In Training

The Boy has spent the better part of this summer getting accustomed to his new, bigger bike. He tries to pop wheelies. He rides as fast as he can down the driveway, applies the brakes quickly and looks back to see his skid marks. We go for bike rides every night, racing up and down sidewalks, playing Follow the Leader.

All the while with training wheels on the bike.

Last night I was talking to my brother on the phone and stepped outside to see MFH and The Boy coming out to his bike with a wrench. Hmmmm. No good can come from this.

"It's time for the training wheels to come off."

Really? Yes, he races around with confidence, but he does not always look where he is going. And while he is very athletic in most regards, his balance on his bike seems to be a little lacking.

I took him around the block, and he made very little progress. I know these things take time. But I repeated "Watch where you're going" so many times around that block. Every time I let go, he fell over.

BUT - my legs are sore today. Perhaps I should have been walking him around all summer instead of actually riding my bike, as this seems to do more good.

I don't think he's ready. I talked to MFH about putting the training wheels back on. He said no. Once they come off, they are off for good.

My question is this. How old were you or your children when you learned to ride a bike? The Boy is almost 4.5. I know I was older than that when I rode a two wheeled bike.

I don't know what led up to taking the training wheels off. I do know that every time The Boy fell, he got right back on. And he didn't cry once.

We have made a date to work on it again tonight.