Ella, our daughter of 15, and me went for a bike trip today. We cycled all the way to Noorbeek in the Netherlands for a family weekend.

It was beautiful, sunny weather, with quite some headwind, as we cycled along the Albert Canal for the largest part of the trip. Lot’s of water sports bars, industry, some woods and a gorgeous stretch between Hasselt and Maastricht. We crossed the Maas river in the city centre of Maastricht, cycled right through the shopping district and then along the Maas towards Eijsden.

Starting from Eijsden, we had to enter the hills, and since Ella did not have a lot of shifting experience on her bike, she over-tensioned the rear derailleur and it ended in three parts between the wheel spokes. We were lucky to be close to the trip end, and family came to pick up Ella and her wrecked bike. End of the adventure.

Despite having little time for breaks and the wind making too much noise for conversations, we did have lots of fun and made the daughter-dad bond stronger.

Let’s do that again. But not too soon.