So proud of my amazing girl(s)

baudman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeGjrianvz8

All was going fine until she tapped her pedal, and I started to freak out a tad

baudman

Riding home from school...
There's a small triangle of paths in the local park. Two are asphalt. One is compacted granite/sand. She was leading and I was quite impressed with her increasingly tighter turns when....

That be her front wheel sliding out from under her.

It was touch and go for a while, but I'll think she'll pull through.

Still got back in the saddle once the tears had subsided.

baudman

Her best instructor...



So that now means, N+1 :roll:



Tried her with the 'unflipped' frame. It was a lot closer than I thought. A quick drill to lower the saddle below the 'minimum' by 1 cm or so, and she was off!

I've since re-flipped the frame on the other one, and raised the saddle to its highest point so that her favourite 'instructor' can give her some pointers.

It's also fair to say, that there's a LOT of RunBikes out there these days where this whole frame flipping palaver is just not required. The saddles can go way, way low. So that means that the steering actually works too (unlike my flipped frame mod, where the chopper-style angle meant it was OK for walking with, but not so much riding).

baudman

Guess who won at the 'Fashions on the field' at Melbourne's GoBike festival last weekend?

Helmet and poncho were hers already. But she got some really gorgeous recycled wool arm warmers.

Thing2 is progressing as well. First time we'd seen this type of speed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrYd3zXuncM

baudman

Santa came thru with the goods. (Which, took some organisation, as we drove to Adelaide for Christmas, so we... err... needed to let him know where it could be 'delivered').

baudman

I can now state this is (still 2 yo) Thing2's preferred method of transport. (Snippet of Thing1 on her new pride and joy too).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQmB0S-f ... ature=plcp

Thing1's old bike has gone next door, for their 4yo to ride. Unfortunately, this meant me putting stabilisers/training wheels back on (as much as it goes against my very core). Still, better that she's riding 'something' than sitting inside, I guess. And her 3yo sister LOVES her runbike, so hopefully the lack of two-wheels is only a temporary measure.

Adam EF

Great to see!

My son (4.5 yrs) is slowly getting there with his balance and having power to pedal and concentrate on it all at once! Hoping he gets it before my back gives up from all the bending over holding the saddle! Probably off out again today for another of our Sunday park sessions.

If anyone has any advice with teaching kids to ride then I'm sure it'd be welcomed by many of us. Any top tips or good bribes etc.

baudman

Adam EF wrote:

If anyone has any advice with teaching kids to ride then I'm sure it'd be welcomed by many of us. Any top tips or good bribes etc.

There's some good tips here - viewtopic.php?f=40032&t=12694331 I'm a HUGE advocate of the temporarily-turning-the-bike-into-a-runbike method.

Other than that, getting out with their peers (family/friends/whoever) that can ride. Watching YouTube videos of kids riding. That sorta thing.

baudman

Thing2 has grown out of the BoBike mini (I'd probably advocate a YEPP now) so the BoBike is now on a friend's bike and he's using it to take his own Thing2 to childcare a few times a week. Yay!

Another friend has a semi-recent Thing2, and so he's borrowed the CargoBike so they can use that as their main child transport option. He was using a WeeRide with his Thing1, and so now that's temporarily come to us to become yet another accessory/evolution for the FluoroBeast™ family vehicle.

And here she is, feigning sleep once arriving home (just like she does in the car, if she isn't actually asleep for real).

baudman

Following her sister's lead.

mountaincookie

Your posts are inspiring and encouraging....but we are all very sad at the amount of sun!

When Mrs cookie and I have little cookies, I'm hoping they'll take after there dad and be bike crazy. Mrs Cookie is not so sure.....

Daz555

Here is my lad (4.5yrs) ripping up the Bristol pumps:

baudman

^That's brilliant.

We have an ancient BMX track in our local park. It's scheduled to be radically changed - pump track in one corner, and two rows of successive bigger kickers on the other side.

Can't wait for the pump track. Good for kids on runbikes too! The kickers... well, at this point, I'm glad Thing1 is a little on the cautious side

Thing2 is about an inch and a bit too short for her sister's old bike. I could put stabilizers on it and she could ride, but meh... she's loving the runbike and after (our) winter my guess is she'll take to pedals (sans stabilizers) as easily as her sister did.


Oh, and we get heaps of cloud/rain in Melbourne too. It's just, I don't take quite as many pix on those days. You know Crowded House's song 'Four seasons in one day'? That is about Melbourne

baudman

$30 MILLION (and a bit)

That's Thing1, far right.

More here - https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/gener ... rld/93685/

baudman

Daddy, am I tall enough yet?

Not quite, but she was happy to tip toe around on it for 10 mins or so. (Pedals off, runbike-mode. Crisp but sunny winter day).

baudman

Thing1, riding her old bike in pedals-off runbike mode, escorting Thing2 to the local BMX track, so that she can demonstrate some stuff and increase her younger sister's confidence.

baudman

18.5km. Solo. She's a star! From home via the 'Docklands' precinct to the south of Melbourne, alongside the Yarra River and Rod Laver Arena (Aust Tennis Open venue) to the venerable Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch Mummy come in from her first ever half-Marathon, then back home again across the top of the CBD.

baudman

Did her first CX today.


Helping her little sister come to grips with the "Big girl's bike"

baudman

First ride on the TrailGator. A little cautious at first, within 5 mins was loving it! "Daddy, Go FASTER!" She even wanted to do some of the bumps at the local BMX track. :shock:

baudman

Last shakeout before her impending PB this weekend - the 40km last day of the Great Victorian Bike Ride* which is a community day. This was the top of a big hill, but 2 mins later she was back on and gunning for it!

The little one too is LOVING being on her 'big girl's bike' and 'being attached to Daddy'. She's still tentative with riding it solo (pedals off when this happens). She's actually progressing and balancing well - it's more a confidence/obstinance thing

*For those of you who like 500cc GP, rumour has it that it will be finishing with a lap of the Phillip Island track.

baudman

1 mile out from the finish line. Being only a 40km ride, many of the others were well finished and hence the traffic to pick them up.

Still, Thing1 6.5yo was still powering up hills, and Thing2 3.5yo loved riding being attached to Daddy's bike.

baudman

3 years, 11 months today.

arthur_scrimshaw

Nice pics Wish we had your weather here though!

baudman

Thing2's confidence on her sister's old bike (Aust. make ByK's E-350 18") isn't great. And she's quite stubborn (her mother's quite comfortable admitting she gets it from her) The transition from the well-loved runbike to this, in all honesty, much larger bike was too great. Even though it 'fits' her perfectly.

So, for the short term, I've got back an old heap I sourced from the street corner and spruiced up. This was Thing1's first ride on pedals, until we got the ByK. So it then went next door, where it was used twice in 27y10m. Now it's back with us, for the time being. Another spruice up and... it appears, this bike 'fits' her perfectly. At least for the next few weeks until her confidence builds sufficiently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFWZPM8TN88

Oh, and it's still the runbike for 'commuting' - she rides if we walk. The one remaining stroller/pram is going up on eBay shortly.

Nik Cube

Great pics and video it is good to see the little ones progressing so well



Here's one of me encouraging my 4 year nutter of a son - he's started doing go ride now

Nik Cube

And another

baudman

Love your work!

An update on mine. We rode with her larger bike attached via trailgator. Almost home, in local park I asked if she'd like to ride a pedal bike today. She said, "I'd like to ride my BIG pedal bike NOW Daddy". So, she was still saying "It's a little-bit freaky..." but her confidence was certainly better.

I think I'll swap between the two - smaller bike to build and larger bike to consolidate - for a few weeks. Then hopefully the smaller one will be a thing of the past. (Jeez it's a horrid thing. SO heavy).

Update - as per above. Challenge-achieve on the little bike. Practice-perfect on the big bike.


And no, I don't actually 'need' my bike to keep up with her - but in our hot Summer weather (100F), I'm not really gonna jog now am I?

The bigger one? This is almost home after riding to/from her dance class. Being able to ride one-handed has just 'clicked'.

baudman

We did 17 miles like that. 8)

(That pic was taken via phone - you can prob just make it out from a reflection - about 70 yards away from the windows 40ft in the air. I cropped and edited it all within the phone. My DSLR was in the bag, but sheesh... it's just so easy to be lazy these days!)

baudman

Triathlon kids yesterday


I was taking shots of quite a lot of what was going on around the place. I heard a scream, took a shot..

... then thought 'Sh!t. I recognise that bike... not so much the scream - was like nothing I'd heard before.


Required sedation and considerable traction, but seems to now be lined up pretty well. Thing1 has been all smiles from when she woke up. Such a trooper.

(She had been waiting for her friend, so they could ride together. They got a bit too close, tangled handlebars and this, unfortunately, was the result)

baudman

Thing2 bustin' out something of her own - a lap or three of the local park. (Towed there by trailgator).