Determination

Feb 19, 2008 11:46

We moved in with my in-laws this past month. The details are not important for this post. I was unpacking our bikes yesterday, one of the nicest days in a long time, and my dd decided that she needed to learn how to ride 'her' bike.

She is 5. She decided that she didn't need training wheels, they would just slow her down. She had never really riden before as we have lived in apartments her whole life and my dw never felt comfortable letting the kids ride their bikes in the parking lot. But now that we were staying with her parents, the kids have a real neighborhood to play in, on a very rural suburban street, it was the situation that we have always told them they would need to be able to ride their bikes. My ds, who is 10, has also never really gotten the hang of riding his bike either, but for him, that is no big loss. He doesn't see the need to learn how to ride, and falling just isn't worth the effort to learn to ride.

Back to my dd. She picked up her bike and started pushing it up and down the street. At first it was just that pushing the bike. And after a good hour of that, she started to glide on the bike. Pushing the bike and bringing both her feet of the ground for a couple of yards, then catching herself. This then progressed to the point where she wanted to peddle the bike and really get moving on it. During this whole process she fell. Many times. A lot. Again and again. Each time I asked her if she was okay. To each of these she responded, "Yes dad." in the way that makes you feel like an idiot for asking. Each time I asked if she was ready to stop and take a break. To which she responded, "I need to practice, I won't be able to ride my bike if I don't practice." She kept at it for better than 2.5 hours. Later, my dw decided to take the kids with her sister to the local school to let the kids ride there with their cousins. They were gone about an hour. When they came back my dd had mastered the bike. She rode the whole way without falling, and pretty much without stopping.

She went from not knowing how to ride a bike to being able to ride her bike without help in the matter of 4-5 hours. Without the use of training wheels. Don't get me wrong, she isn't ready for the Dew Tour just yet, but she can ride and she isn't falling anymore. Last night she asked me if there are any races that she can do on her bike. Apparently she feels that racing her bike is the next step. This morning she got up and was getting ready for school. My wife noted that her legs were covered in bruises. One was particularly painful. She must have fallen more than 50 times yesterday afternoon. And usually she ended up knotted up with the bike. I checked them out. She is okay, just a bit bruised. The price she paid for the ability to ride her bike. I am most impressed that she didn't give up, and never complained about falling. She was undaunted and didn't cry once, although it must have hurt really bad. I haven't heard of many kids learning to ride in one day.

Color me proud.

kids, bikes

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