The long Pennsylvania winter broke for one glorious day of 60 degree temperatures and sunny weather.

Gareth had been clamoring for months to ride his bike, telling family and teachers that he wanted dad to “fix the bike”. As soon as the weather was good, I got it out, got it tuned, and got Gareth on it for a monster hour and a half ride.

At the end of the ride, I was tired out, but he was still pedaling! If this is any indicator as to how this year will go, I foresee plenty of riding.

For those who are curious, we’re still using the same rock climbing harness, bungee cord, and weight lifting belt solution we devised last year. No need to change it yet since it continues to work quite well!

The RBR Rally was over the father’s day weekend. Gareth joined me for a ride along the 20 mile route – the same route that did him in last year.

This year, though, I came prepared. I packed water, food, medicine, diapers, a towel, sunblock, and an MP3 player. Bringing all the extra gear sure added to the weight, but we got through the ride without any major meltdowns.

We also cut it short by 5 miles, turning it into a 15 mile ride. At the 7-8 mile mark, the group stopped at a general store for a refresher. I took the opportunity to ask Gare if he wanted to continue on to our destination or turn around and head back to the car.

He chose the latter.

We had a nice solo ride all the way back to the car and managed to finish the ride without either of us hitting the wall. That’s a good ride in my book.

Gareth mounted up for a ride yesterday, but we never made it out the door. He has started scooting out of the seat on his Pino to the point that his butt is leaving the mesh. For some reason, the harness/bungee setup is no longer holding him back in the seat.

Part of the problem might be that he has grown quite a bit and needs to have the pedals adjusted for his now longer x-seam. I’m hoping I can get this figured out soon since the RBR Rally is in two weeks!

I used to worry that I was pushing Gareth into this bike, that I was projecting too much of my own desire for us to ride together onto him. Let me just say that I no longer harbor such reservations.

Gareth loved his bike. Absolutely adored it. While fitting him for the pedals, we put his feet on both and held them in place while he turned the crank all on his own. It was just too perfect.

Jorene was on hand to provide a pedal restraint solution and to look at what we could do regarding torso restraints. Everything looks doable.

We also took the rack home tonight. Oh man, that thing is a beast. Getting it up and down the basement steps is going to be nightmarish but oh so worth it.

The bike will be finished up by late next week. After that, they’ll get my fitting done (seat and handle adjustments). Then it’s ours.