Around 1pm I set out for a ride along the waterfront. I noticed that Parks and Recreation opened up the damaged part of trail.
The Patriot Flag was raised and suspended from a crane.The flag will be hoisted in 50 states in 50 days to honor the 9/11 victims and first responders.
It's become a tradition for our extended family to go en mass for a 4-mile ride from our summer camp, following a bike path to downtown Burlington for the fireworks show. It's a mad scramble to pump tires, duck tape flashlights to handlebars and get out the door.
All 11 bikes are locked and propped together along the wall.
I bring glow sticks for the kids, but the adults dig in and decorate themselves too. It's my personal quest to have everyone well light up for the dark ride back to camp. Each year my kids ask if I remembered to buy glow sticks, so the tradition carries on.
The ride home is a treat with pedestrians and cyclists communicating in the darkness. It's a slow ride through a sea of people. The camaraderie is astounding with total strangers on good behavior. There are many people hauling wheeled coolers, strollers, loud teenagers not walking a straight line, etc. and many without lights, but that's part of what makes it an adventure. We alert while riding up from behind "Eleven bicyclists coming up on your left!" At one point our youngest son was leading and got too far ahead, so my husband picked up the pace to reign him in. Two teenage cousins in our group giggled and talked the whole way. Some of us accidentally went through puddles. I think I had a grin on my face the entire time.
My 9 year old seemed to sum up the evening perfectly, "I think I like the bike ride just as much as the fireworks."
I think this is such a great tradition and I would be smiling all the way home too.
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