Everyone slept well (thanks to hours in the hot sun and lots of miles for little legs). We woke up and had some morning snuggles, pre-breakfast snacks in the room, got dressed and walked to find breakfast. A chocolate chip muffin for Gabe, a chocolate chip bagel with cream cheese for Dorothy and bagels for Mike and I.
Morning snuggles. I didn't pack a lot of extra stuff (minus snacks...I always bring lots of snacks) but I did throw 2 kid books and 2 matchbox cars into the bike bag.
The kids really wanted to swim again but we convinced them we should get on the road and there would be more swim time soon with upcoming swim lessons and summer around the corner. With that we packed up our stuff and went down to the hotel's bike room to load up our bikes. We loaded the kids and bikes onto the cargo bike and started the journey. Before we left Reston we had to take the kids to the spot where we first met our dog Orion. The kids often request to hear 'The Story of Orion' which is basically how he ended up with us.
Quick summary: Orion was in a shelter in Louisiana, got brought to a shelter in DC, and a coworker fostered him as a puppy. He was an adorable puppy and got adopted quickly by Mitch. Mitch lived in a condo and traveled a lot for work. Orion had and still does have crazy energy so after several months, Mitch began looking for a new home for Orion. He contacted his foster family, who told us about the dog. Mitch and Orion were living in Reston VA so Mike and I biked out to meet him (and then took the metro home). A week later Mitch dropped him off at our house to be our puppy, but Mitch still dog sits for us from time to time and actually watched Orion for us during this trip.
The kids on the bike at the spot we first met Orion.
Okay, so back to the trip. Gabe was eager to bike as soon as he could. There were some busy road crossings and a big uphill early on so I told him a good time would be after that. Little man couldn't wait. We got past the busy roads and he kept asking to bike and to try the big hill. So we unloaded him and off he went. Dorothy was still a bit tired so she had no interest in biking yet, but instead was trying to snuggle my back while I biked.
Gabe biked quite a bit and made it about half way up the big hill before stopping to walk his bike. At the top he hopped right back on his bike and started pedaling.
We stopped for an early snack to get Dorothy some more energy, refuel Gabe and make sure we stayed hydrated.
Dorothy was ready to give biking a try. So she hopped on her purple bike. But that didn't last long. She was going so slow so she was all over the trail which made her nervous. So she hopped back on the cargo bike. It is easy to get frustrated having to stop and load/unload her and her bike but I have to remind myself she is 3 and any biking is impressive! So we set off and caught back up to the boys who were resting in the shade. Gabe decided he wanted a break and back on the cargo bike.
Dorothy on her "sweet ride" (her new nickname for her bike).
We biked on to Vienna where we made an impromptu stop for lunch. I spied a smoothie place (Greenheart) right off the trail. The kids enjoyed climbing on the caboose that was in the park and we all enjoyed our lunch.
Dorothy picked a purple smoothie since it is her favorite color. While really expensive, they were good smoothies and gave the kids crazy amounts of biking energy!
After lunch Gabe started biking right away. Dorothy also decided to give it a try. The boys biked ahead since Gabe is faster, and I stayed with Dot so I could load her up if needed. She had some serious smoothie power going! She biked a long way. We even got to some road crossings where she stopped, and walked her bike across the road and then started pedaling again. We were going slow enough that we spied lots of deer along the trail that the speedy boys missed seeing.
Dorothy cruising along the Washington Old Dominion trail.
The girls biking. Love that little girl's smile!
The boys stopped to wait for us. Gabe apparently started getting worried since it was taking us a while, but it was because Dorothy biked the whole way. Gabe decided he wanted us to bike together as a family so he told Dorothy she could lead the next section and he would go slow behind her. So off we went, our own family biking peloton.
The smiles and comments from those passing by were so cute. The kids got lots of encouragement from other cyclists!
We eventually ended up at a part of the trail Dorothy deemed to be too tricky (downhill and curvy) so she loaded back up, but her biking today was seriously impressive! Gabe kept biking. We stopped at the same playground since it was right off the trail The kids played there for a while. Gabe biked more laps around the playground. Seriously, he is like the energizer bunny! Dorothy also did some laps around the playground on a tricycle that was abandoned there. But then she also made dad pull her around on this abandoned power wheel toy 😜
After the stop we knew we needed to keep biking to get home. Gabe knew we were switching back to the Custis trail soon, which is pretty hilly and the pavement is often not as nice. He was determined to try, so we let him. Those little 4 year old legs powered him up some pretty steep and long hills, and he kept going. A few hills got him so he stopped to walk his bike up but then he hopped right back on to pedal onward. He kept saying he wanted to bike up the hill he crashed on. I was so impressed by his determination and energy!
We ended up stopping for dinner at the same spot we stopped for lunch the day before. Mike's bike needed an adjustment from the bike shop so he popped in to get that done. We got Italian subs for dinner and ate outside. We were so close to the hill where Gabe crashed, but we realized a possible thunderstorm was on the way and we needed to try to avoid being caught in it. So, much to Gabe's disappointment, we loaded him and his bike on the cargo bike to tackle his crash hill. But seriously, the amount Gabe biked in general, but especially on the super hilly Custis trail was just impressive!
We crossed the Potomac River and were back in DC. We opted to take Rock Creek Park trail home rather than roads given rush hour traffic. However, the route to the trail kept involving steps. There was no way I could do steps with my bike load. So we biked on the cobblestone streets of Georgetown (also a challenge with my load) and I had to have Mike help me down one curb. We stopped at a corner and asked some bike shop workers how to get to the trail without stairs. They advised us and we were off. We took the trail up Rock Creek Park until we got to the section of Beach Drive completely closed to traffic. Both kids really wanted to bike. We stopped to check the weather again but decided against it since the threat of a thunderstorm was still there and we needed to push to get home. It was so cool that they both wanted to bike even more, and it kind of broke my heart that we couldn't let them. Rain would have been fine, but no one wants to be stuck in a thunderstorm on a steel frame bike. Dorothy started singing her own song at this point, "Sad, sad, sad...sad, sad, sad" But after promising to take her to Beach Drive soon, their singing changed to other songs. They basically sang the rest of the way home, and we missed the storm which actually didn't come until later that night. However, it was good to be home. Riding with the kids is fun, but it makes for many more hours on the bike. Everyone was exhausted and slept well!
Gabe pedaled about 14.5 miles (including a lot of steep and long hills) total today and Dorothy a couple. Mom and Dad biked ~29 miles.
Trip totals:
Mom and Dad: ~60 miles
Gabe: ~24.5 miles!!!!!!! 😮🚴
Dorothy: a few miles
We got home and the kids asked if we could do it again tomorrow! Needless to say, the next generation of Sheehys also loves crazy bike trips.
