car
One of the many car-themed attractions at Legoland.

I’m happy to report that we are back in the Old Pueblo after a long week in Southern California. I’m disappointed to report that during our time away we didn’t get to ride a bike or utilize the area’s public transportation.

Needless to say, I am excited about this morning’s bike commute with Luci and the tag-a-long.

The logistics of toting a three-year-old kid, an eight-month-old infant, stroller and various equipment that goes with them proved to0 daunting to attempt alternative transportation. You can read my previous thoughts about using public transportation with kids here.

As for bikes, there were all the usual road riders along the coast highway, commuters here and there, families on beach cruisers and surfers toting their boards to the beach.

The most unique thing I saw was a cyclist riding on the beach with a fat bike. I had just visited Chuck at Pacific Coast Cycles, who sells them, and asked if people used them for the beach. He told me one of his customers did and about three hours later I see a guy riding up the beach on one.

We made our way to Legoland this trip and had a blast, but I was surprised to see how intertwined they are with cars.

Walking toward the entrance of the park there was a Lego family fawning all over some SUV they were trying to market.

Inside the park, several of the rides are car-themed and they even have “driving schools” with Volvo-branded cars. Here’s some background on the partnership. I didn’t see any “rules of the road” being enforced, but we only did the “junior driving school.”

When cars stop, the ride operator encourages all the parents to applaud their kids on a job well done with presumably one of their first driving experiences. I just couldn’t bring myself to clap.

Upon completion of the ride, the operator gives each driver a license that can have a photo added on to and then have it laminated.

I took great pleasure in the fact that my daughter kept stopping her car and yelling, “I don’t like this one.”

She’s excited to get back on the tag-a-long too.

 

2 thoughts on “Back to the desert and back to bikes”
  1. Welcome back to you and your family! Thank you for the  thought-provoking questions you posited, they certainly sparked some spirited opinions. =)
    On the Lego car-themed thing… I always thought that one of the reasons cycling is such an integral part of both, Denmark and the Netherlands, is that they get the bike “culture” thing started at a very early age. I think it would be wonderful to see that happen here, at the dual settings of home and school.

  2. Well, yes. Vacations are hard to figure. Your innovation with your blog the past week turned out to be a good innovation. And you did all this while under a BIKE BAN! That’s resourceful and smart. Survive!

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