So this picture of Renee and Myka turned out pretty nice:

Renee and Myka

However, taking that picture caused a small amount of trauma. The very next picture on my camera roll is this:

Blue sky and a lamppost

You can see the really beautiful blue sky…along with that little bit of a lamppost…

What Happened…

So, here’s how this happened. Today was a beautiful day, so we took Darwin and Myka on a bike ride. All was going very well; those two dogs love bicycling with us. They love to run all out, especially early on.

Down by the park, Renee wanted to work with Myka’s turns for a few minutes, so she pulled into the parking lot and did some loops. Darwin and I pulled off the path to wait.

Darwin Waiting

It occurred to me that this was an ideal time to get a few pictures. I don’t often have the opportunity to take pictures during these rides, so I leaned the bike against my body and pulled out my phone.

All was going very well and I got a few great shots as they rode towards us and then passed us.

As they passed us, Darwin decided that we were done waiting and it was time to start running, as he usually follows Myka on our rides. So he started running after them. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a tight grip on the bike, so it fell over and began, in Darwin’s mind, chasing him. He ran in panicked circles, dragging the bike behind him as I frantically told him to stop and attempted to catch him. The Walky Dog bar that we use scraped along the concrete; I’m sure the sound just added to his panic.

The chaos seemed to last a long time, but was probably only a few seconds. Apparently I somehow hit the camera button on my phone and took that shot of the blue sky and lamppost.

After a moment, Darwin did calm down enough that we could continue the ride. I gave my bike a quick inspection, but everything seemed mostly okay. I think the brakes might need some adjusting. The Walky Dog bar actually took the brunt of the dragging and seemed fine, although the bracket needs to be tightened back up.

Darwin seemed a little skittish when we started riding again, but after a few minutes with no more trauma, he settled into his normal biking groove. This is a very good thing; because of his very issues, we don’t have a lot of options for good exercise for him. Bicycling gives him a good long run, so I was relieved that the experience didn’t freak him out too badly.

Rest of the Day

We finished our ride, then dropped off Darwin and Myka and took Abby on a ride. Then it was Sirus’s turn, although she doesn’t like to go as far or as fast. Finally we finished up with a short walk for Cricket (Sirus came along since she had a shorter ride).

Despite the short trauma, it was a beautiful day to be out the with the dogs! A few more pictures are below.

Seconds before the incident

Earlier in the ride; this picture I took while riding.

Abby taking a break during her ride. You can tell it was a warm day today since she had to lay down in the river!