Grant got a new bike for Christmas....

not sure who was more excited... me or grant

Grant got a new bike for Christmas

shamefully this is his first bike shop bike
Grant's two previous bikes were hand me down bikes from Dean
bikes I had purchased from Target... the second bike got a coat of spray paint with a color of Grant's selection
mistakenly I thought that bikes for children this age could be purchased from a box store
no... bikes are to be bought from a bicycle store

there are terms in the English language that we use loosely
lemonade is one those terms
there are products called lemonade that have no lemons in them
the box store bike is sort of like that

you order one thing
and this is what you get

not sure what happened there
a guitarist would give their child an actual guitar to learn guitar

a tennis player would give their child an actual tennis racket to learn to play tennis
not sure why this bicyclist bought this bicycle looking thing from the box store for his son
bicycles are not toys

if I wanted my son to hammer an actual nail... would I give him a Bob The Builder plastic hammer?

it was pretty easy...
Lisa picked up the Trek 20 from The Bike Lane in Reston at lunch one day at work
it all worked out perfectly
Anne of the Bike Lane not only let me use a several coupons I had won at this summer's Wednesday at Wakefield races

but she also gave us the MORE discount
SWEET! a bicycle with a bow on it in front of the tree on Christmas Morning
I would have loved to have picked up the bike and said hey to The Bike Lane gang
it would have been cool to check out their new "green" store in Reston, VA
I guess I will have to head out there another time

the bike is a little big
a few days after Christmas I took the boys to Wakefield
although Grant was going to be on the trail-a-bike in the woods I brought his new bike thinking he would
want to spin around the parking lot
but no
so I put the bike in the car saving that first ride for Grant

I trimmed the seat post
the boys loved the sparks that the Dremel caused
but a sharp hack saw blade would have worked just as well
the lower seat made it so Grant could get a foot on the ground when he stopped

I can remember when I got my first 29er
it was a Surly Karate Monkey single speed with a 22 inch frame
my previous bike was a Rocky Mountain Blizzard with a 21 inch frame and 26 inch wheels

when I threw my leg over the saddle and rolled down the alley and around the neighborhood I was not
sure what I had gotten myself into
it was a totally different feel
I was standing tall... it was a feeling very different than what I was comfortable with

I think this is what Grant was going through

Grant commanded more attention
rather than checking to see if the coast was clear so he could blaze ahead
I was running along side of him
spotting him at tight sections
other times I ran along side of him holding the collar of his jacket to give him some confidence and to be able to help him slow down
Grant was unable to ride so much that is everyday to him on his other bike

there were a few times when Grant put the bike down and opted to walk
that was not acceptable... there was no reason to walk when he could ride
there had to be a time when he started to get accustom to this new bike
this was to be day one


the apprehension was visible
I coached him on his awkwardness

stressing that more riding was the resolve more than growing into the bike

we had a good deal of success

the other bike is too small
this bike may be a tad too large
but this bike is a better fit
Grant still has his old bike to go back and forth on
but I think an afternoon in the alley with his friends riding their bikes and he will get out of the saddle and rocket to the top of that learning curve

where is the snow?
my family wants to go skiing!

we have already been skating a few times
I am wondering if Grant is too young
maybe next time I go skating I will only take Dean
Dean is into it... Grant may be too young to be into it
it is so much work to get him on the ice
it is so much work once he is on the ice
maybe next season will be a better year for him to approach skating
Dean is stoked on it! I need to get Dean a lesson!