As Easy As Riding A Bike

Over the past few weeks I've been going out with Alice to try and learn to ride. I took the stabilisers off and attached a support handle.

First Time
I wasn't quite sure what approach to take. Attention spans aren't great at that age and distractions are many. So I decided to go to basics. This meant not letting Alice fall and talking about problems and how to correct. Needless to say, after about 20 minutes she'd had enough and wasn't talking to me!

Second Time
After the first occasion it took a while to coax her out onto the bike again. So there was about a 2 week gap to the next time. This time I was making sure she didn't fall and let her get used to the balance. However, there were still things to work on with starting, stopping and steering. Much better result in terms of self-confidence.

In the meantime I'd been taking her to nursery on the scooter and really encouraging her to practice on the balance - go as far as she could at different speeds without any feet on the floor.

Third Time
Last weekend was the third time out. She was out with "brorbror" and apparently went very well - being able to stop on her own.

Fourth Time
Today was a good day. I hardly held the bike at all. She was telling me to let go when I wasn't even holding. Starting, stopping and balance were all good. We practised going in a circle slowly. Just need a bit more practice on steering and concentration. But it was a good day.

Now she needs a bigger bike. Maybe I can use that instead of a cat that she wants...