We drove for ages and ages (*Actually less than an hour, which is 'ages' in 6yr old speak - GL.) and they wouldn't say why and then when we got there there was a sign so we knew STRAIGHT AWAY and the sign said QUAD BIKES and off-road trails and it was a whole place for bikes and quad bikes and go karts and everything.
We had to sit and listen to the man who talked about safety and about how the bikes worked, and then we got dressed in our suits and gloves and helmets and then we got a quad bike each and another man made sure we knew how it worked (*And suffered a lecture from a 6yr old about why 'twist this and it goes' was not a thorough enough description of the internal combustion engine -GL) and then we were allowed out onto the track and there were hills and turns and bumps and mud and we could go around and around and really fast and it was a real bike with a proper engine like John's and Lestrade's bikes and it was brilliant! And even John and Lestrade had a go, but on bigger bikes than mine and Mycroft's and then, when we'd done that for ages (*See earlier comment -GL) and the man said we were good then we were allowed to go off out on a whole safari and through the woods and fields and not even on a track, but properly for ages and ages (*Okay, that one was actually was quite a long time - GL) and John and Lestrade weren't allowed because they were old (*It was a kids' trek. I protest this statement! - GL)!
They went and got bikes with just two wheels and went off but I don't know where, and we went really really fast and there was mud and water and we wore goggles and I had to stop to clean mine because they got so muddy.
And then we went back to the beginning place and John and Lestrade got back soon after and while they weren't there we went on the track more, and then when they were back John let Mycroft have a go on his bike ON HIS OWN and John just told him how to work it, and ran beside him a bit at first, like he did when I learnt to ride my bike in the park, but soon he couldn't keep up, even though Mycroft didn't go very fast. BUT I GOT TO GO ON LESTRADE'S BIKE and even though I had to have Lestrade on it to make it go (*Nice to feel useful - GL), I sat in front if him, and held onto the handlebars too and we went SO FAST I bet no one could even see us properly, and we went around the track and even JUMPED IN THE AIR COMPLETELY and skidded and I had to hold on really tight and by the end of the day we had to get changed and everything was muddy and even my hair and John says he doesn't know how I managed that with a helmet on and then we
...And then Sherlock got bored writing this blog post, apparently, because dinner was ready, and all we did was come home. So you get an abrupt end to the story.
It was great fun, though, and Mycroft seemed very happy that he was allowed on the bike on his own. They were very good with the boys, and with all the safety gear, plus this special weird rubbery surface they had on the track, there wasn't really a chance they could have got hurt even if they had come off - which neither of them did, thankfully.
Here's a picture - not one of our boys, just from the website of the place, to give you an idea:
John and I did a bit more of a gentle ride this time - it was more technical than the last one, though. Some very narrow sections - one a plank over water - as well as some long runs where you could just get the speed right up and fly.
Sherlock did nearly burst my eardrums when I took him around the course, he literally squealed with delight. I do sometimes worry that he's not scared of anything...
But both the boys - all three of them, really - definitely deserved a treat. And it was a brilliant way to spend the first day of the summer holidays.
And tomorrow I'm back on lates, and all I want to do is stay out and play ;)
136 comments:
I hope you are fast asleep now Sherlock but that was a lovely post about your day you sound so excited and happy and I'm glad you had a really good time :-)
It all sounds like great fun Greg and some time for you and John to escape together is always a good thing :-) I hope you're having a good evening and that there is lots of fun to be had before work tomorrow.
Do you think we could take Carla and Paul there if they come to visit us this summer?
Sure, if Nicky and Mark don't mind them doing it.
And if I don't get blamed for being the sort of uncle who leads people astray with piercings and motorbikes...
I'm sure that's the best sort of uncle to have.
Ha, probably if you're the niece/nephew part of the equation...but not so much the sister/mother...
Heh. Possibly. Of course, if we take them, Nicky and Mark can have the day to themselves, which might sway them.
Excellent plan, Doc. Particularly if we can convince them that turnabout is fair play...
It's like you can read my mind sometimes...
...sadly only sometimes.
You wouldn't want to read it all the time. I think about laundry and lists too much, and peculiar ailments that have been presented to me over the years.
I'm trained to pick through the evidence and focus on the important bits. I'd survive.
So if you had a super power, would it be telepathy?
I don't know.
Sorry, been answering a question on my last post.
it would be pretty useful. But also fairly horrifying, I imagine.
Yeah, probably.
I mean, given some of the people I meet. But it would be good to be able to read their minds to see if they're innocent or guilty.
The guilty ones, though... I feel like I've seen into some of their minds quite enough - too much, just from hearing them talk.
I can imagine, yes. Or, probably I can't and don't especially want to, but I'm glad you don't have to get literally inside their minds.
Mmm.
Bed? You can get inside my...er...yeah. :)
Some intellectual congress? Sounds good...
Bed, yes.
Speaking of superpowers you'd like to have... I used to read the X-Men comic books, and they had this group of young kids in training and one of the mutants (Cypher?) had what I thought was the best power ever -- he could understand and speak and use any language as soon as he heard or read even just a little of it. Sadly, he later died I think. :(
ryo
That sounds like an amazing day, and I'm extremely jealous. I'll have to ask my brother if he can take me out quad biking sometimes and let me have a go. He lives on a ranch and they have two of them.
Oh, WOW! Sherlock, that was a wonderful blog post, I couldn't have felt more excited by your day without being there myself!
It really sounds like the most amazing day, I'm delighted on your behalves (you meaning all of you)! (And great idea, Mycroft. Really excellent. :))
Sherlock - \O/ That sounds so cool and exciting! You're quite the writer, being able to convey so much with just a blog post.
Mycroft - Are you thinking about getting a bike when you're older?
Greg, John - I'm sure Nicky is fully aware of who is responsible for the piercings and the bikes. ;) It could be worse. You could gift her a white elephant as a Christmas present for the kids. :D So...any plans for little Jessica, yet?
~A from NW
Sherlock, that sounds like the most amazing first day of summer vacation ever! I'm glad you had such a good time. Is all the mud out of your ears yet?
rsf
RSF - He was thoroughly sluiced down. But is still running about the house pretending to be on a bike.
AfNW - No plans to see Jessica yet. I just thought we'd wait until Nicky thought Rachel was ready to be invaded.
REReader what idea? Mycroft didn't have an idea
Sherlock, it really doesn't matter. Don't be so competitive all the time!
was it not the idea that you could maybe go again with Carla and Paul if they came to visit Sherlock? which I think you would admit is a pretty good idea if only because you'll get to ride the bikes again :-)
I hope you have another fun filled day :-)
AnonyBob - sometimes he acts like no one else is allowed to exist, in case they outshine him...
he's very lucky to have an older brother who is so grown up and mature enough not to get angry with him then really :-)
He is. We are all lucky regarding that - their fights tend to get complicated...and French...and hard to mediate. Mycroft does an excellent job of rising above it most of the time.
Sherlock--Just exactly what Pandabob/Anony said, the idea of taking Carla and Paul quad biking if they come to visit this summer. Which, you must admit, is a very fine idea! (Sorry I didn't answer sooner, but I was asleep--it's 5 hours earlier here than in London. :))
French?? arguing in a language the adults don't understand should not be allowed ;-)
I hope you've all had a lovely morning and that an interesting afternoon is ahead :-)
I can sort of understand the gist, but yeah.
I'm off to work in ten minutes...
Hope work goes well for you and that you can sit somewhere sunny to observe people. I'm off to a Steps concert tonight - I wonder at my sanity sometimes.
Arguing in French sounds like good practice, actually. Maybe you should teach them to argue in Italian, Lestrade! Then you can join in.
Good luck at work tonight. I hope you're someplace warmer and dryer than you were the last time you were on late.
rsf
I wouldn't mind. Then L could referee their fights instead of me...
It's blazing sunshine now, rsf. I left john and the boys debating going swimming.
John, do you know enough French to referee their fights now?
Er...sort of. I'm not as good as they are, but if they don't go too fast I'm all right. I took it in school and I had a girlfriend from France in medical school.
Ah, it explains so much...
Did you go swimming? Did Sherlock flat out refuse to get dressed again like last time we went and it was sunny? Were you ogled by young mums (and, indeed, people of all ages and genders?)
I'm glad the weather has improved, even if you're stuck at work.
I hope Sherlock will submit to sunblock if he won't put his clothes back on after swimming. I had a bad sunburn recently and I'd forgotten how much they hurt!
How many languages can Sherlock and Mycroft speak well enough to argue in? That must make things really complicated at times.
rsf
We did go swimming, it was very nice. Didn't notice any ogling. I was mostly trying to keep an eye on Sherlock, which is much harder without the bright orange arm bands, especially when he flings himself into the deep end...
RSF--quick tip for sunburns! If it's localized (like a burnt neck or nose) make a paste of baking soda and water and slather it on; if generally all over, add baking soda to a lukewarm bath. It sucks the heat right out, and hydrates, too.
I have to ask--why do Sherlock and Mycroft argue in French rather than English? (I studied French in school, and Hebrew too, but I'm hopeless at both!) (Well--I can understand ancient Hebrew fairly well. Not a hugely practical skill. :))
That sounds like Sherlock is swimming very well now!
I assume he either didn't sink, or was quickly rescued?
Maybe we should paint him or something, for easy identification.
I'm by a canal...rememberng that swim all too well.
L - Don't fall in, please. Especially if there's anything dead in it. Sherlock did not sink, no. He's doing well, and I'm glad, but it does make it harder to keep an eye on him. I'm all in favour of painting him. Isn't there sunblock that comes in bright colours?
RR - I think Sherlock started because French is the only language he spoke better than Mycroft, because his grandmother was French. Mycroft's caught up, but it's a habit now.
RSF - I'm not entirely sure. I know Mycroft speaks more than Sherlock, and I've Sherlock say phrases he's picked up from Mycroft in most of them, but it's hard to tell what he's fluent in, because I'm not, if you see what I mean.
I have no intention of falling in. Nothing dead I've seen. Just smells a bit...stagnant.
We should definitely invest in that sunblock.
what are you doing now? And did the argument about dinner ever have an end, or will you all starve tonight?
Ah, that makes sense. (I thought it might have to do with the sound of the language or something!)
And, yes, there is colored sunblock! http://www.ridershack.com/zinka-colored-sunblock-zinc-nosecoat.html (The colored stuff the make for kids for all-over is a fade-away color, but this stuff doesn't go clear. :))
I'm making chicken masala. It's a Titli recipe, not spicy. Should be some left when you get home. How's work going so far?
sounds good.
work's okay. Sun out means my man today is all over the place. Feel like I've been around half of London already, including him visiting his dealer for some skunk, I think. So now someone else should be picking up the dealer, while I carry on tailing this one. Sort of harder out here, fewer people about to hide in.
...How burnt does something have to be before you give up and throw the whole lot of it away? It's only burnt on the bottom...
..depends who's eating it? Um...try not to mix the burnt bits into it by scraping them off the bottom. Unless it's something which will handle tasting...smoky... And rescue the rest.
Or is it rice...
It is rice. How did you know?
well... taste a non-burnt bit. See how burnt it tastes. Sometimes it takes the burnt taste on quite a lot. It might be fine.
All right, thanks.
maybe we should get a rice steamer.
I think that would be a good idea.
For what it's worth, one of my fellow t'ai chi students was raving just this morning about how great his new rice steamer is! (It was a gift from his wife.)
John, Titli actually has a really excellent method for making rice on her site, under basic techniques (you can omit the spices) but all you really need to do to avoid burning rice is to shut off the heat after it's boiled for a few minutes, put on a tight lid and wait 10 to fifteen minutes. (Works for oatmeal too!)
Rise steamers can be nice though. Especially if you keep ending up one or two burners short on the stovetop as you're cooking.
rsf
is it that bad, Mycroft? ;)
I've always thought they were a waste of money and space... but if it leads to edible rice, then maybe it'd be a good thing. Perhaps we can get a steamer that does rice and all other veggies. or just a steamer pan that takes rice. Our current one has holes which are too big.
The sun's just gone down. Which means I have 'You Belong To The City' stuck in my head now. Anyone want a singalong? :)
It was that bad, we had to go and get some from the Chinese place and I want to stay up till you get home and there's NO SCHOOL tomorrow so I should get to okay?
The traffic roars
And the sirens scream
You look at the faces, its just like a dream
HM
Nobody knows where you're going, nobody cares where you've been ...
Ha, well, Sherlock, at least you still got rice.
I'm not sure when I will be home, exactly, but it might be too late even for the holidays. See how you go, and be very, very good for John, and maybe, okay?
How far did you swim today? And did you do any diving in?
'Cause you belong to the city
You belong to the night
living in a river of darkness, beneath the neon light
HM
Yes and I can dive really well now with hardly any splashes much and even though it's quiet time now John said I could come on here and talk to you and are you home soon now and can we have pancakes in the morning?
Here you can get zinc cream in bright colours.
So put normal sunblock on then paint Sherlock in war paint! A paint job on the face and matching stripes on the arms for distance identification.
john, you at home? i mean, that's a stupid question...ill be home in a bit. I just
i'll be home in a bit. love you.
I hope things are ok Greg.
What I was going to ask, Anony...
(Good for you, Sherlock, on almost splashless diving!)
I'm ok
good. :-)
Ok is good. Home soon is better.
Sorry, I am at home yeah. What happened?
Are you all right?
sorry, stupid question, I just wanted to know you;d be there.
i think i sort of got mugged, nearly. I don't know, i mean, we don't know. some lads jumped me. i think it was just.. I don't think it was the case. just chance. I'm ok
Yeah, I'll be here. I can come and get you if you like? Are you hurt? I love you.
Simon's dropping me back. I'm okay. few bruises, maybe. i haven't really checked.
I hope you're home safe soon Greg :-)
All right. I'll look you over when you get here. And tell Sherlock not to jump on you when you come in the door. How long?
Hope you're OK, Lestrade, and I hope you're home and feeling safe very soon.
sorry, we were just driving round looking for them, but they've gone. ten 15 mins, maybe?
All right. I'm sorry you didn't catch them but also sort of glad they're gone if it means you're coming home.
Home soon is MUCH better. (I'm so glad it wasn't worse.)
Yeah, wasn't sure I wanted to see them again either.
feel a bit stupid. i clocked them, but they didn't look special, and I thought I could lose my man. must've looked easy, a bloke like me alone, probably thought they could get my phone and wallet at least.
perfectly understandable feelings Greg but you're not stupid you were focused on doing your job.
a bloke like me alone
??
Home soon I hope
HM
They didn't get your phone or wallet, I take it?
no, they didn't. I was lucky Simon was close by in the car.
just coming in, John
Hope you're home soon Greg ...
And glad you all had a Chinese place nearby for edible rice...as I'm writing this Mr I is trying to salvage the burnt mess of rice that he "forgot about" and that was supposed to be accompanying the Malaysian curry with green beans for dinner tonight...
I'm not sure about a steamer, it's one more piece of equipment in an already crowded kitchen and I suspect that 90 (if not 99) % of the time it comes out just fine the regular way - having said a I don't know a Chinese family that doesn't have one...
I'm glad you are home with John now Greg and I hope you are OK in the true sense of the word not the way we are all tempted to use it sometimes.
Sherlock if you're still up please give extra hugs to your DI but make them gentle ones :-)
Anonybob
HM - I meant, dressed fairly well, for the area, older, on my own, they probably thought I'd have a nice smart phone and plenty of cash, maybe decent watch or something. Not much match to 3 of them with a knife, was I? Or, I might not have been.
It's a problem, isn't it--to follow your suspect without raising suspicion, you kinda have to look like a good victim. :( (Knife? Eep!)
my god Lestrade a knife!! I second the appeal for Sherlock hugs for you.
HM
didn't want to mention it until I'd told John face ot face.
somethings need to be said when those you love can see you're ok :-)
has John checked you over? It'll make him feel better to know you're OK I'm sure.
Most definitely a face-to-face piece of information!
he is. or the bits he can get to with Sherlock hanging onto me.
Sherlock wants to go and find them and bring them to justice for me.
I don't blame Sherlock for feeling like that or for wanting to keep tight hold of you no one should go to work and face something like that!
What happens now? are people still looking for them or will that be a problem for tomorrow now?
uniform for the area will keep an eye out, otherwise it'll just go on file, probably. Might go through some mugshots tomorrow, see if any faces are familiar.
John's applying smelly stuff to my shoulder. Sherlock's complaining.
something about that just doesn't feel right, you were at work keeping us all safe and you should have been safe doing that, it going on file just sounds wrong :-( I know they can only do what they can do but surely you're not at work tomorrow after tonight?
good job John looking after your man :-)
sort of prefer just getting straight back to it, really.
there really isn't much to go on.
John's beng great. i'm having s full adrenalin crash now I think.
If that's really how you feel then I wouldn't question you working again tomorrow but you're pretty good at convincing yourself of things sometimes when they might not really be the case so just watch yourself on that. (not saying either way but it's a tough thing to go through)
I hope you're crashing into your doctors arms :-)
As Anony said, I can certainly understand Sherlock's wanting both to go hunt them down and to hold on tight. (Smelly stuff notwithstanding!)
I'm very glad you're okay, L--and if there's anything we can do... (I can't think of anything, but the offer is there.)
J and L I hope you both manage to sleep after this. And equally that everyone else sleeps.
A very late to bed hobbit
I can see why the knife was a piece of information you kept for a face- to-face with John, so glad you are (mostly) alright... I hope you both sleep well after all that...
I want to go and find them and bring them to justice too. Glad you're mostly ok and safe now.
ryo
Glad you're home, and having seen the word "knife" am really glad I'm not also seeing the word "stitches".
I hope everyone manages to sleep without too many bad dreams.
rsf
!!! I'm glad that Simon (your partner?) was nearby with the car, and that you're (mostly) all right. I'm also really glad that "knife" and "stitches" are not in the same sentence. I'd give you all hugs, if you were the Internet-hugging type, so I hope Spider, John and the boys are acceptable substitutes.
~ A from NW (who hopes that you're all sound asleep now)
Yeah, Simon was the bloke I was working with. I hit the emergency button on my radio system, he knew roughly where I was.
Bit of a restless night, but I'm okay.
I'm not surprised it was a restless night. Glad you're okay now. Lates is really not a lucky shift for you -- or was it earlies when you gashed your hand?
rsf (who is going back to sleep now.)
Restless is understandable but I'm glad you're ok :-) did the boys sleep ok? Must have been an odd situation for them.
I hope you all have a relaxing morning ahead of you :-)
Anyone else reading this I hope you have a great day and a good start to the week :-)
RSF - lates are always more trouble. Earlies everyone's still in bed, and nights are worse on a Friday/Saturday night.
We're having pancakes, so the day's starting pretty well. Probably go for a bike ride in a bit.
Sherlock is devising a plan to catch muggers. He keeps testing it on us... it mainly involves being hit by a high velocity 6 year old from various angles... with occasional blood curdling screams.
Still, means we've got the park almost to ourselves...everyone else has been scared off.
Poor little mite! He's awfully young to deal with the idea that adults are vulnerable. How are you doing this morning? And Mycroft?
Lancs. Anon
English pancakes or the American kind? Not that it matters! Mmmm... pancakes....
Sherlock's method might not catch muggers, but it may scare them away temporarily. I have an acquaintance who confused a mugger once by breaking into opera. (She can sing really really loud.) The way she tells it, every window on the street lit up and half of them opened, so the mugger ran for it. She calls it the best use of Wagner ever.
rsf
Ha, raf! Who says voice-training is impractical? (I bet it was still frightening for your friend, though.)
I'm sure working out a plan of action is making Sherlock feel more in control. (I know it does me.) And I hope you have a event-less shift today, L.
RSF, not rAf..
I hope work treats you better than yesterday Greg :-)
What are you all up to this afternoon mycroft, Sherlock? I hope you have lots of brilliant things planned that will keep you all busy and relaxed until DI hometime :-)
Anonybob
RR, have you ever seen or heard Anna Russell doing the Ring of the Nibelung? (If not, try youtube.) Imagine her, only with bright red hair out of a bottle and even louder, and you've got an idea of what the mugger was up against. Yotohoing, at that.
Sherlock, if you're going to want to try to stay up until Lestrade gets home tonight, maybe you can take a nap or have some quiet time in the afternoon just reading so John knows you've had enough rest.
Mycroft, I'm reminded that you were thinking about martial arts lessons. Did anything ever come of that?
rsf
Cheers. Here now, so we'll see how it goes.
Had a lovely morning in the sun. Sherlock managed to talk us into ice cream before lunch, because I wouldn't be there this afternoon (as you can imagine, we fought that really hard...)
Sadly all his mugger-repelling-plans seem to revolve around him just happening to be up a tree when a mugging occurs beneath, so he can throw himself out onto the attacker, things like that.
Sherlock is also very angry that he's too young to swim in Hampstead heath ponds.
RSF - American pancakes.
What's the difference between UK pancakes and crepes? They sound very similar to me.
I'm sure ice cream sounds like a very appropriate summer morning food--it's got calcium and...and...and it's summery!
If cities only had more trees, Sherlock's anti-mugging schemes might work--it does have the merit of using gravity to compensate for his (temporary) lack of size, after all. (And the need to jump out of trees while practicing must be counted as an advantage!)
How old does one have to be to swim in the Hampstead Hwath ponds? And how did the question arise?
Starbright - they are very similar, I think of crepes being thinner than pancakes though...
RR - 8 yrs, and I didn't know that, so foolishly suggested combining Sherlock's love of ponds and love of swimming...
Ah, pity. I suppose it makes sense to have some sort of cut-off, however arbitrary. Well, there's still the swimming pool!
Yeah, he was temporarily very grumpy. We can still go to the lidos, but it's not quite the same.
I can understand that, yeah. (What are lidos?)
If you ever come to Boston, Sherlock, I know of some ponds out in the suburbs where you can swim. You have to be careful not to hit the turtles though. (They bite!)
rsf
ReRe - a lido is an outdoor public swimming pool, and associated facilities. Nice if the weather's nice, apparently :-)
Thanks, Nameless! (We just call them outdoor public swimming pools. :))
we have outdoor pools too. Lidos are more of a complete thing... theres loads of space to sunbathe around the pool, usually a cafe, that sort of thing. It's more than just a pool 0 which we call an outdoor pool too.
Ah. Interesting. I think we call that a nice outdoor swimming pool?
(I haven't been to a public pool...well, ever, I think. We used to go to the beach for the summer until I was about 12, then my family went to bungalow colonies with their own pools.)
We call it a "pool". Indoor pools are the uncommon ones here.
I think most if not all of New York City's public pools are outdoor. Those owned by institutions and buildings seem to be about evenly divided.
Oh dear, I hope you're feeling better by now, Greg. I love rsf's story, but you probably don't want to add opera singing to your already chock-full timetable. Take care!
Summer Anon
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