My family goes Noodles for bike rides

When you have teenagers, the allure of time spent together on a family bike ride Saturday afternoons doesn't come easily. Gone are the days when all it took to be together was desire and imagination. Nowadays, there are certain tactics that sometimes need to be applied. One such tactic: bribery.

When I said to my family, "Hey cute family. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I have an idea, let's go for a bike ride!" no response followed; nary the blink of an eye, or the smallest of movements. Now, I knew that two of the three children could be a bit tired. Andrew had run his first XC 5K of the season that morning and Maddi had just returned from her first soccer game, still . . . the weather was perfect, the bike ride was easy and I for one did not want another peanut butter sandwich for lunch.

When I followed up the idea with, "We'll ride on a flat trail and go to lunch at Aspen Grove (an outdoor mall with awesome shopping and restaurants only about five miles from our house) . . . there was movement, and a few peeled their gaze away from the Olympics on TV and the one on the computer actually turned around . . .
I actually flinched at the reaction. Ah-ha, Interest! Excitedly, I pushed forward and said, "We can choose from three restaurants: Noodles and Company, Qdoba and Panera"

This was the response, "How long will it take?"

Can there be a time limit on family love and recreation?

Apparently. But, being the good mother I am, I ignored the statement and swallowed the remark ready to burst out and instead hurried to get water bottles, tires pumped and a backpack.

It was a beautiful day and I would show you proof with pictures but the camera battery still has to be replaced and so there are none. You'd think with four camera phones we could've remembered one measly photo.

Instead, I will show you what got us there and what Noodles and Company can do for your family.

Andrew

Maddi

Paige

Me and Daren