Earlier this week we were invited over to the Colonel’s house for a casual supper.  Since he lives just one town over, 2-3 kilometers, I thought it would be the perfect time to try out a family bike ride.  Dane has been begging to go on one since he graduated out of the bike trailer and onto his own bike with training wheels.

In hindsight, perhaps around the block would have been a better first choice.  Two-to-three kilometers, while pedaling a very small bike, is much harder for little legs than pedaling our big bikes with our big legs is for us.  Dave, Cole & Tess soon tired of the pedal-and-wait game and forged ahead while Dane and I pedaled much slower and enjoyed the scenery a little extra.

It was a very slow ride, and we got to the dinner much later than anticipated.  Thankfully dinner was a little delayed and we were even in time to enjoy the fantabulous date-and-bacon appetizers.  Our ride home, almost entirely downhill, went much faster.  I panicked a little when I realized we would barely beat the sunset home.  Here in Germany all bikes must have lights, not just reflectors, at night.  Neither my bike, nor Dane’s, had the proper lighting.

Despite my worry I stopped halfway home and dug out my camera.  I got some beautiful shots of Dane riding through the fields, but my very favorite is this one of the clouds right at sunset: