Easy Rider!

This weekend, while out on a bike ride, Mrs. LIAYF, Lukas, and I passed by our local bike, snowboarding and skateboarding shop - "Alki Bike and Board." This is the store where we got all our snowboard supplies, before we got pregnant and had a baby, and where we now shop for bike gear. We stopped to pick up a few essential biking supplies, including fenders and a front basket for mom, and a rearview mirror for me. I've found that it's difficult to check traffic behind me while balancing Lukas on the front of my bike in his Wee Ride.

While Mrs. LIAYF and I perused the store goods, Lukas immediately gravitated to a shiny red Schwinn Roadster tricycle sitting in one of the isles. Although it had a bit of rust and was missing a seat, it still looked very cool amongst the stylish and expensive adult models. A hip young salesman named Apples (no kidding) told us that a store employee had found it along side of the a road one day and that they were in the midst of restoring it as a store project. It was next to a box containing a new model with a lofty $120 price tag.


Even without the seat and a flat tire, Lukas loved this trike. He hopped on and pushed it around the store with a huge grin the whole time we were shopping. He seemed to enjoy it so much, exclaiming "da-da-da!" at the cool tassled handlebars and patting the chrome fenders, that we soon realized it would be difficult to separate him from his new love. He couldn't reach the peddles, but it didn't matter - it was cool!

Lukas's enthusiasm for the trike was catching - he made the store employees smile as he wheeled his red trophy around, wearing his enormous dinosaur bike helmet. Lukas then noticed the little bike bell on the Schwinn. As I showed Lukas how to use the bell, I jokingly asked Apples if they sold cowbells. He said "yes, you can never have too much cowbell!" We both laughed, and I then made a comment that we would have to look on Craig's List for this trike, since Lukas seemed to love it so and we rarely buy anything new for him. Apples responded, without hesitation, "He can have this one." When I asked how much it would cost, he said he was GIVING it to Lukas - for free. All we had to do was find it a new seat!



I took the bike home that day. Mrs. LIAYF called Schwinn and ordered a new seat - less than $12 with tax, shipping and handling. We got the new seat today and, as you can see, could hardly keep Lukas off the bike. This is good, because he had been coveting the neighbor girl's bike (a fetching pink and purple number with "Jazzy Cats" emblazoned on its chain guard).

Thanks Apples and Alki Bike and Board! Lukas will definitely be back when he starts skateboarding - good karma finds its way home.