"Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right." ~Henry Ford.

"Life is a smorgasbord and most poor bastards are starving to death." ~Lucille Ball in Mame…I think.

From time to time, I get into conversations with parents about cycling with my kids. We talk about where we ride, just about everywhere. How far we ride, pretty far sometimes…I think 27 miles is our highest single day mileage to date. We talk about the weather conditions we ride in…all – temperatures over 90 and under 20, snow, rain, wind, hail. We talk about their ages, 7 & 9. The other parents are always impressed that my kids do these things.

More often than not, the response I get from the other parent is "Wow! My kids could never do that!" Invariably I think, "You’re right. Your kids could never do that, because you just said so." These are not parents of children with disabilities or health problems; they are parents of children with very unimaginative parents. It saddens me that so many kids, and people in general, are limited simply by the fact that someone (often themselves) told that they can’t do that…and they believed it.

One thing I have learned riding bikes with my kids is that you can do anything (within the confines of the laws of physics) if you really want to, you give your self a little extra time, and you remember to pack some water and snacks. We ride to and from school daily on our bikes. We run errands on our bikes. We go to friend’s houses on our bikes. We go to the movies on our bikes. We go camping on our bikes.

When it’s hot, we sweat. When it’s cold, we bundle up. When it rains, we get wet. Big deal. Regardless of the conditions or the distance, we always manage to get back home where we belong. Sometimes we wish we were home "Right now!" but we’re not…so we keep going till we are. When we are especially miserable: we make up games like who can make the best barfing noises. Or songs like "If I ever lose my brain, I’d ride my bike, in the rain". Or sit down and rest for a bit. Or fantasize about how warm and cozy we’ll be when we finally make it home. Or we just keep going "only a few more miles, we can do that!"

I am always amazed at what my kids can do when I give them the chance. Ironically, the worst experiences are the ones that have become part of our family lore, like veterans and their war stories. There’s the time Annarosie and I got caught riding home in a hailstorm when she was 4. She was crying and yelling "ouchie" as hailstones pelted her. I kept assuring her "Hang on sweetie. We’ll be home soon." As we rode through the rain choked streets, I could barely see, because of the rain and the tears. My heart was breaking as I listened to AR cry and I questioned my sanity for riding bikes so much with the kids – we avoid riding in hail at all costs now, lesson learned. The time we got caught 5 miles from home as a cold front moved in. We made our way through the blustering wind and driving rain fantasizing about hot cocoa while making barfing noises, as we made our slow and chilly progress across town. The time Max’s crank froze up on the Katy trail at 11:30PM as we rode back to Katfish Katys from Rocheport. Tim encouraged Annarose and I to ride on to camp. He and Max walked the three miles back sharing stories and observations about how scary the trail looked in the moonlight. It isn’t always quick or predictable or comfortable or fun. But neither is life.

My kids aren’t super human or unusual or anything like that; they are just kids who have been given the chance. If your kids "Could never do that!" It’s probably, because you have never given them the chance. You should, you might be amazed. I always am.