Bikes are the Best

Betty, Alice and Michael on scooters

I am at home, enjoying my backyard since the snow is gone and the three children next door are busy riding their bikes. The best place is on the pad of cement. I like to have it covered with tables and chairs so that we can eat there in the evening.

The kids like to have it clear so that they can ride their bikes there. The lawn is so bumpy that it can be used for mountain bike riding, which is not that enjoyable for them on their little scooters.

So around they go, Michael passing the other two but rarely bumping into them. Of course I can’t count the falls he has already taken, none of which have produced broken bones yet. He is quick to yell “I am alright”, long before he knows if he is alright.

... on a bike ride with my dad ...
 ... and with my new bike ...

He got a new bike this year. His other one got stolen which may be good for some other child, but having no bike was sadness for him. Miranda and he choose a new green on one Saturday morning. Richard took him for a long ride – all the way up to Northland Mall. The ride was too long for Richard, since blood thinners are working against him, and the ride was a little long for Michael. A big donut and a drink, and I think some Turkish Delight later for London Drugs helped Michael on his trip.

Those falls from bikes onto cement produce a road rash on knees and shins. Alice fell into my arms weeping over one such fall. Her dad must have seen me comforting her for a long time, because he came out to check on how bad the fall was. I don’t think it is pride that made her cry.

As the days go by, she gets better and better on her bike.

... that really hurts ...

Today I noticed that her knees are hitting her handlebars and part of the wobbliness of the ride is keeping those knees out of the way of the metal above them. Yesterday I was raking the front lawn so they all came out and rode up and down the street.

That requires special permission from their mother for they aren’t allowed to ride out in the front and especially not around the block.

I can see the reason for that. Cars coming out of the alley are never coming slow enough to see a child bicycling past on the sidewalk.