Training wheels just aren't cool anymore

Bike riding seems so basic to us, we tend to forget how tough it can be to learn. The old "It's like riding a bicycle" is applied to tasks that are like second nature by now.

Not so simple for a kid like Eli. This will be our third summer for trying to help him learn with no training wheels. Last summer, he finally mastered braking with coaster brakes, only to completely forget that skill over the winter. Our first couple of trips around the block this spring were nerve-wracking for me to watch. I need to constantly remind him to pedal backward rather than just dragging a foot to slow and stop.

Our street is fairly quiet, and there is a parking lot for a church at the end of the block to practice, but Eli doesn't want to practice at all. He wants to master tasks instantly or he has a tendency to just give up. Last night, I overheard him and Jim playing in the backyard and Jim kept trying to teach Eli how to throw a ball overhand for the dogs to fetch. Eli didn't get it right away and got mad, stomping off. So we have our work cut out for us.

I got a great first bike for him at a yard sale a few years ago, and envisioned nice family bike rides like I see here in the neighborhood. Didn't happen. I spend so much energy just trying to make sure he doesn't go flying uncontrolled into the street that I can't enjoy it myself. It is frustrating, to say the least, and disappointing for my older daughter who rides like the wind at the age of 11.

I mentioned this to the social worker at school a couple of weeks ago and said I had heard of a bike riding clinic for kids like Eli. She had heard of it, too, but didn't have the information at hand and promised to look into it. Yesterday I went through Eli's backpack after school as usual and there was a sheet from her with TONS of resources for summer activities and the bike riding clinic.

Bike riding means freedom to kids. It's fast. It's fun. It's what most other kids do to get from A to B in the neighborhood. And most importantly for a kid like mine, it's achievement. So we are definitely going to sign him up for this and follow through. It's a 45 minute drive from where we are, but well worth the trip!

Here is what I found, and I hope someone else benefits from this information. The program is called Lose The Training Wheels and I hope we do.