does not make it happen. It was a kids weekend so I spoke to their mum about taking Ben out his bike (which lives at hers) and thankfully she agreed.

So, for a nice easy first ride, we parked up at Farnhill and rode down the canal towpath to Skipton in the sunshine.

He loved it, and it was a nice man and boy moment riding along together. It's the first time he's been on his bike further than the end of his street so the feeling of exploration was ever present in his new environment. Also, he was putting the hammer down on the flat stretches and enjoying moving fast, I struggled to keep up (or at least pretended to).

We reached Skipton sooner than I thought and enjoyed a really good chocolate ice cream from the Tug Boat Ice Cream canal boat. Most of it ended up in my moustache.

Me and my mini me

We were back at the car before we knew it, Ben sailed past the turn off to the car and had to be called back. He insisted on riding around the car park a few times before letting me put his car back in the boot! I'm glad he enjoyed himself.

One of my more distinct memories from my youth was going on a bike ride from Huddersfield to Marsden along the Leeds-Liverpool canal towpath with my Dad and brother. Now, I feel like I've been present at an similar notable moment in my son's life and hopefully given him a lasting memory. Here's to many more rides to come.