It was a beautiful day in Portland today, and I was hoping to get out for a nice long bike ride to celebrate.  Instead, I ended up having to look after our older daughter (18 months) for a bit, and wasn’t going to be able to get the ride in.  That is, until I remembered that I just picked up some clipless pedals for my kid-hauling bike.

So I threw Hazel in the kid seat on the Specialized Sirrus, clipped in and we were off.

[caption id=”attachment_402” align=”alignnone” width=”3357”]GOPR1879.JPG I had to wear a kit, otherwise it wouldn’t be a “real” ride.[/caption]

It wasn’t going to be a fast, ride, but it would be a tough ride, with a 25 pound kid on the back tire.  I figured that at least I’d get a solid ride in, and would also be able to enjoy some time with my daughter.  My legs wouldn’t care that I wasn’t on my lightweight road bike, it’s not like I was going to be racing anyone. And a workout they got.  Over 1100 feet of climbing in about 11 miles - not a bad ride.

[caption id=”attachment_403” align=”alignnone” width=”4000”]GOPR1881.JPG The kid-hauling-grocery-getting bike takes on Portland hills.[/caption]

At the end of the day, I was happy to have gotten a ride in.  My legs felt tired as if I went out for a solo long ride, and I probably got a better workout in a shorter time hauling Hazel around.