Two Wheeler

In response to Nate's increasing desire to play the Wii Kenny and I instituted a "30 Minutes of Outside Play" rule yesterday.


Yesterday we recommended that he ride his bicycle. He got the bicycle for his 4th birthday and I can probably count on my two hands the number of times he has ridden it. He protested at first:


"I don't want to."


Then he moved on to his lack of safety equipment:


"But I need a helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads."


I finally convinced him that his helmet was enough safety gear. After homework and dinner (and adding some air to the tires) we took him out. He was having a very difficult time riding the bike. Kenny and I decided there were two causes: 1) the seat was too low, 2) the training wheels were jacked up.


(As a side story, the training wheels are jacked up because Kenny rode it shortly after Nate got it. The training wheels are strong enough to hold the weight of a 50 pound kid, but not a 160 pound man. Kenny's weight bent them so that they no longer held the bike at a 90 degree angle to the ground. It leaned a little to the left.)

We told Nate we need to go home and fix the seat. We also managed to convince him that it would be easier to ride without the training wheels. He didn't really like that idea, but I assured him we wouldn't let go.


We went back to the house and did a little more work on the bike. Then we set off again. I did hold on the entire time. His balance isn't there yet. I need him to trust me on it a little longer. We made a lap around the circle we live on. We had to stop about half way because my back was killing me. Then we stopped a little further down to talk to some friends.


When we finally got home we took the bike into the backyard so Nate could practice on the soft grass (and weeds). Kenny helped him get started and let go. Nate made it a few yards, then gently fell. Our grass is pretty thick, so it wasn't easy to pedal back there.


Hopefully he'll make progress on it soon. I'll take the camera on our next trip.