Biker Boys

I had no idea that learning how to pedal was such an ordeal.

It literally took Jones MONTHS to figure it out - maybe this is normal, or maybe it's just indicative of his complete resistance to new experiences (he's getting MUCH better about this), but pedaling did not come easily to him. He mastered it earlier this year on the tricycle we keep at Mom's, but even still, he showed ZERO interest in pedaling the bike we bought him for his third birthday.

Now that he's almost four, I decided it was time for him to get used to it. Since we stored it there, I started making Jones practice on the Radio Flyer every time we'd be at the Pressleys' to ride his tractor. You can imagine, though, how much her preferred John Deere green to Radio Flyer red. He'd do the lap I required, but he didn't do it happily.

I decided to bring the bike home, so he could ride it without the
tractor distraction, and that has been the secret to his success, I think. Now, he asks to ride it all day. He's getting really fast and very steady on it - and, though he's fallen off twice, he's gotten right back on it, which makes me very, very proud of him.

Today, I decided to pull out my bike, so I could ride with the boys. They have LOVED this. Jones has been especially curious about the name "Charity." Initially, he told me HIS bike is named Charity, too, but later in the day, he changed it to James ... because, since it's red, he was pretending it was the red train on Thomas, whose name just happens to be ... you guessed it.

The pedal problem must be pretty universal, because Freddie, for whom many things come more easily than they did for Jones, struggles, too. He's got the motion, but his legs aren't quite long enough to keep up with himself, so he just scoots with his feet ... the exact same way Jones did.

Anyway, the boys and I have been having a ball with our bikes. I can't wait until they're big enough to tackle Cades Cove!