Danger Riding

Yesterday we took the bikes to Playa Negra. We were trying to do that for Jordan's birthday but the girls didn't want to ride in the heat. The only way to get them to do something is to tell them, "oh, it's right down the road." Jack and I donned our backpacks, water, bike pump and we started off down the road. The girls were enjoying the ride. It's fun looking at the sights. We got chased by 3 dogs passing a little store, the Tico's were laughing at us. But they did come out and grab the little yappers so we could ride past. Hannah crashed her bike riding down a small hill. She got to far to the edge and freaked and she has a bike that you have to break with the pedals. She can't get used to that so she slammed on the break and skidded out. Wham! She was down. Everytime we get on those bikes I think of bike riding at home. At home we have mountain bikes with all the gadgets. Lot's of gears, breaks that work, adjustable seats, gloves, padded bike shorts, jerseys, clipless pedals, shoes with socks, and HELMETS!!!! Here we have these beach cruisers that are barely hanging in there, wobbly tires, the bikes are pieced together with duck tape and parts that don't work. We hop on these unsafe bikes, with flip flops, bathing suits, all sorts of skin exposed, sweaty hands that slide of the handle bars, and NO HELMETS!!! I silently cringe at the thought of me letting my kids ride like that but do we have a choice? Yes, we could walk but not on your life am I walking when I have a perfectly good mode of transportation. I just say a little prayer each time we get on the bikes and hope for the best. We do have a good first aid kit at least. So if someone does go down, which everyday someone does, but if someone did get hurt we'd have to pick up the pieces and make whoever it is that is hurt get right back on that bike and ride back to the casita where the first aid kit is. Then we'll fix you right up. Then we'll get back on the bikes the next day and do it all over again. Am I a bad parent? Some would say so probably but hey, live and learn. And ride.
So, we get to Playa Negra 20 or so minutes later and it's gorgious. The waves were huge so it was fun watching the surfers ride those waves. There are tide pools and a great swimming beach. It was nice. We hung out for a couple of hours and rode back. Jack and Jordan were far ahead so Hannah and I stopped at a little store and had ourselves a coca. There is nothing like an ice cold coke in the heat and humidity. We sat on the ground in front of the store and drank. Hannah's little face was so red. She and I were just dripping with sweat. I wish I would have taken a picture of here. I'll remember to do that next time. We said "muchas gracias" to the guy and rode away. We got back to the casita, made lunch, and everyone did something different. I layed down with my book, Jordan and Hannah were in their room with books and Jack was working on the bikes. It's his new past time. Rob, you would have a hayday with these bikes. After about an hour the girls came and layed down with me in my bed, Jack went surfing and we napped a bit. At around 3:30 the girls and I rode to the beach and played in the water. It was high tide when we got down there. The tide was going out after awhile and Jordan and I were swimming and we got pretty far out by accident. I knew we needed to get in a little but the current kept pulling us out. She started to panic a little because we couldn't touch and I got scared. I told her we need to start swimming and you could see the look in her eyes. I talked to her and kept telling her we're fine we need to ride a wave in and just as I said that a wave came crashing over us and brought us in a little. I could now touch but she couldn't and I grabbed her hand and planted my feet in the sand and yanked her as hard as I could towards me. Another wave came and we rode it in more and finally she could touch bottom. We got to the shore where Jack was watching us and I asked him if he felt we were in need of saving and he said he was watching the Tico behind him sitting in the tree watching us. He said that Tico was not going to let anything happen. Neither was Jack. Needless to say, we got out to far, not by choice and I won't let that happen again.