Learning To Ride

It's been over a year since Nathan received his bike from Andrew's parents.

We were so excited to get Nathan riding. And then we realized just how hilly Brisbane is. Large flat surfaces, ideal for learning how to ride a bike, are hard to come by. We also realized that despite having training wheels, Nathan was really reluctant to ride. He refused to pedal and when he did, he didn't try hard enough to keep the bike upright.

After a while, we all got discouraged and the bike spent a lot of time in the garage collecting dust.

Then, a month ago, Nathan went to a birthday party where the kids were invited to bring their bikes and scooters. Nathan didn't have a scooter yet so he brought along his bike. He insisted on having the training wheels removed, but he couldn't ride. He spent the afternoon straddling his bike, slowly pushing around on his feet.

It was heartbreaking but I secretly hoped that this would give Nathan a little motivation to learn how to ride his bike.

Since Nathan got his scooter, we've given him plenty of time to improve his balance and confidence. We hoped that this balance and confidence would translate over to his bike riding, so after soccer, we headed out to a nearby park for Nathan to ride again.

It was perfect - the park was completely empty and Nathan had all the space to himself.

Last week, when Andrew brought Nathan out to practice, he was able to ride for a couple seconds before putting his feet down.

This time, he lasted much longer.

Sure, there was still a lot of sulking and excuses being made, but he was riding for longer distances and even managed to steer himself around a large concrete block.

The next step was to get Nathan to start off by himself. He was starting to get it, but for the most part, he still needs a push to get going.

Nathan's still got a ways to go, but he's definitely getting closer to riding all by himself.