Boys and Bikes

So this is just a couple of short videos of the boys riding around on their bikes. 2 weeks and the result is both of them nailing the concept and Daddy dropping a small fortune on new bikes. Loving it!

Jack gets the mountain bike thing from Graham Menzies on Vimeo.

Rohan decides it's time to learn to ride too! from Graham Menzies on Vimeo.

The proudest day.....

It's been a big day in the Menzies household. In fact it has been a big week. First the exciting but somewhat overshadowed news that Cyc'd for Bikes has again pulled the goods for me and I will be riding a spanky new Anthem X29 in the next week or so! The photo below was jacked from the net but mine is pretty much the same. I can't wait as I think it will be the perfect endurance racing machine. Along with my XTC 29 I have an ideal kit to get out there and do some big races! rock on.

Now for the really big news. Today the family all went down to the park and practiced riding our bikes. doesn't sound like much does it? For a person who spends so much time on a bike the fact that my boys had no interest in riding a bike was somewhat confusing. Alison and I haven't pushed the issue in any way as we both feel it is best the kids make their own minds up about things like that. So yesterday when Jack suggested that we might go to the park and practice riding the bikes I was skeptical about it. This morning though he kept it up and was pretty keen even after the swimming lessons and soccer match so this afternoon we headed down to the park with the bikes. Rohan was the first to try out the bike! He jumped on and we did laps of the track while  I held the back of the seat to keep him balanced After a while I even got to let go of the seat now and then and he flew solo. I was pretty stoked. Jack played on the swings.

Finally Jack got the urge to have a crack. He put the helmet on we got started right away. At first he complained that it felt weird and he couldn't balance. I was frustrated as we have tried to learn to ride before and he gave up really quickly but this time we both stayed cool and he kept trying. He was going really well too. After about twenty minutes of running along beside the bike holding the saddle he was nailing it, and I let go.

He rode on his own! It was the best 150meters of cycling I have ever seen. Before he knew it he was going it alone and loving it. The confidence went through the roof and before I knew it he was trying to start on his own, stopping and getting his foot down in time. Unreal. So in the end I was buggered, the kids loved the bike and now the Nintendo DSi they wanted has become a new bike each. Stoked. 

Tomorrow is another day of riding practice. They are hooked and my bank account will get a hiding over the next few years as BMX's become mountain bikes and the mountain bikes become more expensive mountain bikes. I'm looking forward to every second of it.

I love public holidays

Wednesday was the public holiday for Brisbanes "Ekka" or exhibition. The Menzies family took the opportunity to head off for a short adventure up Mount Mee and do a little dirt driving. We first headed up to the gantry off Sellin Road where we then headed into the state forest for a look around. The whole adventure took only 5 hours but we got a few photos and the boys had a great time exploring the Rocky Hole as well as Bull Falls. 

The boys ran ahead down the walking track towards Bull Falls and marveled as the trees would join up over head to form the canopy of the rainforest. Whip birds called and let us know they were there and sometimes a glimpse of a small bird or insect would quieten the boys just for a moment. The recent rains meant the falls was quite spectacular with water spraying some distance over the cataracts.

We walked back to the car so we could head down to the Neurum Creek camp site. Hopefully over summer we can get up there for a weekend away. I didn't stop as I was conscious of not bothering the only family camped there but we did get a good look for planning purposes. As we got back to the main fire trail the sign to Rocky Hole beckoned. The boys loved it here! There were big rocks to climb and trails to explore. The water was gushing through here too which left it brown and turbid instead of the clear green water we had seen last time we visited up there. Rohan thought the water  looked like a huge bubble bath. Yeah a bubble bath after those little grubs had been in it.

It was a little cool up there though.

The boys exploring the rocks

Jack was looking cool as always. 

In a rare moment, the boys sat down long enough for me to take shot of them together. They were having a really good time! 

With much protesting we all got back in the truck. It looked a little like rain and we were out on our own. I didn't want to risk getting stuck in heavy rain alone as the trails can turn to slippery water slides really quickly in the wet. It was only a 20 minute run back to the gantry and there were lots of plans being offered from the back seat about how we could camp at Neurum Creek soon and what we might be able to do there. This all stopped about 8 seconds after we hit the black top. The sounds of snoring from the back seat was deafening! Alison and I had a very quiet trip home. Kids make this stuff.