Like how to order an ice cream cone.
Step up to the window. Stand tall to see over the counter and with absolutely no uncertainty proclaim "I would like a baby cone with eyes on it. Please" Repeat as often as possible.
The beach is a great place to savor the summer.... and work up an appetite for some of that delicious ice cream.
Biking may be another great way to enjoy the summer and earn some ice cream.
Recently my Mom and Dad raced at Single Speed USA and the Red Earth Classic. If you don't want a race report....scroll along now because this is all mountain biking dirt.
Single Speed USA was awesome. Single Speed USA is like the Burning Man of bike racing. Apparently they party with faming teeter totters. My folks didn't stay for any of those shenanigans. SSUSA is in a different location every year. This years venue was Copper Harbor a few hours drive from where we live. The trails at Copper Harbor are fabulous. It's not an easy course but it is so, so, so fun. You just ride crazy stuff with a grin from ear to ear because it is fun. Single Speed means you ride a bike with one gear. You pick your gear and that's what you got. Sounds funny, until you've tried it, and then you get it. The bikes typically are lighter and snappier than the counterparts with loads of gears, seat droppers, and 8,000 inches of travel/suspension. My Mom chose a gear easy for climbing (32 x20) as
Is SSUSA a ride or a race? Good question. I think it depends on the rider. My Mom asked this question at check in when she was handed a paper plate and a Sharpie to number her bike.The answer she was given was" it doesn't matter to you because you'll be disqualified for not wearing a costume".Yet it's a technically more challenging course than the XC races that take place on those trails. Midway through the "race" she was told she was 2nd women, 2 minutes down and that is where she stayed. Weeks later a certificate arrived for a SSUSA winner but it was a second place prize and she knows first got a crazy belt
Red Earth Classic is an interesting race. The single track is rocky, interesting and challenging in a primitive rocky, rooty sort of way and dark due to a thick canopy of trees. Don't forget to add in a rain storm that made the mud turn to an oil slick. It's a race of mental toughness because there are many grassy hill climbs
If you want to get techy about bikes I share with you the following details: If not please scroll along. Different mountain bikes fair well on different courses. My Mom's full suspension bike is a trail bike, which is awesome but a bit heavy and too cush for an XC course. It's an awesome learning tool and boy beating enduro race bike. Sitting in the garage waiting for snow was my Mom's fat bike. It just so happens to be not too heavy, have a lefty fork (not too many fat bikes/snow bikes have front suspension) It just so happens to accommodate 29 inch wheels. 29 inch wheels are not exactly new technology
Do you know how easy it is to climb on a hard tail 29er inch wheels? It's like cheating. The roots, you know about those roots? Neither do I after riding a 29 er. It just rolls over them. The only draw back to annorexifying ones fat bike is that you can't skinny the stays, so the front of the bike rocks but the back feels a little clumsy as ones legs brush the stays a lot. It's sort of like cowboying your legs a bit. You may have bruises from your legs brushing the frame but it will be worth it when you earn a check and are only 2 minutes down from your spouse vs the last time you raced riding 27.5 in wheels and 6 inches of suspension leaving you.... oooohhhh 28 minutes behind
....before it freezes because winter is cold and long
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