Bikers at the Church

On the last couple of warm Saturdays, we packed the bikes into the big green van and let the kids ride in the church parking lot. Our driveway is plenty long, but not great for a beginner and new learner, so the parking lot is perfect.

Eric took the training wheels off of Aurora's bicycle maybe two months ago and she has been intimidated by that. When we got to the church, she just needed a little coaching and she was off no problem.

We have two little bikes for the boys, but only one has training wheels. Guess who got that one? Yep! Nate. So Graigry had to start the learning process. Eric helped him a little and then it was my turn. I started off pushing and balancing and running with the pedaller, but was grateful I'd brought my roller blades. Training Graigry is much easier when I have roller blades on and I can roll instead of trot next to the little bike.

He does pretty well for only two days. It took a few tries for him to trust that I wasn't going to purposefully let him fall. He gets frustrated quite easily and his legs got tired, at least that's what he said. Then I mentioned the little engine that could, pulling a large load over the mountain and when we started off from then on, Graigry would repeat: "I think I can. I think I can." as he pedalled. It was great to be a part of that process and if we had the whole summer left to practice, I"m sure he'd have it mastered. We'll have to wait until it warms up again, unfortunately.

Neta's little plastic car had a tweeked wheel so she didn't really have anything to ride. She either chased the other kids, got in their way, or whined that she wanted me to hold her. When Graigry was ready for a rest, Neta would get on his bike and I'd push her around the parking lot, again, much easier with blades on. She played in the van a little bit with Eric, but mostly he listened to NPR with his eyes closed.

Xela and I had a race, her on her bike and me on my blades. I think I won, but I can't remember for sure, no, I won because she had to pull me on her bike for my victory lap.

They were two good Saturdays and activities to do as a family. It was a good thing that I have a key to the church, too many potty breaks.