The Bike Chronicles Continued

I haven't done an update on Kayla's bike riding since this post in Feb 2013. After that post Kayla started riding her bike with training wheels fairly regularly. I thought I blogged about it, but can't find the post. She was finally independent on a bike; however, a bike with training wheels doesn't go very fast.

Last summer Kayla attended an I Can Shine (formerly Lose the Training Wheels) bike camp. While I wasn't expecting miracles, I was hoping for progress. She didn't get very far with it. They have a handle you can buy (which we did) that would attach to the back of the bike so the adult can help give support on a bike with no training wheels (and not hurt your back bending over to hold on to the seat). As you know when riding a bike: you have to have some speed to keep the bike balanced, upright, and going. She just wouldn't do it.

We brought it home and practiced whenever we could convince her to get on the bike. Her balance is just not there. She continued to enjoy riding the tandem-bike with me though, so at least there was that!

She would ask for her old bike - the one with training wheels - but they discourage you from going back to the training wheels after you've been to this camp. She really wanted to ride her training wheel bike down the street when other kids were riding their bikes, but I didn't want to take that step back. I finally sold it at a yard sale and then felt guilty. Extra guilty because it was her means of being independent on a bike and I took that away from her. But I wanted her to keep trying on her new bike with me holding the handle. She wanted me to take her new bike back to the store.

A few months ago I heard about a contest online called The Great Bike Giveaway. I had been eying the Strider bikes for a few years and saw they were one of the sponsors giving away bikes in this contest. But then I wondered if she was now too big for one of those balance bikes. She wasn't - they now make larger Strider bikes!

So I entered Kayla; and she won a Strider bike!

I should have taken video to show how she was when she first started using the Strider - just as with the bike with training wheels it was slow going. She basically was just walking with the bike between her legs. She wouldn't even really sit on the seat at first. I thought to myself that she will never get anywhere going like that! But she kept getting on it, kept wanting to ride it...was excited for this bike. She would ask if she could ride "my Strider." She started to get a little faster on the bike.

This is a very short clip of how she was on it in June:



And now look at her: She is getting enough speed and lifting both legs off the ground and coasting. Coasting! She is balancing on a 2-wheeled bike!


I might be just a little bit excited to see this progression in her. And I am feeling more confident that she will transition from her Strider bike to a pedal bike with 2 wheels.