Sylvan Island Mountain Biking with Kids: Flooded edition

I found these pictures while going through my camera.  These were taken in March/April.  It has been a long cool spring and the only place to ride off road was Sylvan Island.  I am fascinated by this place.  I love watching how nature fights back against man.  Aside from random chunks of metal/Rebar, bricks, and mysterious holes in foundations, it is a great place for kids.   

There is a great mixture of nature and man.  If you look at the left and right you see where the concrete walls are and that this is actually the base of an old factory building.  This particular foundation is a mind bender.  When approached from the other side, it looks as though it drops off.  It is a test of faith...as it has a nice ramp with logs to prevent the crushing of chain ring.

At first Digga wanted nothing to do with it.  He stopped and looked over the edge.  I did it so he could see that it was possible.

Reluctantly he did it and found it was not at all scary.  He also noted that it was fun.

No issues from the Chick.  She barreled over it without giving it a second though

And they did it again......

and again.........

and again.....all told they probably did this section about ten times making continuous loops.  Finally I was able to convince them it was time to go explore.

The Mississippi had been over it's banks in Davenport but I had not a clue it would submerge the western half of the island.  The trails were open, which is to say that the trails that were not underwater were dry.  So we turned around.

Again, we were foiled in our attempt to bicycle around the island.  It was fun just the same though.

The now closed for safety reasons bridge with a very high water level.  

I will most likely not get a chance to ride this again before we move on.  It is an amazing place to ride and I will miss it.  Especially since it tends to stay open when other parks are closed to MTN Bikes.

Success

Fly Fishing in Montana.  I did most of the fishing but they did a great job keeping up and being patient.  

Lately I have been focusing on teaching my kids about success and having high standards when it comes to achievement. Whether it is in school, sports, music, or whatever they attempt I want them to give it their all.  We have a couple of sayings in the house. My wife uses "champions adjust." I have been teaching the kids that they need to "breath excellence." While I love Ricky Bobby I don't necessarily subscribe to the "if you ain't first your last" mentality and I certainly do not subscribe to the every body is a winner atttitude.  I hate the idea that everyone gets a trophy for participating. Life does not give participation awards. The harsh reality is that some don't "win" whether it is there fault or not. Even good hard working people come in last sometimes, they don't get a ribbon. This is where being a parent and raising kids becomes a challenge; how do you teach success and a winning attitude without creating a sore loser or a person that resents me as a parent for to much pressure.

While I don't want to put so much pressure on them that they become resentful, I definitely don't want them to accept a standard lower than they are capable.  I think competition can be healthy; win or lose, a person can gain a lot from challenging himself/herself. Of course each kid is different and responds to a different motivation. Even kids in the same age group have different maturity levels that allow them to be good at different things.

As for my children, I want them to have the same opportunities. Swimming is an excellent example. Our two oldest have been on swim teams for several years. Most nights (especially in the winter) it is a struggle to get them ready and out of the door. The biggest complaint comes from the Chick is always about the water temperature. She is getting better, much better. Digga is easy to bribe. I have no qualms with "bribes," I see them as rewards for success just as I get a paycheck for working. He gets a slurpee on the way home (he is cheap).

All of my kids will be on a swim team and compete, as well as, learn to play the piano.  There is no guarantee that they will love these activities and make them life long pursuits.  How long each will do it will probably depend on any number of factors and will probably be determined by how hard household 6 and I want to fight the issue. They will at least be able to swim and read/play music at some level. Which is more than I can say for myself (I know nothing about music theory or how to read music).

What I can guarantee is that they will have better opportunities to excel than I did and I want them to know that nothing comes with out hard work. Sometimes you wipe out and get tangled up and there is no one to help you (or in this case you remain tangled until the father of the year puts the camera down). The teaching point in this is that it would have been easier to pedal a little harder to get over this obstacle than quit when you are halfway over.  I am not sure if she got the point or not.  I can say that we are out there, living life and learning.   

Missed Opportunities

This week has been the most painful shifts in daylight savings time I have ever had.  Between the cool fall weather, shortened days, and the "gain" of an hour I have found myself missing opportunities to ride.  I try to ride to work at least three times a week.  This week, the kids and household 6 had activities every night which more or less hijacked my riding.  On Tuesday I brought a bike as my Tuesdays get really long.  I figured I could cut out a little early and hit the trails.  It had lightly rained for a few hours and at 3:30 I found myself making the following excuses:

1.  By the time I change and get to Sylvan Island I will only have 45 minutes to ride.

2.  I don't want to get my bike muddy and spend hours getting Mississippi JB Weld (I am convinced you can use this mud to fix anything) from all of the nooks and crannies of my Anthem X29er.

These were two very pathetic excuses and translate to missed opportunities to ride and enjoy life, even in it's cold, dark, muddy glory.

Well today I had to seize the day.  It was 72 degrees and although there was a bizarre spattering of rain while the sun was blinding, the Chick and I took Winston and headed to the slough.  When we got  there we found that the Chicks helmet didn't make it into the car.  Sounds like another opportunity for an excuse so we rode sans helmet.  I know another nomination for father of the year! 

I have stated before that Sylvan Island is an amazing place to start kids mountain biking.  There is not a lot of elevation change but the small hills provide my kids an opportunity to learn to ride down hill with out gaining to much speed and freaking out.  

Riding off of the old steel mill foundation.  I love how nature is reclaiming an industrial area.

Winston loves to get out and run.  He stays close and out of the way for the most part.

The Chick is riding a small 26 inch mountain bike and sometimes it looks huge.  She is learning to control it.  Right now I am trying to get my kids to look ahead and anticipate gear changes.  Small hills and mounds pose a problem because she doesn't shift in time and stalls out.  We will get there.

For some reason this picture makes look and feel old.  It is hard to believe that my Mukluk has the same rim size as the Chick's Giant Yukon.    

This turned out to be great opportunity to enjoy some time with the Chick.

Love Your Life

I cannot believe that it is 19 December.  The temperature was in the mid forties and the sun was out.  I took the opportunity to get in what I suspect to be the last day of mountain biking this year. 

I went to Sylvan Island, which is a fun place to ride.  It is not great for distance but where else are your obstacles chunks of foundation, bricks, random chunks of steel, and the occasional piece of broken glass.

My intent was to get some great photos of Sylvan Island or at least great for a lousy photographer like me.  I stopped to get a photo next to a random concrete wall with some graffiti.  I was somewhat annoyed by the fact that my battery was about to die and the sun was so bright that I could not get a decent picture of my Giant.  Then it occurred to me, 19 December and the sun was so bright that I could not take a picture of my bike!  How could I not love my life.

Though I didn't get the pictures I was hoping for, I don't think I could have taken a better one than this.  

I Like Fall

I think that fall is by far the most beautiful season.  Spring still has the hangover of winter; it is not quite green, and is a little grungy and muddy.  Winter, though beautiful has the challenge of being cold which complicates outdoor activities.

I can't put my arms down!

Summer has nice long days but it has bugs and heat.  When it comes down to it, fall is probably the best season for riding or any activity.  I love the sound of the leaves crunching under my feet or tires.  I like it when a leaf becomes lodged in bottom bracket region of my bike and rubs on the tire creating a sound that reminds me of using a playing card and clothes pin to make motorcycle sounds on my BMX bike as a kid.

Here are some pictures from Sylvan Island, my new favorite location for Forced Family Outings (FFOs).  Though it doesn't provide a ton of mountain biking trails, the random nature of them coupled with the industrial obstacles makes it fun.  It is amazing how nature can reclaim itself.  While "scars" still exist from a steel mill, Sylvan Island still provides a healthy dose of nature.

 

Vance Rockin it on Sylvan Island

Diga and I did man things today. We drank root beer and had burping contests. He ate some candy and then we hit the trails. He rode some technical stuff and did not get frustrated. He ate dirt a couple of times. I should buy a small decent video camera. I could get some great shots.

Sylvan Island is an amazing location. It was once home to a steel mill and had no vegatation on it and the novelty of it is that the obstacles are foundations, bricks the occasional piece of tire shredding rebar. With no recognizable terrain or order to the trails. It is an all day event.

Diga did an amazing job.