It's no news that I commute by bicycle most days, and I do it for a lot of reasons that I won't go into here. But beyond the scenery, the exercise, and just being outdoors, every once in a while, I'm treated to something else.

Every couple of weeks or so, I see a family riding their bikes to the beach to do some boogie boarding and surfing. Over the years, I've seen their family grow. First, it was the husband and wife, pulling their small child in a trailer. Then, when that child was old enough to ride a bike ... even with training wheels, and no matter how slow ... that child was riding a bike with them, and the next child was in the trailer.

I've watched their family grow. I've watched their infinite patience with each other, riding slow enough so that the slowest of them could keep up. Most of the time, that meant walking speed, as there was always a child just getting started. And as the older children grew faster, they themselves would carry the equipment on a trailer on the back of their bike.

I was treated to the same family today. And for once, I brought my camera. I'm not really comfortable taking pictures of people without asking, and I didn't want to ask. So pulled over and took some pictures of other stuff. It took them a long time to pass me, but once they did, I surreptitiously took their photo:



I mounted my bike and rode off in their direction. Not to far up the road from here, they had all stopped, and the littlest among them were scampering up the iceplanted hillside. "What an odd place for a rest." I thought. And the top of that hillside is adjacent to Vista Del Mar ... a busy street I would not want my children to get very close to.

When I caught up with them, I saw what was going on ... the children were picking up trash! Dockweiller Beach can be very popular, and on busy weekends, the trash bins overflow. Seabirds pick through the trash looking for food, and the winds blow it up on this hillside.

Most people who use the beach throw their trash away ... as they should. All to many, especially here, leave it on the ground for others to clean up, not only littering the beach, but teaching their kids that it's OK to do the same thing. Pretty disappointing.

But then there are the jewels in the rough ... the ones that go out of their way to not only do the right thing, but to teach their children to do the same. And sometimes, even one jewel is enough to know that at least this one thing is right with the world.

That's pretty awesome.

Uplifting to hear about this family. Good people.

Amazing story and family, simply awesome!!

Very inspirational, thanks for sharing!

I give that story an eleven on a scale of ten!

Great story.

Thanks for the best thing I have read or heard of this week, Vic. You and the family made my week, probably my month.

Bill

That picture made my day. The story just added to it. Thanks.

Makes me feel good.

All is not lost...

Great photo, great pic, and sounds like great parents!

That's nice.

When I went out hiking in the woods with my kids decades ago, we used to pick up trash that others had dropped along the trails we walked. There was always a bin at the trailhead parking lot, so we could just drop what we found there.
Nowadays though, the state and local parks have taken a different tack - and the state park has posted a sign saying "Pack your refuse out with you - trash can not provided." Sigh.

That's a great family, but I was looking at the photo. Back in the day, I used to ride the bike path about once a month, and I don't remember any "speed bumps" or stop signs. What's up with that?

scott s.
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That's on the frontage road just east of the bike path (the one that gives autos access to the beach parking).

Cool story, I'd like to see more of that myself.

I've toured the west and south-west states of the US several times, and, with very few exceptions, I've been very impressed with the lack of litter on the roadside. We in the UK could learn some lessons from you.

I especially like the signs showing that some lengths of highway are kept clear of litter by local families.

Ah... got it now. I do remember that.

scott s.
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Makes me not feel so alone for sticking that sticky GU packet back in my jersey instead of littering the road with it.

Excellent story, thanks for sharing. Worthy of a local news outlet to run actually.


Bears maybe?