After getting home from our trip, Pace decided he knew how to ride his pedal bike! We've been practicing in baby steps with him, and he's been riding his balance bike for about 2 years. This kid is a thinker, thinking through every step before acting on it. Climbing the stairs as a baby: He sat back and looked and looked at those stairs, touching the bottom one every so often, and then finally decided he was ready and climbed from bottom to top and back down like he'd been doing it forever. Potty training: I had to teach him the whole digestive and urinary systems, and also all the pipes from a toilet to the water treatment center, and once Pace could see the whole system, from start to finish, then he was ok sitting on the toilet.
Riding a bike: He's been on his balance bike for 2 years, and we got him a pedal bike last fall for his birthday. He'd shake with anxiety if I tried to just sit him on it, and refused to put his feet on the pedals. So we spent a lot of time showing him his pedal bike was the same size as his balance bike, and he could still reach the ground if he felt like he was going to tip over. Then we practiced balancing again, but with his feet not he pedals. Then we practiced pedaling.
After we got home from our trip, I guess it'd been enough time for Pace to piece everything together. he said he wanted to practice, I went out with him one morning, helped him balance with his feet on the pedals a couple times, then headed back inside to do some cleaning. I told him to just practice going down the driveway with his feet balanced on the pedals, and not worry about pedaling yet. A little while later Pace came running in the house, saying, "Mommy! Watch this!" He hopped on his bike, and pedaled down the driveway, did a hairpin turn down the sidewalk, and stopped and grinned at the end of our yard.
That was it! I can't get him off his bike now! He very quickly went from simple pedaling to dirt biking in the back to doing tricks (one foot, one hand, standing on the pedals, standing while pedaling, etc.).
Max has also stepped up his biking game! He's picking up his feet, balancing like a champ, gliding along the driveway, across the cul-de-sac, keeping up with the band of kids!
To celebrate learning to ride his bike, Pace rode his bike to the Library the next week for reading time, and then we rode down tot he ice cream shop for a cone, and then rode home (I ran with Max in the jogger)! He did a total of 5 miles! And then asked if he could ride his bike some more after getting a quick snack and drink at home!
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