My parents were on the island for a month, and during that time we all rode bikes together several days.  Of course, being the active and energetic people they are, my parents didn’t wait until Tom and I were available to ride.  They took off on their bikes just about every day.  It led to a word problem that I proposed yesterday:  if you have seven wheels, four people, and three bikes, how many biking configurations can you make?

Dad has ridden a bike on previous visits to St. Simons.  It is his favorite way to get around on the island with all our bike trails.  But over the summer he had shingles in his ear and it affected his balance.  His days of riding a two-wheel bike are over.  But he resisted riding a trike, calling it “an old person’s bike.”  Tom and I scoped out the trikes available on the island and encouraged Dad to look at them.  We wanted him to get a cool, fat-wheel trike.  But Dad, being more sensible, decided to rent a trike from Ocean Motion for three weeks.  After getting used to it, he really took off!

The house Mom and Dad rented is just a short distance from East Beach on St. Simons.  So, any day it was nice enough, they pedaled down the bike path from their house, turned in at Massengale Park, and rode up and down the beach.  The trike was a great solution for Dad.  It allowed him to remain mobile, keep up with the rest of us, and gave him a place to sit when he needed to rest.  He looked pretty cool riding on it around the neighborhood and on the beach.

As we age, we have to make adjustments in our lifestyle.  I am really proud of my dad for being willing to try something new that allows him to remain active.   When he is riding on the trike, he doesn’t look old at all.  He looks happy.

Seven wheels, four people?  One trike, one bike, and one tandem = lots of fun together.