Friday, July 10, 2015

One Boy On Two Wheels!!!


On the first Sunday in May (May 3rd), M decided to ask Daddy to put the pedals back on the bike we had been using as a balance bike.  M had been balancing so well without pedals for many weeks.  He was going around curves and down hills.  He never fell.  He was also taking his bigger bike with training wheels on big bike rides, so he had the combo of balancing and pedaling down pretty well.

We didn't know how he would put things together so we talked a lot about falling and getting back up again.  We explained how Daddy would run beside M and then hold on to just the seat and then let go of the seat.  M was not having it at all.  He simply said he wanted to do it on his own.  He didn't want any help.  We prepared him that falling might happen, but he didn't care.

He jumped on the bike and pedaled and stayed up.  He did perfectly well.  He didn't fall at all.  Within a minute he was going up and down the back side walk.  A few minutes later he was on the real sidewalk going up and down the block.  By the next morning he was biking two miles with Daddy close to our house.  By day three he was going on a three mile ride.  He continued morning bike rides through much of the school year.  Summer School starts too early to get in a ride, but M still does plenty of biking.

After about a month on the smaller pink bike he transitioned to his taller red (boys) bike.  He can bike all over town and even does some pretty impressive hills.  We are so proud of him and thankful for this skill he has mastered.

If you are planning on teaching someone to ride a two wheeler, we HIGHLY recommend doing a balance bike first.  If you don't want to spend the money on an actual balance bike, you can take the pedals and chain off any bike and use that.  While he was doing the balance bike he was also pedaling on another bike.  The combo was really a winning ticket for a super quick transition to a two wheeler with pedals! It works great!


M: OK, I am ready to try this! Maybe I should start by the church instead. 


M: Yahoo!

M: I think I am really doing it! 

T: Sometimes I said, "Go,  M" and sometime I didn't.  Sometimes I played.

M: Mom, am I really cruising now?  Me:  Yes Buddy, you really are!

My two favorite bikers! Brandon had already gone on a longer ride that morning.

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