Pedal Pushers

In our neighborhood, it's not unusual to see very young kids riding bikes.  I'm not talking tricycles.  I mean REAL two wheeled bicycles.  Without training wheels.  So when Marley started to outgrow his first bike, I wondered what the next step was.  The overwhelming response from friends and neighbors was: a balance bike!  A balance bike looks just like a tiny two-wheeler, but without the pedals.  The idea is that kids learn to balance and steer on these bikes, then when they're ready, can pretty much hop right on a regular bike and take off.  No training wheels (or running while holding onto the seat of a nervous child's bike) necessary.  That sounded good to me!  There are MANY balance bikes on the market, and after much research, we ended up with the Mini Glider.  We bought it for Marley about a year ago, when he was 3.5.  It took a little getting used to, but by summer's end he was looking for bigger ramps to ride down.




Fast forward to this year.  I've known for a while that Marley was ready to try out a pedal bike, but according to several neighbors, there's an intermediate step to make the transition from balance bike to regular bike smooth: the "too small" bike. 

We all know how to "properly" measure for a bike.  When you sit on the seat, only your tip toes should be able to touch the ground, and when you pedal your knees should not bend at less than a 90 degree angle.  The problem is that this doesn't work well for beginners. 

A bike with a 12" frame appears "too small" for Marley, but in fact, is just the right size for learning.  He can sit on the seat and place his feet flat on the ground, just like with the balance bike, eliminating the need for someone (me) to hold his seat and run behind him.  Also, making it easy for him to stop without falling over.  I was hesitant to buy him a 12" bike since I knew he would only be using it for a very short time.  Luckily, I didn't have to because our neighbors gave us one that they were no longer using.  Yay! 

Anyway, the point of all this rambling is to say that Marley, age 4.5, can ride a bike!  It only took a couple attempts for him to figure it out, and I didn't even have to run while holding his seat.  Instead I got to yell words of encouragement and give pointers from across the park.  Feel free to mute the volume when you watch these.








And just so Amelia isn't left out, here she is on her bike.  Maybe tomorrow I'll see if she wants to try out the balance bike!