A Father's Day To Remember
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when my wife informed me I'd be spending the Psychosis weekend at a swim meet in Trail. Not that she usually plans my weekends, especially during riding season, but who could blame her after I've spent the last 6 months (excluding weekends) a 7 hour drive from my family wrapping up some loose ends with a former employer. After spending so little time with my 2 (wonderful) children these past months, how could I plan a Father's Day excursion without them?So, Saturday morning comes and it's off to Trail we go. The truck was packed - towels, snacks, bathing suits, sunscreen, blankets, goggles (of the swim variety), toys, paper, games, colored markers and damn near anything else a 7 year old swimmer and her 5 year old brother could possibly need to keep afloat at a swim meet. Notice the lack of a bike on the list? I sure as hell did! Don't get me wrong, as important as biking is in my little world, when push comes to shove it will play second fiddle to my family 100 percent of the time.
Expecting to be bored out of my skull for all but the 3 minutes of Saturday when Hannah actually swam, I was more than pleasantly surprised to meet many other swim-meet-savvy parents in the same predicament. What made them different? Well, for one, they came prepared - not with the aforementioned list (although those were packed as well), but with toys of their own. Runners coordinated schedules with their children and significant others, road cyclists got in some miles when time permitted, workouts were done between heats and one father even brought his trusty Bullit along to sample some of nearby Rossland's sweet singletrack. Now that's what I'm talking about. Rather than mope about, lamenting the waste of a weekend for all of maybe 10 minutes of swimming, these folks were making these weekends a family event where everyone can get what they want and no one loses out.
It didn't take long for the other parents to introduce me to Dan and Sharon Cooke, fellow Nelson Neptune parents who share my love for the feel of rubber on dirt. It turns out, Sharon had shuttled Dan up to nearby Rossland for a quick ride during Saturday's lunch break. Dan and the bike were able to beat Sharon and the kids back to the pool. Hmmm, that made the gears in my head turn even more. I could ride and not miss a minute of Hannah in the pool? To make a long story short, I invited myself along for a ride on Sunday (offering to shuttle of course) and Dan, not knowing where exactly to find the coveted Oasis trail graciously acepted my offer to play guide.
Sunday morning's list included Saturday's goods with the all important addition of my own goodies, like bike, helmet, pack, tool kit and armour. The first 90 minutes of the meet were hectic. Kids were marshalled to and from the pools, showers, tents, bathrooms and water stations. Before I knew it, it was 10:30 and our children were done until after lunch. It was time to ride!
It had to be at least 35 degrees celsius when Sharon dropped us at the trailhead. We armoured up and pointed the bikes downhill for the 2500 feet or so of vertical dropping us back into the valley and poolside. As usual, it was sweet, fast and absolute perfection, especially when you consider it was not really stolen, but rather a gift from our respective families. I somehow managed to crash no more than 100 feet from the trail's end on a steep, dusty chute gently planting my sweat drenched head 6 inches into the tan colored baby powder covering the trail. As we rolled into the Neptune tent, my (now) muddy, gritty, slightly bloody grin said it all. Bikes are fun!
What more could you ask for on Father's Day? I watched my kids laugh, play, compete and make new friends. I even managed to make some great new friends of my own and I got to ride my bike in the dirt - it's too bad I spent any time feeling sorry for myself, when in actuality, I should have been counting my blessings as the luckiest man alive. No offense, but you can keep the socks, ties, gadgets and key chains, I'd rather spend the day with my family and a shuttle run up [insert your favourite trail here] please!
![photo]()
You know what's even better? There's soon going to be a day when they'll join me on that shuttle run and we'll have spent the whole weekend together doing what we love!
Expecting to be bored out of my skull for all but the 3 minutes of Saturday when Hannah actually swam, I was more than pleasantly surprised to meet many other swim-meet-savvy parents in the same predicament. What made them different? Well, for one, they came prepared - not with the aforementioned list (although those were packed as well), but with toys of their own. Runners coordinated schedules with their children and significant others, road cyclists got in some miles when time permitted, workouts were done between heats and one father even brought his trusty Bullit along to sample some of nearby Rossland's sweet singletrack. Now that's what I'm talking about. Rather than mope about, lamenting the waste of a weekend for all of maybe 10 minutes of swimming, these folks were making these weekends a family event where everyone can get what they want and no one loses out.
It didn't take long for the other parents to introduce me to Dan and Sharon Cooke, fellow Nelson Neptune parents who share my love for the feel of rubber on dirt. It turns out, Sharon had shuttled Dan up to nearby Rossland for a quick ride during Saturday's lunch break. Dan and the bike were able to beat Sharon and the kids back to the pool. Hmmm, that made the gears in my head turn even more. I could ride and not miss a minute of Hannah in the pool? To make a long story short, I invited myself along for a ride on Sunday (offering to shuttle of course) and Dan, not knowing where exactly to find the coveted Oasis trail graciously acepted my offer to play guide.
Sunday morning's list included Saturday's goods with the all important addition of my own goodies, like bike, helmet, pack, tool kit and armour. The first 90 minutes of the meet were hectic. Kids were marshalled to and from the pools, showers, tents, bathrooms and water stations. Before I knew it, it was 10:30 and our children were done until after lunch. It was time to ride!
It had to be at least 35 degrees celsius when Sharon dropped us at the trailhead. We armoured up and pointed the bikes downhill for the 2500 feet or so of vertical dropping us back into the valley and poolside. As usual, it was sweet, fast and absolute perfection, especially when you consider it was not really stolen, but rather a gift from our respective families. I somehow managed to crash no more than 100 feet from the trail's end on a steep, dusty chute gently planting my sweat drenched head 6 inches into the tan colored baby powder covering the trail. As we rolled into the Neptune tent, my (now) muddy, gritty, slightly bloody grin said it all. Bikes are fun!
What more could you ask for on Father's Day? I watched my kids laugh, play, compete and make new friends. I even managed to make some great new friends of my own and I got to ride my bike in the dirt - it's too bad I spent any time feeling sorry for myself, when in actuality, I should have been counting my blessings as the luckiest man alive. No offense, but you can keep the socks, ties, gadgets and key chains, I'd rather spend the day with my family and a shuttle run up [insert your favourite trail here] please!
You know what's even better? There's soon going to be a day when they'll join me on that shuttle run and we'll have spent the whole weekend together doing what we love!
Author Info:
Chilliwack, BC, Canada
Must Read This Week
0 Comments
Login or Sign Up