Family Bike Rides

 Last night we went on a family bike ride.  

As we gathered cameras and helmets and K.J. pumped air into sagging tires I had a flashback to when I was a teenager and our family opted to do a self-guided river-rafting adventure down the Nantahala River.  At least, I'm pretty sure that was this trip, and we were on the Nantahala?  Maybe I'm wrong.  But I'm definitely right about it being the self-guided option, and without the official instructor giving instructions, I remember those first moments on the river.  

None of us were really working together, we were frustrated, but then finally, somehow, we got into a groove and figured out what we were doing and had a really good time.

Last night we all had various problems starting out:  the wrong shoes, unfamiliar bike gears, bikes that were uncomfortable sizes, someone (maybe me) who went on a 5-mile ride with her husband the night before already had a sore rear end and groaned when she sat back down on that seat.  K.J. said, "This might be a really short ride."  Who could blame him for thinking so?

But somehow, we found our groove.

And that's just the way it is with family endeavors or maybe with any other kind of group.  The less-than-stellar start won't define the whole journey.  The grumpy attitudes will get worked out, and the best part of the memory will be like mine rafting down the Nantahala with my family:  the taste of the cold, sweet water splashing in my mouth and the thrill of the ride.