I’ve been hearing good things about Kissena Park. Primarily that it’s a great place to bike. D wanted to bike today and the weather was warm for November, so we headed over. I didn’t think to bring my bike. Instead, I brought my camera.

We discovered a playground. D checked it out. It was a nice playground, but he still wanted to ride. A very short ride over, we discovered the Kissena Velodrome. I was cringing that this might not be a place for D since it might be loaded with adults going high speed (or even racing). Nope. There was a nice sampling of all sorts of riders. From skateboarders to casual riders, kids D’s size, young and old, were out on the track.

D did great. He watched for traffic. Looked over his shoulder when changing his position on the track. He had fun chasing and passing others while others passed him. He befriended a young man who does races. The two went out and did some races and the young man did awesome encouraging D and getting him excited about bike racing. He gave D racing and riding tips. D even wiped out on the track and this guy immediately stopped and checked on D (D was fine). Also, the people who have been organizing the velodrome events were there and were awesome to talk to. They brought kites for the kids to enjoy in the inner field. They were passing out PPE (I scored some of NYS’ finest hand sanitizer). People I barely just met were clapping and cheering D along!

D had impressed his new racing friend. D told him about burnout and aerodynamics (D was telling him how he put his head down to go faster). We were at the park from 2pm till nearly 5pm and D was either biking laps or running around flying a kite. Non-stop.

Oh! It was D’s first time flying a kite and did great!

I believe D will sleep well tonight.

Some more pictures here: http://www.rsb0.com/piwigo/index.php?/category/682