100 Miles with the Caulkins

It’s been said that families are the compass that guides us. They inspire us to reach great heights and provide the comfort when we falter. Of course, when the reward for a family’s success is a pizza & ice cream party at Fun City, well there tends to be little room for failure…especially in the minds of the kids!

At the bike shop, we get to meet many great families, the Caulkins from Galesburg, IL being one of them.  We love what we do here, and it’s always special & motivating to hear about the stories & adventures people take after their visit(s) with us. That said, we would like to share one of those stories with you. 

The Caulkins’ Family Summer of 100-Miles began back in 2012. With a young family consisting of (3) children, once avid motorcyclists, Rocky & Georgia Caulkins were looking for something that their whole family could do together. So that June, Rocky came into Bickel’s looking for a new bike and left with a cool mountain Wahoo 29’er. Wanting some company on the road, Georgia agreed to take a bike ride with him, pulling along their daughters Callie Ann (3) and Maci (1) in the trailer. Of course, it didn’t take Georgia too long on that ride to request a break from her "Wal-Mart Special.” Rocky, fully understanding the theory of “happy wife, happy life,” graciously traded bikes with Georgia, letting her spin around on his new set of wheels. And it only took that one ride for Georgia to decide that she, too, needed a new bike. So, she came got one! A new Trek Marlin.

This past spring (2013), while Georgia was perusing through Pintrest, she became inspired to have her family ride 100-miles on their bicycles over the summer. While she wasn’t sure they’d make it to (100) miles, she was “very hopeful for (50) miles” as their son Blake (7) would also be riding his bike with them.

Knowing that her family would achieve this goal in small increments, they created a homemade poster that they hung inside their garage, coloring in the number of miles they rode each time. They began their Summer of 100-Miles on June 3^rd.   They enjoyed rides at Lake Story, Little John's Campground, the bike path by Wyoming, IL as well as lots of in-town miles in Galesburg. The Caulkins’ rode to two fire stations, Knox College, and even to their babysitter’s house a couple of time for their drop off. One fun perk of riding around Galesburg was going by lots of their friends’ houses, some of which they just happened across as those kids were outside playing. Needless to say, those trips were favorites of the kids! On August 13^th, just two days shy of Blake’s first day as a 2^nd grader, the Caulkins finished (100) miles together as a family, riding their final (3) miles that Tuesday!

What is so nice about the Caulkins’ story is that not only did they enjoy bike riding together, they set a goal and saw it through. It was a big goal for such a young family, but mile by mile, colored square by colored square, they did it! Most importantly, they spent time together, making special memories that they will have forever. As Georgia told us, “It really is about the journey,” and we couldn’t agree more.

Happy Rides!