So as some of you know, we got the princess a bike this weekend. It was a late birthday present for her, thanks Chiberia. We headed to Toys R Us Sat at a failed attempt to get a used bike at a town sale. Sorry but $50 for a used kids bike with no training wheels, not when I can get a new one for $70. So after lunch we headed out to Toys R Us, I had a 20% off coupon.
Once we got there I realized many other people were also taking advantage of this 50 degree weather and also buying their kid a bike. This gave me enough time to research the bikes they had while waiting, I.e. scan the wall quick enough to find the cheapest 18 inch bike. Of course she wanted the Monster High one or Hello Kitty but I was not pay $30-$40 more dollars for a bike with a character on it. I found the one we ended up getting, $75 and felt it was a good price.
I had the guy get it down and then had her sit on it. The I sat on it, yup it seemed sturdy and it's a bike we'll take it. I wanted them to assemble it and he said we can just take that one, good deal to me. So we paid and wheeled the bike out to the car. Now for challenge #1, getting the bike into the Fiesta. Well after some shifting of the seats, much quiet from the peanut gallery, and a lot of shifting and shoving I got it in. This was not going to be a repeat of the Christmas tree incident (another story for another day).
We headed out to the forest preserve to test out the bike. I decided I would run while she biked. Challenge #2: Well I'll tell you this, I have no idea how to teach someone to ride a bike. I mean come on it had been almost 2 decades since I last rode a street bike myself. Thankfully she kinda figured it out and the training wheels helped. I had her rock the bike to get it going on a hill and peddle fast. We actually ended up going 3.5 miles! I was shocked she lasted that long. I spent the whole time shouting "Look forward", "Stay on the right", "Watch out for people!" We finally made it back with only a few falls, but no serious injuries. I took her back out Tue and Wed. Tuesday I was not so lucky to walk away injury free. One of my rules "Watch out for people, aka me" was not followed and some how she miss turned and the bike collided with my knuckles. We learned from that one, even thought it was an accident, it was preventable.
So for now we will keep running and biking in the safety of the forest preserve. Any tips for transitioning from training wheels to 2 wheels?
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