Amanda got a new 12 inch two-wheeler bike (with training wheels) from the Easter bunny. It was just a few weeks ago that she figured out how to pedal the tricycle, and now feels so big that she has a bike like Katie's. She has now taken quite well to the bike, we just haven't yet made the connection with the brakes! She usually slows down or stops by driving into the grass, or getting Mom or Dad to grab her.
Well, with the renewed interest in bikes (and the snow finally stopped), Katie has been on her bike a lot too. We've been debating taking off Katie's training wheels since last fall, and on Wednesday, the training wheels came off. Brett spent about an hour running up and down the sidewalk holding onto Katie's bike seat while she pedaled wildly. No progress toward riding her bike independently.
Thursday, we took off Katie's bike pedals. Brett showed her to coast by pushing off with both feet simultaneously, not alternating feet and "walking" the bike. Still no progress. Friday, we faced freezing temperatures to again try the bikes. This time, Katie put both her feet up on the front wheel hub and coasted between two houses--no push off or anything! She's got it!! After practicing that for a bit, we put back on her pedals and she completed the process.
All in all, it took Katie about
3 hours to learn to ride her bike without training wheels! It took about another 30 minutes to add in how to start, how to stop and step off, and she's all GO! She had almost no crashes in all this process, until yesterday when she's showing off to a neighbor, and she's now chalked up two minor crashes! So fun, and we're so proud of our girls!
The beginning
Getting the coast
We've got it!!
