Bike life

There is no doubt that having the bikes and the kids cart for Mole and Hedgehog since August has transformed our lives in the village. We’ve got used to biking around the place so quickly that it feels like we’ve always done it. The cart even comes with a flag.

Every drop-off and pick-up from preschool is an exhilarating ride, one parent commented as we whizzed past “Now that’s travelling in style”. You’d better believe it. There are three main bits to the cycle way en route to Mole’s preschool.

First, there is the incredibly steep hill, which is a sweaty and huffy mission to pull up first thing in the morning. If it’s only Hedgehog in the cart, and I’m on the easiest gear, and I stand up on the peddles, and take a good run at it, then I can just about stay on the bike all the way to the top of the hill, but not with both of them. They are getting heavier all the time.

Then there is the free-wheeling spin down the other side of the hill, which is when I hear squeals of delight and giggles from the cart as we shoot along, narrowly avoiding catching the cart wheels on lamp posts. This bit goes past a stream with bull rushes, and a bit where the whole path is arched over with trees, giving a tunnel effect. We come out at the Manor and the duck pond, where we’ll routinely stop to look at the ducks. We ALWAYS forget to bring any bread for them, but I think they’re already pretty well fed by the rest of the village. The moorhens nest in the reeds with their babies and paddle out with the mallards, all quacking and looking hopeful. Mole and Hedgehog either want to immediately climb out of the cart to chase the ducks at this point, or stay within the safety of the cart and gaze haughtily at them through their gauze window.

The last bit is across the green and then over a pelican crossing, where I have to do some skillful steering through the metal barriers so that the wide cart wheels don’t catch on them. We turn into the school lane towards the church and pull up by the gates. It’s all very slick and shaves about ten minutes off our walking time, meaning we can leave the house even later. When I’m rushing to make Mole’s packed lunch and Hedgehog decides to do an emergency last minute pooh, those extra ten minutes can really count.

After dropping Mole at preschool, the cycle way keeps going past the church, past two sets of swings, to a large nature reserve with lakes that can also be biked around. One sunny morning I did this on a spontaneous whim, full of the joys of Autumn. I was really getting into my cycling stride, when Hedgehog starts yelling: “Mummy, I want to go home”. Hedgehog is not keen on going out it seems.

Once we’ve dropped Mole off, Hedgehog likes to come straight back home and get down to the serious business of playing with all the toys that Mole won’t normally let her have. Hedgehog has the run of the whole house this way. She’ll disappear upstairs and shut the bedroom door for about half an hour. Then after a bit I’ll investigate what’s happening, only to find that she’s pulled all the books off the shelf, played with all the forbidden dolls, re-sorted the sacred bags with different collected knick-knacks, and generally re-organised the bedroom, much to Mole’s outrage when she returns.

Mole and Hedgehog act like royalty in the cart, you would think it was their carriage. Today Mole actually said to me “Come on Mummy keep going, chop chop”.

They like to make a big fuss of climbing in and out, getting their arms and legs tangled in the straps and then screaming “NO I CAN DO IT” when I try to intervene. Then when everyone is seated and sorted, the cart hood goes down (there is a ventilated mesh bit, plus a plastic rain cover). They never want the rain cover down (apart from when it’s raining), preferring to feel the wind in their faces, I’m guessing.

On one occasion when the rain cover was “UP” as instructed, I cycled through a muddy bit on the way to the nature reserve, and when we got there Hedgehog was spattered all over with mud from my tyres. She didn’t seem to mind though. That’s one big difference between them. Hedgehog is like Pig Pen. She will happily sit there and get covered in mud without even thinking that something is amiss, while Mole is a bit more of a princess when it comes to dirt.

I was encouraged to read that people who cycle to school or work are in general happier than those who drive, according to ‘The Little Book of Lykke’ by Meik Wiking. This does not surprise me. Cycling is so much more fun than driving. It exposes you to the elements and gets the blood pumping. It wakes you up. It is uplifting. You notice much more of what is around you. I love seeing the view of our church tower and the wooded hills beyond as we get to the crest of our hill. It’s like a reward for the uphill walk, before the exhilaration of whizzing back down.

The only other places I sometimes yearn for are the footpaths that criss-cross the countryside, the ones that take you away from the roads, through the woods and over the hills. I’m talking about a ten mile walk over land and furrow on a Sunday that finishes up in a pub somewhere. Mole and Hedgehog are still too small for those kinds of walks and they’re too heavy to carry. So for now, we have to be content with driving places, pushing the buggy, or sitting in one spot with a picnic.

The bike cart is definitely progress in this regard. It opens up our transport options with two little people, and everyone seems to be enjoying it, even when they get covered in mud.