I think we all know that one of those childhood essentials that lead to many adventures taking place is learning to ride a bike. I think as parents also, we all know this so getting your own kids on bikes comes quite high on a list of things to teach them while they are young. I would say there is no age that a child should have learned to ride a bike by, each has their own developmental story and it comes when they are ready. We got Raph his first two wheeled bike with stabilisers for his 4th birthday. I bought a cheap one, (which ended up being cheap) but it was a perfect starting point for him. The only reason we progressed was because the wheels were hard plastic not rubber and they would skid round and not grip on uneven ground which meant for a hard, teary ride each time. When he turned 5 this year we bought him a bigger more solid bike and this child's confidence in riding has completely changed. He is on stabilisers still but they are set 'wobbly' so he has to work harder to keep up. Having had this experience with Raph, I knew that for Etta I was getting a decent bike that would keep her going for a few years. I was happy to spend the money as I knew that once she saw Raph was happy and off independently she would want to follow. I had been looking at Bobbin Bikes for sometime really wanting one for myself but knowing that I just wanted a mini version of their adult bikes for Etta. Their child's Ginger Snap fit the bill perfectly.
It comes with the stabilisers and a basket which is all Etta had asked for so I knew that she was going to start her bike journey with one of these beauties. Luckily, we had a local stockist in Lincoln; Lincoln Bikes. They couldn't have made my purchase more enjoyable! A family run business who had the bike ready with teddy bear in basket for when we arrived to pick it up. They were so kind and so excited for Etta that they made the whole 'getting your first bike' experience just perfect. I remember walking into the shop and Etta ran straight over to the bike, not knowing at this stage why we were there, and was so excited, "Mummy can I have this" was the usual question about everything, but to see her face when I told it was hers was priceless. And the guys couldn't have been more helpful and loving with it all!
Once we had it in the car we decided to park close to Rob's work and cycle up. It was then that it first hit me "This child has no idea what to do!". Seriously, I just pushed and steered her the whole way but she loved it!
As time moved on we tried to get out on open road space when we could. Our walk to church is a great way to get out, it is not even a mile away but it is just long enough for the kids to cycle while we walk giving them great opportunity to practise. It was two weeks ago that Etta eventually got the whole idea that you pedal forward to move. Until then she had got so good at pedalling backwards and demanding that we push her!
Needless to say, the phrase "pedal forward" had exhausted us but to our surprise she just suddenly did it, and once she had, that was it. A bit slow and very nervous, but now she will pedal forward and has just about got the point of looking where she is going! She has had a few tumbles, crashed the basket off unfortunately last week as she turned so sharply and went over. But we quickly got her back on, through the tears and were just encouraging her to keep going and helped her by pushing her along. I know lots of kids can get scared of such things when they hurt themselves and then avoid them, so even as she was crying we were still pushing her to do it. We still have lots of practise and she is very nervous with it but I know deep down, those moments when she is going she loves it; you can see it on there face and soon enough, Rob and I will be jogging to keep up with them both!
Etta's Bobbin Bike couldn't be more perfect, in my opinion it is the only kind of bike I wanted her riding and it just looks beautiful. Raph and Etta have the same chrome style helmets which I purchased from MICRO Scooter via Amazon which look flipping ace. I know Bobbin do a similar adult style. These are great though and you can spot the kids anywhere!
Emily
P.S I don't know why the font goes different, it is not letting me change it!
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