Would you trust this man?

Just testing out my phone. Looks like it works!

Charlie the champion (mountain biker)

After a relatively boring morning, with lots of rain outside and washing clothes inside (and Steven playing with his bike), we headed out for something fun. The sky had cleared, so we went to Daisy Hill State Forest for a ride... and I was the only one with gears!

We started from the top carpark and headed down to the main singletrack start point, but we steered clear of the technical stuff to start with. We started on a firetrail circuit with only a few rougher sections. Charlie was great from the start and keeping a good pace despite his tiny sixteen inch wheels (which served as a great "low gear" for some hairier descents).

Eventually he stacked his bike and started screaming.  I'm pretty sure the screaming was mostly from the shock of it - it was a completely flat section and his wheel slid in some sand.  I quietened the screams by telling him he was scaring the kangaroos away - and yes, he believed me and sobbed quietly instead.

He ended up with a grazed elbow and a grazed knee. When I tried to clean them up, he screamed (particularly the elbow) so I just grabbed his arm tight and flushed water over it. They looked clean and minor, so the bandage went away and the band-aids came out to cover the war wounds.  We checked for further damage and nothing was wrong with him, so we commended his bravery (and I made up stories about how he was lucky about only getting dirt in his scratches, because I always got it in my mouth and nose and ears as well).

Back on the bikes, we continued on our way but decided to take a slightly shorter way back, as it was already a big day out. We did some bigger hills and Charlie made it all the way up a lot of them. Others were just too steep or too long for him. Some of those he ran up with his bike, and sometimes he got back on when the slope levelled out a bit.

Basically, if I didn't have gears, he would've beaten me up every hill.

We rode some singletrack - Turning Japanese. Charlie loved it, though there were a few things that we stopped him from attempting, just because his bike is so little.  A few of the log obstacles are little piles, set up for a smooth ascent/descent - but with such a short wheelbase, Charlie would've ended up in the gaps. I am sure in a few months he'll have no worries, though!

Yes, he's been doing it one day, and he's better than me already.

On the way home, Charlie complained about how long it was taking.  He was completely exhausted and he even said he didn't want to go riding again.  We agreed it'll be good when we can just roll out of our backyard and into the forest.  On arrival home, I fed him some lollies and soon enough he perked up enough to take a bath and eat some dinner.   He even changed his mind about riding again - and wants to go tomorrow!  (Next time I will remember to take some lollies on the ride.)