Lesson 6: Keep lines of communication open

When riding, Laura and I always maintain a single file. We are usually quite close, often within 5 feet, so we can draft. Cyclists draft to reduce the work for the person riding in the shadow of the lead cyclist. Because we ride so close, we have a series of signals designed to help keep us safe. They include: "bump" (pothole ahead), "car back" (car about to pass us), "car up" (car approaching in the opposite lane), and even "dive" (a bus is coming and we have to dive into the bushes).

We're not kidding about the last one - it actually happened several times while biking on a narrow lane in the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland, with a maniacal German tour bus driver bearing down on us. Keeping lines of communication open was important for us during Lukas’ stay in the NICU. We talked about the things we would do with Lukas when he came home (like a bike tour!), which helped keep us optimistic about his future. We also made sure we communicated with each of his nurses by being there for part of every nursing shift, and trying to spend a few minutes talking to the neonatologist and surgeon at least once a day.  We also communicated with Lukas singing him songs, sharing finger hugs, and telling him we loved him.