The Lee Family: We Have an Official Bike Rider!

We officially have another competent bike rider in the family! Olivia actually decided to give bike riding without training wheels a try and did great! We had a toddler bike with training wheels that she rode a time or two years ago, but quickly outgrew it. We gave it to our piano instructor, James, probably two years ago for his daughter who is a year younger than Olivia and tiny. So, she hasn't had a bike for years. Then, just as Olivia was finishing 1st grade, I was telling a book club friend how Olivia didn't yet know how to ride a bike and she offered to give me her daughter's bike. So I picked up the bike and tried several times to convince Olivia that she should try riding her new bike. She was not convinced and a little scared. Over the summer I barely mentioned it, but each time I did she said no. However, she spent a lot of her summer riding her scooter with her summer crew friends, so she was very comfortable with balance and became very good at scootering.

We'd spent the weekend at the lake with Olivia's friend Hannah and the girls' friends Jack and Nick and their dad, Chad. Desiree, their mom, was away at a girl's weekend, but we'd had the four of them over before and had a great time! We got back from the lake around 4:30pm and dropped Hannah off, which made both girls really sad. We actually thought about keeping Hannah another night at the lake, but she'd lost her top tooth Sunday morning and I wanted to be sure she got back so her tooth fairy could visit her at home. When we pulled into the house, Olivia was really sad to say goodbye to her best friend, so I suggested a few fun things we could do that would be fun. I jokingly suggested we try to ride her bike. Surprisingly, she said yes! Sofia was busy playing MineCraft on her computer and CK was in his office on his computer, so Olivia said she wanted for just the two of us to go and ride without telling Sofia or Papa.

I loaded up her bike and we drove to the CMS track, where I unloaded the bike and we headed to the track. I had on my running shoes and clothes and Olivia climbed onto the seat while I held onto the back of her seat and she started to go. She wanted to stay in the 3rd lane and I tried to tell her how to keep control of the bike and keep up the best speed in order to keep her balance. I ran along, holding onto the back of her seat to make sure she didn't fall and was super tired after two laps! By the middle of the 3rd lap she was fine to go on her own and I actually ran next to her for half a lap without touching her! When I told her that, she was ready to ride on her own without any help from me. So, I ran next to her for moral support and to be sure she would be ok. She was fine! She rode like a pro! We stopped each lap to get water and rest up. Then, she was back on and ready to ride! She rode a few laps totally on her own going counterclockwise and then switched and went clockwise. I took pictures and videos of her and couldn't believe how great she was at riding so quickly! At one point she was at the far end of the track from me and wanted to stop but wasn't totally comfortable stopping on her own without me. She slowed more and more until she fell over and landed on her butt on the seat! It obviously hurt really badly! I ran over there and gave her a hug and knew it had to have hurt really badly. Poor thing. She stopped crying and wanted to get back on her bike right away and give it another try. She is so tough! She rode for a few more laps before she was ready to go home and show off her new skills to her Papa and Sofia!

We loaded up the bike and headed home. Olivia stayed out front with her bike and I went inside to call Sofia and Papa outside. Once they were outside, she rode her bike like a pro down to Mitzi's house. I ran along beside her and helped her stop at Mitzi's house and turn around for her start back to the house. The bike is pretty heavy and hard to stop and control without falling off. So, she needs to work on that next. Plus, she needs to work on getting started on her own, but I really can't believe how quickly she picked it up and how comfortable she is on the bike! She was so happy to show off her new skills and she is such a great bike rider! I'm sure she'll ask to go bike riding every day now.

Our eager bike rider