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Wednesday, November 23

family traditions

Growing up in the country, one of my favorite pastimes was riding my bike on the wrap-around porch, going down ramps, learning how to stand on my seat and go over homemade jumps, etc. That love of bike rides continued through high school and into my marriage to Marty. Once we started having babies though, I had to hang up my bike (literally), and it was clear that with 2,3 and then 4 kids under 4, riding bikes together was a thing of the past. Fast forward to this year with 5 young children, and enter the Madsen Cycle.
The kids and I, along with my sister had the great pleasure of meeting Jared and Lisa Madsen earlier this year. Hearing their story, and getting a tour of their incredible shop where they put together and packaged every Madsen cargo bike was inspiring, and also felt like I was visiting old friends. I've never seen another bike like this on the market before, and I was just awed by their vision and the amount of thought and passion they've poured into their business.

I drove home that day with this big black beauty strapped in the back of the pick-up, and immediately unpacked it and loaded up all the kiddies for our first bike ride altogether.

It felt wonderful.

I was a new widow, trying to keep a handle on my overwhelming grief by pouring everything I had into my five small children, and here I was carting them down our street with their tiny helmets on and their giggles in my ears. In a sappy metaphor kind of way, I felt that first day the physical weight of carrying all my children by myself, but I knew that as I rode more and more that I would get stronger:)
We started a nightly family bike ride tradition with our big Madsen (dubbed 'Maddy' by Ellie) that we still carry on today! Every night that we can swing it I strap on the little helmets after dinner and we head out into the sunset, nowadays with the two older girls on their own bikes. I even started inviting visitors to join in with us on an extra old bike of mine. It's the longest standing family tradition at this new house actually!

If I can answer a few questions I've already had about our bike: It's much sturdier and smooth to ride than I would have thought, it has two removable cushioned benches and four strong seatbelts in the back, and it does have a front wheel lock and two keys for theft prevention! It can carry 600lbs of riders and cargo, I never get super sore even after a long ride, I decided to get the front rack for holding extra cargo which I love, and we also have the weather/rain cover for the back which has been used a lot on sunny and windy days here. There are tons of cute colors, it's definitely worth the price-tag with just the family bonding alone, but especially if you work in savings with gas and health benefits:)
Bottom line, it's been such a blessing in bringing our family closer together and creating memories, and I wish everyone had the chance to own one:)
Now that I've sung the praises of our bike, I'm so excited to be sharing some amazing deals going on at Madsen headquarters on Black Friday!
You can get $225 off of any color Madsen + 20% off all accessories,
or you can get $425 off of a fully loaded Madsen bike! This includes soft top, front rack, dutch upgrade, shiny brass bell, water bottle, steel front lights and rear light.
Visit their website on Black Friday for the best price of the year, and also to view more testimonials and customer photos, to ask questions, etc.

Have you heard of/do you own one of these already? What is one of your favorite standing traditions with your family? Thanks so much for visiting today, and I hope you guys have a fantastic Thanksgiving tomorrow,

xoxo 

10 comments:

  1. I love hearing about special and unexpected things that bring family together. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  2. These photos are the cutest! I will sometimes see families riding their bikes on the street I live on and it is always really fun to see! I enjoyed this post! Happy Thanksgiving, God bless all of you!

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  3. Is it hard to keep your balance on it? I can just picture one of my kids leaning to point at something and me toppling over!! I have wanted one for years but just a little scared! Ha!

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  4. What an awesome bike! I love that you are able to go on bike rides with all of your lovely kids. I also am curious if it is hard to balance?

    Happy Thanksgiving ♥

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  5. This looks like so much fun! I may need one in the future! :)

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  6. Stay strong Emily! So glad to see you starting a small tradition with your children.

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  7. In Europe we have bikes like this but the kiddie part is on the front. I much like this design more though, it seems a lot easier to ride.

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  8. Can I ask what boots you are wearing? They are so cute. Glad you and your family are smiling again.

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