We took a jaunt to my moms house in Little Rock for Thanksgiving. Time to see family and old friends and a Razorback game (of course). This year I brought bikes - the Masi for me; and Ben chose the single speed Red Bike.
Thanksgiving day was beautiful. Very close to 70 degs and not a cloud in the sky. While dinner was on the stove I took Ben to the river to ride. Little Rock has a very unique riverfront trail system. It consists of roughly fifteen miles of bike lane and extra-wide asphalt bike path that connects the east and west parts of the city, from downtown to Pinnacle Mountain State Park.
Midway along the trail is Murray Lock & Dam. The dam sits at the intersection of the Rebsamen Park and River Mountain Rd. trails, and features a bike path across the Arkansas River known as the Big Dam Bridge. Ben and I started at the base of River Mountain Road riding east towards the dam. When we got to the dam, Ben couldn't pass it up, and took off up the ramp. This is no simple climb. But climb he did - up and across and down the other side - stopping only once to take in the view. On the North Little Rock side, Ben was so happy with his effort, he turned around and did it again - up and over to the Little Rock side.
Now back where we started, Ben told me he was tired (he'd gone 5 miles), so we called it a ride and pedaled towards the car. On the way he asked me why all the riders we passed said hello to us, and kept telling him he is awesome. I explained that cyclists are very friendly people. They thought he was awesome because he did something very few adults can do, and he looked good doing it too. I could see the wheels turning as he smiled.
At grandma's house, the dinner wasn't quite ready and some of the neighbor boys were playing tag. Ben joined the game, and I took off for an 18-mile lollypop loop of the river road done my way.
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