Family chooses different amusement
KENDAL
KELLY World Staff Writer
Tulsa World (Final Home Edition), Page A11 of News
Avoiding a ready-made
haven for kids gives one family an entirely new vacation experience.
The Yeagers are not like most families.
For a family
vacation this year, the Yeagers, who live in
"We let
them choose one sport or activity to do every year," Haley Yeager said.
"This year they chose FreeWheel."
About 1,000
people rode their bikes Tuesday from Cordell to
At the head of
that pack will be a clump of Yeagers: dad, Benji Yeager, 35; mom, Haley Yeager, 35; Hannah, 12, Aaron,
10,
The Yeagers have spent the past three months training for
FreeWheel, Haley said.
Every other
day during the week, the family tried to go on 10-mile rides, and on the
weekends, they went on longer rides, up to 30 miles, Benji
said.
The two oldest
children ride their own bikes, and Benji and Haley
each ride their bikes pulling one of the younger children.
Attached to
Haley's bike is a trailer bike, which is like a children's bike with only one
wheel.
"The only
rule is you have to help Mom pedal up the hill," Haley said.
Benji hauls a bike trailer, a carriage big enough
for a small child to ride in. The two youngest children switch from bike
trailer to trailer bike and back about every 10 miles, Haley said.
During the
week of FreeWheel, the family rises at
"The more
riding we get in before the heat of the day, the more likely we are to
finish," Benji said.
During Sunday's 51-mile ride, the Yeagers were able to complete the first FreeWheel leg.
However, on Monday, after fixing a flat tire and battling heat exhaustion, the
family quit riding 41 miles into the 69-mile journey. They caught a ride into
camp from FreeWheel volunteers.
They weren't a
bit deflated by the experience.
"We're
here to have fun and ride as far as we can," Haley said.
Once on the
road, the family makes frequent pit stops for the children to go to the
bathroom, Haley said.
"We're
very familiar with the bushes," she said.
They also take
frequent breaks at the roadside water stops and also have to deal with minor
emergencies.
In the first
10 miles of Tuesday's route, Aaron fell on some gravel and skinned his knee and
elbow.
"This is
a battle scar. Everyone needs one," Haley said while dabbing antibiotic
ointment on Aaron's elbow.
Aaron kept
riding.
"A little
gravel never hurt anybody," Benji said.
The family
experienced another mishap outside
"Good
grief, a sticker!" Haley said.
While not many
families with children ride in FreeWheel, Haley and Benji
said they think any family could participate in the event as long as they have
the right gear, training and attitude.
"You've
got to want to do it," Haley said.
Riding in
FreeWheel as a family is a lot of work, Haley said.
"We don't
get to socialize with all the bikers very much because we're working," she
said. "We've got five times as much gear as anybody and six people in the
shower, but we sure are enjoying it."
Although Haley
said everyone is having a good time, there have been times during the week that
she has had second thoughts about the adventure.
"The
second day," she said, "I was thinking while my alarm was going off,
'Why didn't we just go to Disney World?'."
So the
question is, will the Yeagers
ride FreeWheel next year?
"I think
we would," Haley said. "But talk to us after an 80-mile day."
Kendal Kelly
581-8413
kendal.kelly@tulsaworld.com
Copyright © 2004, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved.