Maddie and I took a quick spin around the 'hood today.
She's grown enough to fit nicely on the Grape bike. She was a bit too stretched out last year on this bike, and as result, she was a bit hesitant and shaky on it, preferring instead to ride the Elephant.
Once she feels more comfortable on this bike, we'll pop the saddle up a bit. Maybe this will be the year of the o'er nighter. She dabbled in trail riding two summers ago, but I hadn't really appreciated Riverside State Park as the ideal kid-mountain-bike-introduction nirvana that it clearly is. Now that I 'get' RSP, we'll be spending some time there when the snow goes away. I. Must. Be. Cool.
She told me in very non-ambiguous language today that she is NOT getting rid of the Elephant. Ever. Her basic argument is that since it's only the second kid Elephant ever, she has a responsibility to protect it. I countered with the notion that given it's radness, it should be shared and appreciated by many. She asked me to imagine that the Bridgestone I was riding was the second Bridgestone ever made: would I share it? Props for working the argument, but yeah, I'd share. Hopefully she buys that and ponders her position. We'll see.
Anyway, we can probably get one more year out of the Elephant, but we'll need to put some drops on there or configure it otherwise so she can stretch out a bit more. She's skeptical. As such, this is a process best handled by an expert. So we'll be showing up at Glen's shop soon for proper fitting and consultation.
3 comments:
You're a cool Dad, tongue biting and all. From the sound of it, the good obsession already has roots. Fierce loyalty to her Elephant is commendable.
I'm hanging on to a nearly identical little Kona for my daughter who is still a couple years away from fitting it.
Thanks Andy. Good point on the Elephant obsession... that's something I can grab onto.
Which Kona are you hanging onto?
I really like this Smoke. I think it may go to my sister or niece when Maddie out-grows it. The next frame for Maddie is hanging in the archive storage room: MB-Zip.
It's a circa '96 Kona Hahanna with a 12" frame. It's one of the smallest 26ers I've ever seen. Probably not quite as nice as the Smoke, but my 10 year old niece gave it the thumbs up after riding it last summer.
An MB-Zip is quite the bike for a youngster. Probably about perfect, in fact; light and compliant steel. I think the smallest size they made was a 46 cm, which would be logical size progression for a kid. With any luck, the two of you will share an affinity for Bridgestone as well.
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