From Tricycle to Pedals

When Cedric turned three his Aunt and Uncle gave him a pedal bike and helmet.  Cedric was over the moon for it and in no time we were passing on his tricycle to his cousin.  This Spring when the weather turned nice we started riding the pedal bike with training wheels outside on a regular basis.

In my experience training wheels are of the devil.  Yes it sounds extreme but for us training wheels only taught Cedric to fear.  He was afraid of falling, he had a hard time keeping his balance and was afraid of the rocking motion that happens with training wheels.  Then one time he clipped the curb with a training wheel and it got bent.  Now the wobbling and fear of falling was multiplied. 

This all came to a head one afternoon not long after having Eli, Cedric was riding his bike down the block, I’m pushing the baby in the stroller, and walking the dog.  After the third or fourth wipe out, Cedric just gave up.  His confidence was just worn down to nothing.  That left me pushing a stroller, holding a leash, and coasting the bike back home.  I marched in the door in a huff and immediately bought a balance bike.

With the balance bike Cedric learned to balance overnight.  Literally.  In the span of a couple hours he got the hang of coasting.  He rode this bike everywhere over the summer.  His ability to coast on the balance bike is pretty cool – he can go a long way.  The balance bike increased his confidence.  He believed he could ride a bike!

After a few feats of daring on the balance bike (speeding down long ramps, jumping off of low steps) Zach thought we should give the pedal bike another try.  He took off the training wheels and took Cedric out to the school parking lot across the street.

Just watch the video.  Ignore my giddy voice.  I’m a giant dork.