Hold on Loosely but don't let go......: New Bikes

Kylie got a bike with training wheels when she was 3 1/2, so three years later, I thought it was time for her to get a bigger bike and start the no training wheels transition. As much as we are on the go people, at the park, etc., we have been not been riding bikes. I don't know if it is because our driveway is on a big steep, all the hills in the neighborhood, having 2 kids at different riding levels? Whatever it is, we went to Bikesport and got a new bike for Kylie. She walked in and picked a purple bike with a new purple helmet. She wanted the bike without training wheels but could not keep her balance, so the man at Bikesport suggested getting training wheels but not making them even so she would develop some balance. He said to come back every month so the training wheels could be lifted a little bit and eventually we wouldn't need them. We took the new bike for a spin around the Bikesport parking lot and she was in heaven. The only thing that will take a little getting used to is that the new bike has front brakes, where you control everything from the handlebars as where her old bike had the ones where you go backwards and it stops the bike. Kylie actually was burning some bike rubber because she was braking the bike so fast, the guy said, just a little easier or you are going to need a new tire!!

As for Karly, yes, the salesman dubbed her the next female BMX bike rider because in all the hoopla for Kylie she found this little bike that she was riding all around the store, dashing in and out of displays, she was quite the daredevil. We decided to get Karly a bike as well, since she was going to get Kylie's old bike which was still holding up but was a cheap bike from Toys R Us. So she wanted a blue bike (they did not have in stock, or we would have gotten it). She ended up with a pink bike and a pink helmet. Karly's biggest challenge was stopping her bike, but she mastered it in about 2 minutes, true to Karly.

We took our new bikes over to Black Rock Park and were riding around in the parking lot. Grandpop Ward stopped over to check out the new bikes and got me a loaner bike, so the three of us had bikes. We went on the trail. The kids loved it and it was nice to see that now with a little patience, we can all ride together.