You never forget how much it hurts to ride a bike

I haven't updated in over a week because Lauren and I have been on vacation down in North Carolina's Outerbanks with the whole family. So the next few entries will include some observations from our week away. First of all, I've got to say that this was the most relaxing vacation I've had in a long time. We went to Hawaii this summer, but it was far from relaxing. After you spend over a thousand dollars on plane tickets and fly for nearly 12 hours each way, you feel the need to GO GO GO and do as much as possible in a week's time. Compound with the fact that Allison caught a cold and was a bear all week long and it didn't add up to a whole lot of R&R.

Well, Allison ended up getting sick this time around as well. Me too for that matter. But in spite of that little snag, this was an incredibly easy-going week. The good thing about going to the Outerbanks in April is that the tourist season hasn't started so there actually isn't a whole lot to do. We went to a couple lighthouses and a few of the tourist areas, but other than that, we mostly just chilled out. Lauren's uncle owns a house down there and he let the family use it free of charge. We hung out around the house, played board games with the in-laws, ran around on the balcony with the kids, walked to the beach, walked around town, sat around and read. I can't tell you how good it felt to be able to sit in a lounge chair in the sun and the breeze and just READ without worrying about what else I could be doing.

On our first day there, Lauren and I rented bicycles with the intention of riding them around a few times during the week. I know they say you never forget how to ride a bike, and I didn't forget, but man, I sure don't remember it hurting so much. We weren't a quarter mile away from the rental place before our legs started burning. I mean burning. It was a five-mile ride back to the house and by the end my heart was pounding and my legs were ready to give out. I couldn't seem to stay on the seat very well and every time I slid down, it wedged the underwear up my butt a little further. I remembered that as a kid, whenever we'd ride our bikes and wanted to go faster, we'd stand up and peddle. I tried that for about two seconds, shouted, "Ah crap!" and sat back down. The burning in my quads had multiplied with that little stunt.

How did we do this as kids? I know that I was using muscles I don't normally use and all, but geez, I don't remember feeling pain the first time I rode a bike - I mean, you know, other than the pain of my skull slamming against the concrete when I wiped out. If it had hurt like that the first few times, I don't think any of us would have ridden bikes. Kids aren't like adults. We don't find fun in painful activities.

Unfortunately, that ended up being our only ride all week. For several reasons. Like I said, I ended up catching a cold part way through the week and didn't feel up to peddling. Plus, we'd rented a bike with a kiddie seat on the back for Allison to ride in, but the helmet they'd given us was way too big for her - and it was the smallest size they had. I tried wrapping a towel around her head to make the fit a bit more snug, but she was having none of it. So we eventually just gave up on it. Oh well. At least I had my book.