The girls do ride with me, but not for commuting. They both got new bikes this year. The 13 year old got an XXXS Giant FCR2, that is a really nice and lightweight bike with 650c wheels. (Actually so nice, I'm kinda jealous!) Got a great deal on an unused 2006 model on ebay. MSRP is $700 and I think I got it for $300 including shipping. My 11 year old was harder. She is so little (her new school jeans are size 7 Slim!!) that it is tough to fit her in a decent bike. LBS put her on a Gary Fisher and because of the frame geometry was able to get her on a bike with 24" wheels with decent gearing for the first time. It was also the lightest kid's mountain bike they had, although still not as light as I would have liked. There was nothing available that did not have at least front suspension, which we really don't need. She's still a long way from being tall enough to ride something like the Trek KDR1000. Her inseam is so short that the seat on this Gary Fisher is actually no higher than the top of the back tire. But what a difference that bike made for her! Up to then, her longest ride had been about 5 miles and whining most of the way. Our first time out with her new bike, she did 15 miles and not a peep out of her! She only weighs about 54 pounds and that old bike must have weighed close to 40 - can you imagine how hard that must have been!!
Tomorrow night the girls and I plan to ride in our LBS' annual moonlight ride - it's about 12-15 miles, mostly on the bike path, with food and live music on the parking lot after the ride. (Helmets and lights required!). I hope this infernal rain lets up.
Wow, that is awesome!! I have visited both Goodwill and Salvation Army this week - waded through hundreds (maybe thousands??) of sweaters, many of which were, well, just icky, but found very little wool and didn't buy anything. I need some education here - is any kind of wool ok, or only merino wool? I did find some lambswool, but it seemed awfully heavy and scratchy. And I saw some things that were wool blends, but wasn't sure about that either. What about cashmere? 100% silk?
Thanks to all of you for the help and encouragement. I think I initially felt like I needed to justify the expenses by an offset of savings, but I realize it is just a good thing to do for many different reasons, whether there is a cost savings or not. I'm sure that those of you with kids will understand this - whenever there is a little $$ left over at the end of the month, it is so hard to spend that on myself. If we were a 2 income family, things would be a lot different for my kids, and I feel guilty about that sometimes. Being a single parent was something I chose to do and they would undoubtedly choose to have a dad if that were an option. Had I not made the choice I did, however, they could still be in orphanages halfway around the world, and I need to remember that when I get the guilties over what they don't have now.