Look! No Training Wheels

Last Saturday started out like so many others, with everyone asking, "What are we going to do today?" And my reply was the same as always, "I don't know. What do you want to do?" Aubrey and William were ready with their response. "We want to ride our bikes to the pond and have a picnic lunch!" So, that is what we did.

There was, however, one stipulation. Aubrey had to ride her bike without training wheels. She has been riding it with just one (yes, I know that sounds weird...I thought it would help her learn gradually) but now she had to take the big plunge. We ditched the remaining training wheel and took off up the road.

Unfortunately, it wasn't really the road we were on, it was the sidewalk. And, teaching a child to ride a bike (with NO training wheels) on the sidewalk, isn't very easy. Elliott and I took turns talking to Aubrey, explaining it to her, and trying to help her. The entire way up to the neighborhood pond was a struggle. The only good thing was that she learned how to put the pedals in the right position and start off on her own. Staying up was a different story.

Once we got there we took a break and had lunch. Then Aubrey was ready to try again. Elliott took her into the road and asked her, "What do you look at when your riding?" She said, "I look at my front tire." Well, that was the problem right there. He pointed at a parked car up the road and said to her, "Do you see that car up there? Ride up to the car and then come back here. Keep looking at the car, and don't look at your tire."

Aubrey set off, and she did it! She had to stop to turn around, but she still did it. Once she got the hang of it, she was wonderful. She rode home with hardly any help, and then once we got here, she kept riding in the road.

Aubrey is such a fast learner, and she tries her hardest in everything. We sure are proud of her!