What to name the new one in the stable?

Yes, we have ordered a new bike. Now, before you start asking how many bikes we have in the garage (8 1/2, but I really don't think we should count the one that has been in its suitcase for, um, 7 years), let me first say that we have a plan. Secondly, let me add in our defense that this bike will replace the 1/2 bike (otherwise known as a trail-a-bike).

Our new bike will be Enno Orange. I don't know what Enno means, but orange is Maiya's favorite color and how many orange bikes do we see riding around? The Bike Friday Family Traveler Tandem is cool. Let us enumerate the ways it is cool: it adjusts so that the kids can ride on back and then you can quickly adjust again and adults can ride on back; it breaks apart and fits into two hardcase, rolling regular luggage-size cases; it has smaller tires; and it is orange.

It does not yet have a name, but the girls are thinking. It will be hear in about 3-4 weeks and we'll definitely pop up some pictures. If this bike works out, then our red, much-loved Santana tandem will go up for sale so we can add a second Bike Friday tandem--in purple, of course--MeiLin's favorite color.

In the meantime, enjoy a picture of the Santana while it is still here!

Demand Real Food!

I am now a Kindergartner...I graduated!

What to say?

MeiLin is inquisitive, verbal and intelligent. Other parents sometimes are not prepared for the level of interrogation we have slowly accepted as normal from her. The latest:

"Ms. Kim, Adam in our class is really bad. He said the A-word and the F-word and was suspended. I think it is because he watched too many violent movies when he was 3 and 4. This show [old Superman cartoon] is violent, but not too violent. It could be more violent. Is fart a bad word? I don't think it is a really bad word, just kind of bad."

"Mom, this girl in class is getting on my last nerves. She is said I had to be homecoming queen or she would break up the spy club."

to a friend's teenage cousin who has cerebral palsy and could not go swimming with us: "So how do you go to the bathroom? Do you go by yourself?" She did ask politely and is curious and later my friend said it gave the boy a chance to learn how to answer such questions in a non-threatening environment (a 7-year old).

Orange Belt, Orange Belt, Here I Come

MeiLin passed her orange belt test. She was nervous and made a few mistakes that she hadn't made in practice the week before.

Sparring is interesting - like large beetles clumsily attacking each other. MeiLin is the one that starts on the left.

A witness

Some days I seek solitude. As a parent, you take it where you can, even the bathroom. Although I haven't decided if it counts if my personal time counts when the cat insists on accompanying. When I refuse to turn the water faucet on for him, he curls up and watches me. Lovely.

Feels like new

Sometimes all it takes to make something like new is a better fit, a change in perspective, a washing clean. God tells us this pretty often - be new, become like new, re-birth.
Yesterday, I had a bike fit, my first ever. A bike fit? It is basically like it sounds: a knowledgeable person measures you, puts you on your bike, watches you ride, maybe uses high-tech assistance like video, measures some more, talks to you and then suggests changes or adjustments to your saddle, bars, pedals, cleats etc. In a way, it is a lot like a general physical check-up at the doctor's office. It might be routine, change little and feel like a waste of money or it could be re-invigorating.
I had a great bike fit (thanks Josh at CycleLife USA!). I rode 20 miles today and it felt like a new bike -- my toes did not go numb, my shoulders and neck did not get stiff/sore and I didn't play "shuffle my hands" as I rode trying to find a comfortable spot. Feels like new.