Father's Day mountain bike ride

Ever since we found M's Christmas bike, I've been wanting to take him to a ridge trail above Berkeley for an off-road ride. Today the whole family went, with four bikes on the roof of the car. We started from the Steam Trains in the Berkeley hills, riding north. M's bike, while arguable the most mountain bike-ish, was also the heaviest, meaning he had to pedal mightily on uphills. We learned about riding down steep slopes with controlled speed, starting on an uphill, weaving across the trail when things are too steep, enjoying a snack by the side of the trail. Both kids did great, with much stick-to-it-iveness and willingness seemingly intact to do this again sometime.