THEY CAN RIDE!!!!

Check them out! The two older Mears kids can ride their bikes. They were both more than ready to learn, and it just took a few short lessons. Clearly, Lily has outgrown this bike, which we got for her when she was four years old. But it's kind of nice for her that her legs touch down so easily - it gives her a little bit of extra confidence that she needed in order to learn. Both kids still need a parent to get them started, but I'm sure that a few more days will fix that.

Ride like the wind, Lily!!!

Here's a shot of Gregory going up the driveway toward home, with Henry waiting ahead of him. Henry is extremely interested in all this bicycling, and seems quite sure that he's ready to do it too.


What a happy, red-cheeked, hot, sweaty, well-exercised little bike-riding boy! He had soccer camp in the morning, helped Mommy in the garden in the mid-day, and rode his bike in the afternoon and evening (with some short stints of trampolining thrown in here and there). He also ate huge piles of food and fell asleep almost before his head hit the pillow last night.

The best way for the kids to get going is to start about halfway down the steep slope of our driveway. That gives them enough speed to establish good balance, without going so fast that a crash would be a big deal. Gregory has already learned a critical bike-riding skill, which is how to leap clear of a bike that's going down. He lands on his feet most times, and has only a very small ouchie on one knee from a fall that he didn't manage to leap clear of.
Wa-HOO! Look at him go!

NOTE: If you're having trouble looking at a video, just click the "Refresh" button on your browser, then try again to play the video. These are both big files, and they seem to bog things down a little.