First Ride in 50+ years: 2023 Update

[Jamie825]

I have really enjoyed finding this thread it gives me hope my grandmother can ride she said loved riding when she was a kid and would like to try again she is 80 and active and walks every day got a town country trike she is wanting to try this summer if she can pedal ok and does alright I will let her try a bike
Sorry to hear about Poppy I don't know what I'll do when I lose one of my dogs your Poppy reminds me of my Tootie and then there's Izzie a little firecracker of a bulldog and part chiwawa?
I'm gonna try and read through all your pages the next day or so keep posting this thread is so inspiring for me and my grandmother she has enjoyed reading it to.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Switching It Up

I forgot to thank the people that "liked" the second to the last post (still getting used to "likes") so Thanks Randy, Twister, Dale and 3 others who I don't think I can see any more (?).

Thanks Luke!
Thanks Dale, Sorry you've been through both too. Yeah I'm working on trying to enjoy time together better. This installment is more cheery.

I'm glad you have such a "best friend" IIFIFM. I've only owned dogs occasionally so it's harder for me to know the impact. FIL still mentions that Poppy is in heaven and he misses him (repeatedly) but I just repeat that he was a great dog and we were privileged to have such him while we could (and he agrees).

Thanks for the thoughts Ichoptop. Dogs are really special and sometimes more excepting than people but in a different way. Yeah he remembers than forgets but at least he realizes what has actually happened. He's doing okay and my wife says he's less stressed out trying to take care of Poppy.

Thanks Nagant, I appreciate it.

Thanks Jerry. I've been slacking a bit on the posting . I going to try for monthly updates now, especially since we not riding. Very cool about the newspaper job memories. It's really interesting. I gives insight to skills I kinda took for granted. Hot lead! .

You've got some cool dogs Jamie. Thanks for posting some pics. So glad to hear FIL has inspired you to get you grandma on a bike. Lots of people suggested in the past that if a bike isn't so stable (meaning safe) that a trike might work well too. Just a thought and the Best of Luck!

So we been going out to eat and I was trying to figure out the best way of either separating dinner and ice cream our combining it. A few weeks ago we were going to try a different restaurant but ended up at Bridgman's (ice cream shop) again. FIL had his usual and I have a Maple Nut shake (Yummm!).

We say these guys come in and the were dressed in Carhart gear. I thought, who is doing construction on a Sunday night?? They ordered a Lollapalooza (~ 2 lbs of ic , whip cream, nuts, cherries...) and it sounded like it wasn't the first time. Then I saw a string around the one guys right leg and thought about bikes. Sure enough they were working up a big appetitie for a mondo ice cream treat from winter riding. There actually is a MTB behind the fat tire bike LOL

Had a great Christmas party with FIL's side of the family (FILB is doing well btw).

I had a talk with my wife about how it's been kinda stressful to bring FIL out to dinner. We've had concerns before and we also don't want it to be stressful for him either. So after Christmas, I fed him supper at home and THEN went to DQ. It seemed to work better for both of us and actually a bit more healthy LOL. Since the last DQ at our not-as-favorite local stand was kinda disappointing, I got FIL a large sundae and he was very happy, yeah! He loves posing in "anticipation" LOL

We took a drive around the Lake Nokomis to get us out of the house a bit longer and we enjoyed seeing the ice fisherman and a home made rink with lots of kids skating

I'm glad our time seemed to go better so we're going to try this way more. Maybe we'll get going a little earlier so we can get to the bike shops before they close earlier with their winter hours.

Thanks for Looking
Steve

 

[aka_locojoe]

Good to hear things are going well. I like FIL's anticipation pose. He's a good sport.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Never too cold for Ice Cream

Thanks for checking in Randy! It was so cool that you saw your Dad riding when you were out. You got him hooked!
Thanks for the Likes Schwinnray, Twister, Jerry, Nagant, Luke, Flying Zombie, and TexasBigJohn!!!

So dinner at home and trips to DQ have been going good. It's been really cold so FIL hasn't been getting outside much. Not even very much snow for him to shovel, LOL. We try to get out and drive around a bit afterward, with the heated seat on for him because he gets cold from eating ice cream. But as he says, "It's never too cold for ice cream" LOL. I always see him rubbing his hands to warm them up from holding on to the cup. So he came up with a new one that just cracked me up, put on a glove

We are starting to get a little more sunshine now so we see some kinda cool sunsets on our drive around

FIL had his usual (now) large Strawberry sundae. I had the Blizzard of the month: Confetti Cake with Oreos, sooo good!

Lake Nokomis melted a bit then refroze with another artic blast. Slipped and slid my way down to the lake at -10F wind chill I'm sure FIL thinks I'm nuts but he liked the picture. He also thanked me for driving around so he could get out to the house. Cabin Fever is setting in...

Yesterday, I found a gift card for Grand Ole Creamery so we headed over to St Paul after dinner. This is a great place with premium ice cream. No strawberry sundaes so FIL had a tough time deciding. He eventually got chocolate cheesecake (think the word cake got him LOL). We went for the waffle cup and 2 enormous scoops. He ate all his, surprise, surprise, but I could only eat half of mine

It's so cool to see kids faces with the anticipation of ice cream. Going into the light... LOL

The place got crazy busy as we were leaving, it must be that it warmed up to freezing that afternoon LOL.

So there goes another month of winter and we are getting less subzero days, Yeah! But still a few months until we are riding again.

Thanks for Looking
Steve

 

[BARTO]

Stinkin awesome, you and your wife are what kids are supposed to be like. I hope my kids do something like that for me..or maybe put me in my hot rod and do some burn outs:-0 One or the other would be great.

BARTO

 

[MplsCoaster]

An Awesome Early Ride

Thanks Randy, Roadwarrior, DrT, Nagant, Pick, Rebel_56 and Luke! I'm glad you enjoying it

Yeah Barto, not sure if I'm always the best SonInLaw but kinda a weekend warrior, ha, ha. Oh Man, I hope somebody can do burn-outs and donuts for me too!!!! Thanks for the great comments

Well, I'll start where I left off and it was really cold up here for most of February Brrrr!! I'm going to actually say "Too cold for Ice Cream" or at least going anywhere to get it . I actually had my coldest run ever (-9F with -32F wind chill). More like a jog with a ton of coats on LOL. It never got above 0F all day .

It just gets kinda unhealthy to bring old folks outside when it's that crazy.

Also, my wife and me have been swapping breakfast and supper duties because of her church events so I did more breakfasts than dinners/DQ. And as hard as FIL would try to sneak in the request, I would have to say "no ice cream sandwiches after breakfast"

Getting more into March, it got a little warmer and we got out and about. An unusual 50F (still too cold to ride but...) we went to our favorite DQ that had just reopened, yeah! The owner, Jim, is such a nice guy and also recognizes FIL by name and says Hi!!.

We were able to sit outside, in the warm sunshine, and eat our ice cream and it was fantastic!!

We took a ride and it was great to see this whole family out riding (with the kids in their winter coats, LOL) (big time OOF Jerry, dirty windshields will do that ha, ha)

Around Lake Nokomis, we had to get a closer look at the crazy ice fisherman in short sleeve shirts . The ice was 2 ft thick yet but it's kinda freaky on the slushy top ice. FIL posed on the shore on the ice over the sand but I think he was game for a pic even though a bit cold.

As we were driving home, I saw this "chug"-like thing on the road. he probably had massive cabin fever and tried to get his home- made creation out on the road and back home before the cops saw him, but he had to stop for a flat. Oops! Good Luck!

Then it got sub zero again (Arghhhh!) and another breakfast swap so no pics.

Now, like most things in life, things are both good and bad all mixed together. Last week marks the day, 3 years ago, that FIL started riding again and all the fun with this thread began. It's been a great experience and thanks to everyone for following along!!. It looks like the thread just popped over 30K, wow, who would have guessed that?! Not me, it was just going to be a story about how maybe more people with memory issues can still enjoy life a little better with biking (and DQ, ha, ha).

Last week was also the anniversary of my Wife's Mom and my Mom's birthday. Same day but 4 years and half a world away from each other. Last week was also when my Wife's Mom passed away 2 years ago now. Thanks again for the kind sentiments from everybody. This week is the anniversary of when my Mom passed away 13 years ago. I still miss her a lot but she lives in my heart and mind with all the wonderful things she did. I wish my Wife could have met her, I think they would have been good friends.

On to yesterday (15Mar15), and I can't believe how warm it got!!! 70F but a kinda stiff wind at ~15-20mph. Wasn't sure FIL could push that much wind on the way back but had to try it.

We've seen some more loss with FIL in the last 6 months but he seems to be doing okay with balance and following directions so I thought we'd try with some caution. He was a bit confused on which bike he was going to ride and didn't jump right on like usual but once we got going, he was doing great, whew!

He may not look the happiest in this shot but he was really happy to be outside and riding, especially to DQ.

DQ was busy and it was like a party with everyone happy and little kids jumping up and down, LOL. FIL is doing his "mouth open in anticipation" shot but I think he had to hold it too long and just wanted to eat it

So I asked FIL if he just wanted to head home or go out for our longer ride. He wanted more so we went. He didn't remember the direction at first but picked up cues of where we were as we went along.

FIL pushed hard against the wind and wasn't having as much fun but he was a trooper. The blader guy I the background eventually past us but that's just fine

When we got home we thanked and "your welcome" 'd each other in both English and in Japanese LOL. He gets a big kick out of that. I asked if he wanted to sit outside for a bit, he said "NOO, I want to go lay on the couch for a while". Good, I'm glad he got some good exercise and I think he was glad too.

So it supposed to get colder (normal) again so there may not be too much action for a while. I hope it won't be like last year when we had 3" of snow on May 6th.

Well, on with another season and I think we are both looking forward to it!

Thanks for looking
Steve

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Awesome that you guys got a ride in!
This thread is awesome, and one I really enjoy reading.

Luke.

 

[Dale Alan]

Awesome that you guys got a ride in!
This thread is awesome, and one I really enjoy reading.

Luke.

+1 Luke

I have it set up to notify me by email when there is a new post,somehow I missed a few. I was just thinking of this when my wife told me our local DQ is open for the season . Glad to see him grinning over his ice cream again . That glove trick is funny, something my Dad would do . You are a good man for taking the time. Cool thread,thanks for sharing.

 

[jerrykr]

Love the updates! Good weather is just around the corner.

 

[Onewheelsqueel]

I get my notification as well.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Back in The Saddle
Sorry it’s been so long since I last posted. Lots of “life” going on.


Thanks Luke, yeah we were lucky for nice weather that early in the spring. I’m glad you’re still enjoying it J

Thanks Dale! I’m glad you got a kick out of FIL’s glove trick and that your Dad would do it too. Anything in the name of Ice Cream, Ha, Ha. I hadn’t heard about the email notices yet but I got a huge surprise when I started looking at the response form this post! Crazy, over a couple of thousand, I was kinda freaking out. I thought there were a core bunch of readers out there and I didn’t realize… I thank everybody now for tuning in J. I’ll try to keep it interesting and hopefully FIL can inspire a few more people to “Ride On!” as they get older (I know he does for me).

Thanks Jerry! Glad you’re enjoying. Yeah, I had heard you got a bit more winter down there too. Thank goodness spring always comes J

Hey Kevin, how are things in Chicago? Looking forward to coming there again this summer. I’ll have to check out the notice/email thing and get on board with quite a few other continuing posts. I tried once but it didn’t work so I’ll have to read the directions this time, Ha, Ha.


Thanks for the “likes” Rat Rod, Jerry, Randy, Luke, Nagant, and Skipton!!

Well, Photobucket is acting up right now so please excuse the funky shaped pictures.


Ok, so we got a bit more winter but the sun kept getting more intense and melting the snow and ice. One thing about colder days here is that they are awesomely sunny, yeah! FIL and me stopped off at DQ and he was too cold to sit outside so the car and the seat heaters worked well for him. In the background there is a woman almost losing her DQ to a hungry dog, Ha, Ha.

We took a nice drive around the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. I used to live right by the lakes and I miss them, so it was good to visit and lots of people walking around them (just not in this pic). It was kinda cold and windy so not too many bikes.

No ice on the smaller part of Lake of the Isles but plenty on Lake Calhoun (the non-shiny part). FIL normally gets kinda bored but I could tell he liked getting out of the house.

There were some breakfast/supper swaps with my wife, timed with some colder weather and rain. My wife had the ice cream sandwiches ready to go.


Still kinda cold and windy in mid-April but sunny again. Got FIL out for DQ and warm enough to eat outside this time. The master at work, anyone thinking of close encounters?

Cruised around in the car and saw that people were getting their old cars out. Good to see!

Nice Studebaker

Always loved these Oldsmobiles, small and stylish

We took a short walk by the Mississippi and this crazy tree.

Late April and warming up, yeah! Got FIL out on the bike again and headed for DQ. He does amazingly well for such little practice. I know he can’t hear me very well when we ride (most responses are “Uh-huh”) but his ears sure perk up when he hears a Harley. He’s always scopes them out from wherever the loud pipes are coming from.

You know, it’s so fun to watch so many different kind of people come and enjoy DQ. We had a great mix this day with: A young couple with 2 kids wandering around like ants hanging on to their DQs and speaking 2 year old gibberish. Two hipsters on their fixies (smiling?!) with one having a cool chrome Bianchi Pista, nice. Middle age couple out for a bike ride with full spandex and road bikes. Somali family laughing and eating the best of Americana treats. Older couple with their even older parent. Some Asian teenagers on skateboards. And of course FIL.

BTW: check out the new blizzard flavor, Salted Carmel Truffle, Rocking Good! (Not a paid advertisement Ha, Ha)

Had to practice my rolling selfies again…

I saw this woman next to the path fiddling with the pedals and asked if she needed help. She answered as we past that she did and it took about a quarter mile to relay to FIL that we were stopping and turning around. Her chain had fallen off and I quickly got her up and running again. She said we saved her a long walk home and that made me feel like “Bicycle Repairman” from Monty Python, Ha, Ha. And no, she didn’t have a big S on the front of her shirt.

FIL decided he wanted to take the outside position so I thought I’d try to get a different angle shot. Unfortunately a car came behind us quickly and honked at him… I don’t think he heard it and got him quickly and safely over. I like it when he shows more independence but I’ll have to pick and choose the place a little closer.

He kept thanking me and every time I’d “your welcomed” him so I think he had a good time.

So, Yesterday (Early May, Yeah!) we swapped out Saturday for Sunday due to stormy weather coming. It was ~75F and light wind. We took a “shortcut” through the park.

Can’t think of more perfect weather even if it’s above normal for early May. Asked FIL how he liked the ride and he said he like to trade in the bike for a motorcycle. I understand he misses his motorcycles (though he hasn’t had one since the 50’s). I said he was fortunate to have such cool motorcycles so he could still remember how fun they were. Some guy was walking by us pointed at FIL and said “cool bike”. I don’t think he heard so I told him about it louder and he said “Uh-huh”. I guess we all get in a funk once in a while.

It was a picture perfect day and finally shorts and t shirt weather!

Busy at DQ and I’m happy for Jim the owner. He such a great guy. We waited at his line and FIL always likes that Jim knows him by name. I know he always gives FIL a heaping helping so that’s really cool. I haven’t told him about the thread yet but I guess I should.

A happy man!

More cool cars driving around, think this one is a Nash Metropolitan, take about subcompact!

This Corvair sounded great taking off

Got FIL cruising by this sweet T Bird

We headed out to the path and FIL does great with the busier traffic on the path, he never really gets flustered. I do enough worrying for both of us, LOL.

Well, we are starting to get out more often now so I’m going to post a little more frequently. It was a rainy Sunday today but it takes too long to write my mini novels, LOL. Maybe I’ll try to do a little less writing and more pics…


Thanks again everybody for looking
Steve

 

[pick]

Steve, you have to be one of the best son in laws on the planet! Thumbs up!

 

[Junkhunter]

That made my day. Great that you took pictures. Missing my Dad, but thank you.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Really enjoyed this update Steve! You do great work for both him and us!

Loved seeing the cars too, I always enjoy that first decent weekend after winter, just drive into town and check out the rolling car show...

Luke.

 

[Dale Alan]

Thanks for the update Steve. I look forward to reading these,the pics really bring it to life. You are a good man for what you do . Very cool you can bond with Him through bicycling together.

 

[aka_locojoe]

Thanks for the update. Glad all is going well.
The White Castle... I've never had it. It was started here in Wichita but we don't have one.
Spent a lot of my childhood in Corvairs. My parents owned 23 of them (not at one time) while I was growing up.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Makin' Up for Lost Time
Thanks Pick but not sure about that, my Wife and Step Son do all the "heavy lifting"

I'm glad I could make your day JunkHunter Sorry to hear about your Dad, I miss mine too.

Thanks Luke, I get my DQ rewards, LOL. I'm glad you have the same "car shows" happen there too. Minnesotans practically worship summer and the long winters give plenty of time to fix up the nice old cars.

Thanks Dale, I'm glad we found some way to bond too, Bikes make it even better.

Thanks Randy, I've got some catching up to do on your adventures too.
You aren't missing much with White Castle. (Bet I'll get a few comments on that one) More grilled onions than meat (I actually love grilled onions, just not WC). Stooped eating there once the 2AM food urges stopped 23 Corvairs !! How cool is that!

Alright, so I'm glad the hit count settled down this time (not 3K (?!)).

It's been raining like crazy up here. I know a lot of over parts of the US are getting dumped on (sorry TX and OK). So it's rained almost every Sunday in May. My wife drove FIL over to DQ in between T-storms when we had a breakfast/dinner swap.

Finally it stopped raining on Memorial Day so we got going again. FIL is in great shape because he has been "working out" with mowing the lawn so much lately. It was a little cool but not too cool for DQ.

We saw the owner Jim and told him about the ride thread. He thought that was cool and he said he would check it out. No need for umbrellas lately, not enough sunshine LOL

We had a good ride and you can see just how green everything is.

So the Wednesday after Memorial Day, it got up to 85F . I had to go for a ride so I took FIL with. Please ignore FIL's footwear, I forgot to check that he put his sneakers on and about half was there he says, "I still have my slippers on". Oh well... It was such a Nice Day!!

I had to take a picture of FIL with the always smiling and cheerful Zed. He is a great guy and always give FIL the "Senior Advantage Deal" (not a "discount" when you get more ice cream LOL) Zed also always says hello to FIL and I have to get FIL out of his "The DQ wait mode" so he responds . Look at the size of that "medium"?! I can't wait to get old LOL

Trying for a different angle

Last weekend had the first dry Sunday so we headed out. Cooler again though, it is still May in MN... FIL was on a bug hunt I guess. Earlier he said "That's a small car" about a new Beetle. Then I caught him checking out this even smaller old Beetle.

I tried the new Brownie Batter mini Blizzard and it was really good, Yummmm! The kid behind FIL had tri bars on his 24" bike and had soccer ball and gear with him. He must be a real go getter.

So three trips to DQ in 7 days. I think we made up for some rainy Sundays. I'm still getting used to my new school schedule but we may be able to do some more weekday afternoon rides this summer.

Thanks for looking
Steve

 

[jerrykr]

Love your updates. Glad the weather is cooperating. Getting better here too unless you happen to live in a flood plain, or built too close to a lake shore.

 

[Dale Alan]

Good to see you guys are getting out.That sundae your FIL had was quite something,He would have to ride 10 miles to work those calories off. I love the smile when He gets his DQ fix . My Dad was the same way . When my Son's were young they would make him his sundaes at home. Mostly Hershey's syrup and banana with a little ice cream mixed in.Fond memories. Thanks for the update.

 

[kingfish254]

It's been quite a while since I caught up with FIL, but it was like seeing a couple of old friends again.
Great DQ of course, old cars, and White Castle. I still haven't had White Castle. We have Krystal down here which I think is about the same. Keep the ride updates coming. Cheers!