Day 870 - Bike Story

High-octane thrill rides aren't for everyone. Not everyone wants to go skydiving (I'm living proof of that, LOL). That being said, I still think zip lining looks like it would be pretty fun. The thing about high-octane thrill rides is that you need to know what you're getting yourself into rather than being surprised in the moment. If you don't have that time to prepare, who knows how you'll react. For Ellie, while she may have been expecting nothing more than a leisurely bike ride through the park yesterday, she ultimately got a little more than she bargained for.

First though, I want to touch on a much tamer kind of "Bike Story". That story revolves around Ethan and his very first bike. While Ethan has spent a little time trying to ride Ellie's old tricycle, Bethany and I decided that it might be fun to have him learn to ride on a balance bike instead. Balance bikes are basically a bike frame sans pedals. The idea is that the child will learn to maintain their balance first by walking/running while straddling the bike. Eventually, he/she will reach the point of being able to glide along stretches of pavement after a running start by simply placing their feet on the frame. Once that occurs on a regular basis, then it's time for a big kid bike...without training wheels!

Earlier this week, Bethany and I found a very gently-used balance bike on Facebook marketplace for a good price and decided to pull the trigger. Ethan, for his part, was definitely cautious about the new purchase at first. After riding his sister's tricycle, he was definitely confused by the lack of petals. Also, he wasn't a big fan of how the balance bike would easily fall over with him if he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. By the second day though, he was happily trotting up and down the sidewalk between our house and our neighbor's house while proudly sitting atop his balance bike.

If one is more into an exciting/dangerous kind of "Bike Story", Ellie's trip to the park is probably just that. Over the past few weeks, Ellie has become quite adept at riding her bike up and down the sidewalks in front of our house. She's even brave enough to ride to the highest point of our street and barrel down the sidewalk, laughing and screaming all the way. Since she's been doing so well, I thought maybe it was time for a change of scenery for her bike rides. Therefore, I loaded up the kids and Ellie's bike in the Traverse and set out yesterday morning for Barry Platte Park.

After spending a half hour or so playing on the playgrounds, Ellie was ready to embark on her ride around the park. With Ethan in a stroller and Ellie on her bike, we set out. For most of our trek, I couldn't have been more impressed with Ellie. Outside of some unnecessary hard braking, she covered basically the entire park trail before asking to stop and play at the playground once more. As I had no reason to turn her down, we did just that. 

Once the time came to leave, I loaded Ethan back in his stroller and told Ellie to hop back on her bike and pedal it back to the car. Oddly enough, Ellie wasn't very happy about that idea but I didn't really think anything of it. Moments later, as she was pedaling down a minor hill, Ellie randomly took her feet off the pedals and veered out of control towards a tree. Despite my best attempts to get to her, all I could do was sit and watch as her bike struck the tree and she toppled onto the ground.

When I got to her, there were already a pair of moms who were at the park with their kids doting on a still-screaming Ellie. Luckily, it was only her pride that was hurt. Outside of a small scratch on the inside of her arm from the tree trunk, no harm was done. Thank goodness for helmets, right? In case anyone is wondering, the same went for the bike as it only suffered a small scratch on its handlebars.

Once I got Ellie calmed down and we headed back to the car, I asked her what happened since her accident was very out of the ordinary. Her response of "I just didn't want to ride my bike anymore," was definitely not what I expected to hear though. Even though I was kind of disappointed in her, we at least had a good conversation about the right and wrong way for a person to stop riding their bike. 

On a positive note, at least I know that Ellie likely won't be asking to go on any high-octane thrill rides in the immediate future. As a result, that gives me a few years to psych myself up to ride some of the more crazy roller coasters with her. I wonder though if those kind of high-octane thrill rides compare to an out-of-control bike heading towards a tree. Only Ellie can answer that. #DaddyWrite