I'm sad

My bike was stolen last night. Isaac's bike got stolen too. It seems like they tried to take Ashton's bike but it had a flat tire so they left it a ways from where it had been parked.  The twins and Eliza were so relieved their bikes were still here (I didn't bother telling them that it would be a desperate robber indeed who would take their bikes...).  Jared was glad his very nice bike was tucked away in the basement.  Isaac and I kicked ourselves that we've been so careless to leave our bikes out.  We just got lazy.  I saw them there 3 days ago and thought "I really ought to take those bikes down to the basement" but I was busy with something else and hey, they really aren't very fancy or nice bikes.  Mine is a pretty basic bike Jared got me for Mother's Day at Costco 6 years old and Isaac's is a pretty cheap used one we found on Craigslist.

So all things considered, we didn't loose all that much and we got a good reminder that we should be a bit more careful.

But you know what?  I love my bike.  I really really love that thing. It has a nice cushy seat.  It has good shocks.  I know just how to manage the gears.  I like how it looks - a little retro.  And most importantly, it represents so many rich, dear memories. So, as silly as it is, I've been on the verge of tears several times today over that dumb bike.

I went through photos trying to find a photo that showed the make and model of my bike for a police report and realized that while I have tons of great memories with that bike, I sadly don't have that many photos with my good old Versato Riviera (I knew it was something that started with a V but needed to find a photo to remember the name - brand names always elude me...).

I wish I had a photo of me heading out to the park on my bike with the twins and Eliza in tow. I used to go meet up with friends every week at the park and it became a weekly bike pilgrimage for me and the kids.  I had one twin in the bike seat behind me and Eliza and the other twin in the trailer I pulled behind.  I got a serious workout pulling those three up and down hills for several miles to the park and back!  As we'd head up a hill, the kids would urge me along with songs and sometimes they'd chant "I think I can, I think I can!" like The Little Engine that Could.  I always had people tell me they'd seen me huffing and puffing along Snow Canyon Parkway with all those kids. I felt pretty tough. I loved the chance to enjoy beautiful scenery and weather and get great exercise while enjoying some good times with my three cute preschoolers.

I luckily have a photo of the day my sisters, sisters-in-law and mom set out with a plethora of babies for a big bike ride up Snow Canyon.  That was such a fun day.

Picture that red trailer on the back of my bike with the baby seat and you can see how I  used to bike all over with my 3 preschoolers by myself.

And I do have photos of me and Jared heading out on our yearly bike ride around Bear Lake.  That's my birthday tradition - to bike the 50 miles around the lake.  My bike has been around that lake 4 times now.  And while Jared has laughed at my bike's nice cushy "granny seat," he's become quite envious of that seat after about 20 miles on his hard little bike seat!

I wish I had more and better photos of our whole family out on bike rides. But mostly, we got off the bikes and left them behind to take photos - and I guess you can't really take photos while riding a bike... Bike rides were a major part of our life in St George. The twins were in that red trailer for a few years but finally graduated to their own bikes.  We spent so many Saturdays biking up beautiful Snow Canyon or biking along the Parkway to go get lunch at Bajio a few miles down the road.  The kids still talk about how much they loved "biking to Bajio."  In fact, when we went back to visit St George last June, we stopped for lunch at that Bajio and the guy behind the counter said, "Hey, where are your bikes?  Don't you guys always ride your bikes here?"  The kids sadly replied that we'd moved and that biking to Bajio was now just a memory.

This is the best photo of my bike that I was able to find for the police.  Love that thing.

I wish I'd taken photos of our family bike rides up the new trails we've discovered here in Ogden.  It may be a while before we can do another family bike ride.  We're not really in the financial position to buy two new bikes just now!  I went on a run this morning on the trail along the river and thought mournfully of how much we've loved biking along there...

OK, yes, it's just a bike. But if anyone sees it around Ogden, please let the police know. And if anyone knows where I can get another one just like it for cheap, please let me know.  That thing represents some really dear stuff to me and I wish so much I could go back in time and not leave it in the backyard! Or I wish I could find whoever took it and explain how much it's worth to me and how little it's probably worth to anyone else in the world...

Enough.  I've done my grieving.  Time to move on.