Gabriel Biking

Gabe rode his bike for the first time Mon, May 12 without his training wheels!! He did EXCELLENT!!! I couldn't believe how well he did. I was expecting a long drawn out process. He isn't my most adventurous child, you know. =)

He had been riding his bike with training wheels and he would always lean to one side. Well, the training wheel was about worn all the way down. He refused to try to lean to the other side. So, I told him that once the wheel was broke, we weren't buying any more - they were just coming off. He was a little surprised I said that I think. He asked what would happen if he fell off. We told him he could wear his elbow pads and knee pads and we would stay in the grass. We reassured him that we would be close by, but if he did fall, he would just stand up and dust off his hands and try again. He thought about this a while and it seemed to sink in.

But, the next day he kept talking about taking the training wheels off when Daddy got home from the office. He opted out of the elbow pads and knee pads. He said the grass was too bumpy so he would stick to the parking lot. (I was amazed at all this!!) Doug and I only each ran with him once and he was off with no looking back. He was even able to start out by himself and turn around in the driveway.

I called him a natural and he got a kick out of that. He kept asking me what he was. I think he just wanted to hear me call him a natural again. Silly goose!! He just has problems with using the brakes. It makes him a little unsteady and he hasn't totally gotten the feel for that yet. But, he has ridden every day this week.

Hopefully this short video works, it is the first time I am took a video with the camera. I tested it as I was posting this, but you never know...