Two Wheels

We like to bike.

When we lived in Washington, it was one of the most enjoyable family activities on a beautiful warm day: a family bike ride through the trees, with frequent stops for wild blackberries.

When we moved back here, everything was closer and more convenient to us: school, church, friends, library. And there were also more sunshiny days. So we've done more bike riding. In fact, sometimes I laugh at my neighbors (and even sometimes myself) for starting up the car just to go a couple of blocks in beautiful weather. I guess it's all about saving a little bit of time.

Anyway, Doug's two brothers who live nearby have taken up cycling as a hobby, and they have encouraged Doug to join them. So he recently bought his first road bike (in his first eBay transaction ever) and some equipment (including stretchy, padded shorts and a bright orange jersey--it's pretty hot!), and he has started biking to work. It's still only about half the time he spent commuting in Washington, and he's getting great exercise.

As impressed as I am with Doug, though, Hannah has really blown us away with her determination to join the biking fun.

A few weeks ago, Hannah announced to me that she needed to learn to ride a two-wheeler. At the time, she was riding a "big wheels" sort of trike, or pushing herself along on her scooter. She had no bicycle. So we borrowed Lauren's, and Hannah started to ride. It didn't take long for her to get the hang of pedaling and balancing, but starting required a push from Mom or Dad, and stopping required something drastic: she'd either head for a patch of grass and tumble onto it like Jackie Chan, or she'd brace herself and crash into the curb, Mom or Dad's legs, or (if it was pick-up day) a neighbor's trash can.

{Insert funny video of Hannah crashing. I really need to learn how to upload video!}

Bystanders were shocked at Hannah's bravery. She'd pick herself up, dust herself off, and start all over again! Over, and over, and over!

But she eventually got tired of the bumps, scrapes, and crashes. And she started losing interest in riding a bike that was too big for her little legs. Not wanting to lose all the progress Hannah had made, I took her to WalMart and bought her the tiniest two-wheeler they had. Twelve-inch wheels. Hot pink, of course.

That was all it took. Thirty-nine bucks for mad skills on a mini bike. Within a day, Hannah was independently riding around the cul-de-sac. Pedaling as fast as her little legs can go (and a bike that small requires a lot of pedaling!).

One funny thing about Hannah is that she prefers riding barefoot. Last night we walked to a nearby park. We walked, but Hannah biked, barefoot. She brought her shoes with her, and put them on when we got to the grassy park. And when we headed home again, she removed her shoes and pedaled her way with bare feet.

Funny, awesome kid!