Eleanor loves riding her bike, so we decided this weekend to take the plunge and get her a 20 inch bike (so she doesn't have to pedal crouched over, even with the seat all the way up...) Michael took her to all the bike shops in town, finally found a gender-neutral yellow bike that Eleanor likes, and bought it. It has hand brakes, which she is getting used to using, as well as gears, which she has used going up one of the steeper hills in our neighborhood. Hmm, I think her bike has almost as many gears as mine does.
Michael has taken her out on several neighborhood bike rides. He rides my bike (which recently got fixed) with the seat all the way up. She does very well, and his main focus is teaching her to look before she crosses streets and to obey traffic rules. She will be one of the few bikers in our neighborhood who do obey them...
When Eleanor moved up to the yellow bike, Amanda got to have the purple bike. She has been waiting eagerly for this ever since we got the bike (she used to climb up on the bike when Eleanor was gone, just to sit on it). Approximately 1 minute after Eleanor got her bike adjusted, Amanda wanted the training wheels put on the purple bike. She almost fits on the bike, and she is close enough that sheer willpower allows her to pedal (Frankly, she looks a lot like Kermit the Frog in the biking scene in "The Muppet Caper"). She started out not being able to go up the slight incline on our driveway, but improved dramatically, The smile on her face as she rides like a big girl is marvelous. I believe she no longer remembers that the bike ever belonged to Eleanor.
This means that Luke finally gets the tricycle. He used to chase Amanda while she was riding the tricycle as she pedaled away furiously, yelling "NOOO! Luke! NOOOO!" He isn't big enough or coordinated enough to do anything other than sit on it, although it did once roll across the driveway. He was thrilled, but he has no idea about how to make it happen again. He enjoys sitting on it very much, though.
Michael has taken her out on several neighborhood bike rides. He rides my bike (which recently got fixed) with the seat all the way up. She does very well, and his main focus is teaching her to look before she crosses streets and to obey traffic rules. She will be one of the few bikers in our neighborhood who do obey them...
When Eleanor moved up to the yellow bike, Amanda got to have the purple bike. She has been waiting eagerly for this ever since we got the bike (she used to climb up on the bike when Eleanor was gone, just to sit on it). Approximately 1 minute after Eleanor got her bike adjusted, Amanda wanted the training wheels put on the purple bike. She almost fits on the bike, and she is close enough that sheer willpower allows her to pedal (Frankly, she looks a lot like Kermit the Frog in the biking scene in "The Muppet Caper"). She started out not being able to go up the slight incline on our driveway, but improved dramatically, The smile on her face as she rides like a big girl is marvelous. I believe she no longer remembers that the bike ever belonged to Eleanor.
This means that Luke finally gets the tricycle. He used to chase Amanda while she was riding the tricycle as she pedaled away furiously, yelling "NOOO! Luke! NOOOO!" He isn't big enough or coordinated enough to do anything other than sit on it, although it did once roll across the driveway. He was thrilled, but he has no idea about how to make it happen again. He enjoys sitting on it very much, though.
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