The Wheels are Off!

Guess who figured out how to ride a bike without training wheels today?! Ever since having gotten her dirtbike, the Girl has been determined to learn to ride her bicycle without training wheels. Every day she begs to go outside and practice. J found a video on YouTube about a YMCA program in New York teaching inner city kids to learn to ride bikes without training wheels. Their strategy is to take the pedals off and have the kids treat their bike like a scooter. Pushing off with their feet and then trying to balance the bike while coasting. That way they can focus on the balance portion without having to think about pedaling too. So J took the pedals off of the Girl's bike (which is much too small for her) and she'd gotten pretty good and could coast for quite a distance before losing momentum and needing to put her feet down. This afternoon, with her pedals back on we walked down to the basketball court and gave it a go. After just one try with me holding her arm to steady her and running alongside I told her that on the next try I was going to have to let go once she got going as I couldn't keep up with her (especially with Baby Miss strapped into the Baby Bjorn). So, that is what I did and off she went...no problem. Like she'd been doing it for years. The look of excitement that danced across her face when she realized what she was doing was priceless. I was so proud and elated for her. I have a feeling that there is a lot of bike riding in our future!