I too got to experience the father/son moment for the first time last Friday. My oldest boy is 12 and is thrilled he finally gets to run his own sled. Just the 2 of us in the morning-light traffic, and the trails were great. We stopped at an intersection, pulled our helmets off, and he ran up to me gave me a hug, and told me "Dad this is the best day of my life--thank you". We than talked a bit about sled related safety (what to do, what not to do, what to watch out for, etc...). Nothing like first hand experience to learn the ropes. He did a fantastic job. Stayed to the right, rode within his abilities, and looked both ways twice at every crossing. Of course we had to stop for a snack and soda because in his words, "that's what us sledders do". Heck, he even pulled up to the gas pumps on bare ground like a veteran (I wanted to do that for him, but he insisted he could handle it). Did not have to correct him one time. He really exceeded my expectations regarding his abilities. It was a morning both he and I will remember for the rest of our lives. It certainly wasn't the quantity of the ride (we only put on about 70 miles), but the quality bonding/teaching time made it better than any other ride I've been on in my life. A great day to say the least. I couldn't have asked for a better way to close out the riding season.
