Bikes!

One of my first introductions to pedaling came from the very sophisticated machine known as The Big Wheel. I have very specific memories of blazing around Peter Circle on it (ok, I might not have been going quite as fast as I thought.) From there, it was onto Schwinns and 10-speeds and the rest. I have used a bike regularly as an adult for commuting and traveling, as has KLC, so we both were really excited to get the twins out there.

In anticipation, KLC and I bought the kids their first bike helmets a while back. The problem until this weekend was a lack of, well, bikes. No longer. This past weekend, we were able to find two nearly matching -- one slightly used, one new but on sale -- 16" bikes with training wheels. One is even a Schwinn, bless its heart.

These pics show the first day out. It took a little while for them to get used to the idea of not pedaling backwards -- hence stopping -- but soon they were both getting the hang of it. (As an aside, I know that push bikes are all the rage these days for getting kids on bikes very early. I'm sure they're great, especially for learning balance. However, I stick by my Big Wheel experience as a way to get the whole pedaling thing down.) We're looking forward to this rain stopping so we can get out there for the next round.