Today we hung out in Baker City, Oregon while carefully following our Recovery Rules. There was a museum nearby where we learned that the inventor of the Airstream travel trailer, Wally Byam, was born in Baker City.
Dad and Bicycles
Dad purchased a 5 speed bicycle around 1967. It was the first derailleur bicycle in Kalona, Iowa (population around 1,300). He used it to ride to work which was less than 1/2 mile way.
About a year later I purchased a 5 speed Schwinn bicycle with my lawn mowing money. I was around 12 years old. Dad and I made plans to ride our bikes to Frytown, Iowa where my maternal grandparents lived. It was a 7-mile ride on gravel roads because the paved highway had lots of traffic and no shoulders.
We were riding there for a big Sunday fried chicken lunch with all of our relatives. When we arrived, Grandma thought that Dad was crazy. She said to Dad, “You are too old to be riding a bicycle this far in this heat. It is not good for your heart!” She didn’t say it in a mean way, but out of a genuine concern for his health. Dad was in his mid 30’s. Little did she know (or anyone else) that Dad was going to be bitten by the bicycle bug.
Adventures of 4 MAMILs* 
你和你Daddy骑车的故事很有趣，今天你们在休息，希望休整给我欣赏更加漂亮的景色和有趣的故事，很期待。
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Al, I so remember when we got our first bicycle. I was about 6 years old, and Santa brought one bike for all four of us (obviously Santa had come upon hard times!). None of us knew how to ride, so we had to take turns (no training wheels on this puppy!). And it was too big for all of us (we’re just 11 months apart except for the youngest, who is a year and 11 months behind us. Daddy always told people that the skipped year was the year we got a television!). I’m sure “Santa” intentionally got it too big so we wouldn’t outgrow it so fast! Mother had an old timer she used in the kitchen, and we used it to make sure no one got even one minute more time than the others! Hence, a life lesson was established, or probably reinforced, that you have to learn to share, take turns, play fair. I also remember exactly what I had on that day — a yellow sundress with little flowers on it, and I remember that we literally rode that bike the entire day. By dark, my little dress was tattered from all the falls, but I had mastered how to ride a bike! It was the beginning of a lifelong love of biking. For Christmas a few years ago Dennis got me an e-bike, and I LOVE it! It allows an old lady to be able to keep up with her riding buddies even with two titanium knees! We take our bikes when we take trips in our RV — you can do more exploring on a bike than on foot! I’m so enjoying your daily posts! They show us some wonderful scenery and bring back some wonderful memories we hadn’t thought about in a long time. Thanks for sharing!
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Sherry, Very funny story about your first bike! Thanks for sharing. Al Miller ________________________________
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