My husband has been teaching the boys how to fix up old bikes, as good father-son time. Changing tyres, swapping the seat from one bike to another, new brake pads. But the boys quickly got bored of mere maintenance.

So my husband decided to try and re-engage them with the promise of building a “funny bike”. My 6 yo, Callum decided he wanted a bike with a HUGE front wheel, and a tiny little back wheel. NO PROBLEM, said my husband, with no real idea of how this could be done.

They started dragging home old bikes of every imaginable size and variety from rubbish piles, as a supply of parts. Callum loved  hunting and collecting for parts with his Dad! The collection grew over several weeks to twenty or so bikes, which were piled together in a jumble of snagged spokes and pedals next to the washing line. Pretty soon, the spiders moved in. Great.

Work began on the funny bike, and when it became obvious that it wouldn’t actually work  (because the front wheel interfered with the pedals and it would tip over backwards) it was renamed a “prototype”.

The boys were unimpressed, but hubby was undefeated. More bike gathering. A new project was started. And after several weekends of bolting, grinding, and some very bad language…..TADA!

The funny bike lives!

There are parts from at least five different bikes in there. Callum rode it proudly in the park one day. People gawked, other kids went COOL!, and Callum was very, very happy. Hubby was even happier. I could feel his do-it-yourself pride glowing quietly.

But Callum hasn’t ridden the funny bike since – it is too heavy for him to ride as an everyday bike.  So the funny bike stands idly against the fence, with an uncertain future.

My husband is not concerned though. He says –  “It’s the journey, not the destination.”

And I realise he is right. They did it together, and that’s what counts.