I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Owen is officially riding a bike now.  Queenie and Mantis had gotten Caelum a balance bike to practice on, and the boys shared it for a while.  Then, Owen's "You're a big brother again" present this summer was a big boy bike.  Right away, Zach took off the pedals because Owen wasn't quite tall enough to do them.  So it was pretty much a balance bike.  Once he got good at that (and just a bit taller), Zach put the pedals back on and Owen gave it a try.  He was able to pedal without a problem...slow and cautious as is his wont, but definitely balanced and capable.

The next day I took them to Fletcher Park, which has a nice big loop.  On the first lap, Caelum was speeding ahead of us while Owen carefully pedaled behind.  By the second lap, Caelum couldn't keep up with Owen.  It was amazing.  Those balance bikes really work!  We completely skipped the training wheel phase.  And there haven't been any injuries yet!

 Now Owen likes to go to the park as often as possible.  He loves to ride his bike, and Caelum loves to go off-roading on his.  Caelum looks like a madman speeding by.  Such a small little body going so fast.  It makes people at the park very nervous, but the little guy is perfectly in control.  He could probably handle a bike with pedals at this point.

 I feel like we're at a new stage of life.  It's crazy to me that Owen is old enough to be riding around the park and asking to go around the loop while Caelum and I play on the playground.  It makes me very happy that he enjoys it, since I love to bike ride too.  I foresee many family bike rides together!