ICC Photo of the Day 14 – Bikes!

So, you guys remember this fella, right?

We didn’t buy this lamp, but we had to bid on something, so we gave it the old college try!

Attending the twice-a-week auction at Don Hall’s Auctions in Marshville, NC, was one of our assignments this month. We had to go, we had to register, we had to bid on something. Those were the rules. And they had all kinds of stuff–including a 2007 Pontiac Solstice, a big pile of rough-hewn timber, and even a cardboard box full of Mike & Ike’s.

There were a few things we were interested in beforehand, but one item we saw once we arrived piqued my interest: a beautiful black and red 20″ bike named Cobra.

You see, we really wanted to be able to bring the bikes, for the kids, when we came here, but there was no simple way to strap 7 bikes to the back of the minivan, so we left them. When we got here, however, there were kids and bikes everywhere. And our kids were relegated to the communally-shared scooters and borrowing bikes where they could. Which worked fine, but we wanted to do something for them while they were here.

So, I waited. And waited. And then I waited some more. That bike was one of the last 5 items auctioned, even though every single other item around it was auctioned off about an hour earlier. It was a tense battle between me and some other dad, but, in the end, my willingness to spend 5 bucks more won me the prize, flat rear tire and all.

We brought it home, fixed it up (thanks to the tube repair kit borrowed from a classmate–you rock, Erik!), and shared the news with the kids that they had their very own bike to use while here. It has been one of the best thing we’ve done for them this month–they’ve used it every day they play outside, rain or shine.

Cyclops enjoys his turn on Cobra, the name they’ve given the bike. It’s a bit bigger than his bike at home, but he rides it like a hoss.

Cyclops and Phoenix are the ones who mostly ride Cobra. But, not to be outdone, Wolverine has done more than his fare share of bike “borrowing.” It’s everything we can do to make him and his two younger siblings ask before they “borrow” some unsuspecting MK’s bike from a front porch for their own benefit.

But something interesting happened the other day: months ago, I took the training wheels off of Wolverine’s bike at home, certain that he had the necessary skills to ride a real two-wheeler. He, however, had a different idea, and refused to ride the bike again. This week, though, he ran out of bikes-with-training-wheels to “borrow,” which left him “borrowing” a regular one.

Wolverine enjoys another MK’s bike that he borrowed the other day. This one time, however, he actually had real permission. Parenting win!

He decided that he can really ride a two-wheeler! And he spent the next two hours buzzing around the apartment block, tiring himself out. It was pretty awesome. Now he can’t wait to get back home and ride Rocket, which has been pretty lonely for the last six months.