Monday, June 9, 2014

Look Ma, No Training Wheels!

 Taking a hands-off approach to bike riding lessons, when the kids wanted their training wheels off this spring, I removed one each.  M and N have spent the last two months riding around on one training wheel, learning how to balance and turn.
 Thursday last week we had a whole day of nothingness planned, so I asked them if they were ready to take off the second wheel - they'd been asking for a while, so I knew the answer would be YES!!
 I packed a bag with snacks, drinks, a first aid-kit, and a wrench, and we walked down the block to a nearby church for some extra room to ride. It wasn't too warm yet in the morning, so I had them change into long pants and sleeves just in case of major durfing.
 But that wasn't even necessary!  I showed them how to use the yellow curb at first to balance and push off, since their feet don't quite touch the ground if the bike is upright. They rode in giant circles and through a huge puddle created by the city guys washing their trucks next door.  (See above)
 The kids were naturals!  I only had to demonstrate a couple of times how to push off and stop, and they are pros!
 We spent the rest of the day riding around our house, N singing, "I'm doing it without training wheels!  I'm doing it without training wheels!  Hahahahahahaha!"

 The best part of all?  I didn't have to chase after either one, holding onto the back end and running for dear life.  Not. Even. Once.
There was one injury, I should mention - C scraped his right knee when he fell running after his brothers.  It required a band-aid from the box, but you can see how it's already healing, with the help of a snack and a juice box.

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