Riding on the Bike

From the first Little Tikes car, to the Strider balance bike, to the Schwinn tricycle…. most of those vehicles were pretty much underutilized in our household. The car got pushed down and used as a factory and the balance bike was placed upside down and was a fun spinny wheel. Out of all those, the tricycle probably got the most use since we could push him around in it.

The subsequent ones fared a little better – the roller skates got maybe 10 uses so far, the scooter has been pretty fun for his dad and me and finally, recently, we got him a bike – with training wheels. I know the training wheels don’t help at all in learning how to ride a bike properly, but he needs that boost of confidence so he can learn to pedal and steer and to just enjoy the mobility of a bike. Before we put on the training wheels, I could see that he was terrified of being on something that wobbles, even if his parents were keeping a viselike grip on it.

He has been talking about riding the bike everywhere which he has never done before. Usually, when I asked if we should bring the tricycle/ scooter, he’ll usually prefer to just wander around on foot. It was wonderful seeing his delighted face as he zooms past us on the sidewalk, watching us jog to keep up with him. We took it out a few evenings ago and ended up pedaling (and pushing) in a sudden downpour! It was quite an adventure for us. I don’t think I’ve walked around in heavy rain before or at least for a long, long time.