Great moment for a dad

[blacksheep]

About a year ago my folks bought my two little girls (almost 2 and 3-1/2 at the time) each an old 20" Schwinn Bantam. The price was right and they wanted the girls to have their own little cruisers. Those two bikes have just been sitting around while my youngest has been riding her Schwinn tricycle and my oldest has been riding her little 16" bike with training wheels. I have been hoping that my oldest would be riding her Bantam by the end of this coming summer. Well, she decided that today was the day she was going to ride that Bantam with no training wheels. The day started out with her on her little training wheel bike. She wanted me to push/hold her on her Bantam so we did that for a few minutes and then she just took off. No two-wheeler learning curve with wipe-outs, etc. She just started riding. The video linked below is her after about 10 minutes of riding without training wheels. Please excuse my little one who was giving my wife heck for trying out her sister's Bantam. She was over-tired and showing it :lol:

This whole thing was almost like a dream. I just couldn't(still can't) believe what she accomplished today.

I'm one proud Daddy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFpdETYRh6A

 

[user 135]

Very cool.....I remember when my 2 boys did the same. One of them just took off like your little one.

 

[Graylock]

Major Kool Daddy, you have one more moment tatooed to your heart. Remember and savor this moment when she is 16 and has your car keys in her hand. I don't mean to be funny with that comment but when you get there you will remember her first bike ride.

I have two daughters and the oldest did the holding the back of the seat thing. I would run along beside her and at the final episode my wife heard this clearly through the neighborhood, " Let go of the seat Dad............", and I said " I can't ! ".
The youngest was much different being that the training wheels were on and off for months. I was very busy working on the yard when she decided the wheels come off. I was frustrated and convinced her to try it on an old bike of hers without the wheels. I held the seat and she took off without me. I was truly amazed.

I didn't mean to take your thread away but I think you may have started a "Great Moment For Dad" thread.

Graylock

 

[aka_locojoe]

That's great. Turning around in the gravel even. Nice looking bike.

 

[dleves14]

That's great, you should be proud. My daughter will be 6 this year and I'm still nervous about removing her training wheels. She loves going on rides with me (ok, maybe I enjoy it more than her ) and I'm worried that she'll take a good spill and won't want to get back on the bike.

 

[Hammond Eggz]

Wow, she's a natural! Must have gotten her "bike genes" from dad, huh? Very cool stuff, congrats on the great "parent moment".
It seems like I was just doing the same thing with my oldest a couple of years ago - but he's married now and has a 19 month old himself! :shock:

 

[dos cruiser]

You should find the best frame of your video and make a still of it and hang it on the wall. Like everyone is saying, this moment is one pride moment, but to have a photo to show her kids will be priceless. You can add this photo to your collection of bike photos.
It seems like yesterday, but really it was about 10 -12 years ago.

 

[shaggyevil]

Cool video!

Shaggy

 

[mikesbikes36]

man that is sweet she looks like a pro!! that even made me feel good!! kids on bikes r awsome i love it !! my boy was a natural also, he was riding one of those little pocket bikes at six ...acting like jason britton LOL kids u gotta love em oh yeah sweet views out there man thats great too

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Does anything warm the heart of a parent more the sounds of their happy children?
It's great to see that a 'toy' invented hundreds of years ago still brings pure joy to a child (or adult for that matter).

Enjoy them.

Dr. T

 

[blacksheep]

Thanks for all the nice comments, guys. You know, the majority of adults do not ride bicycles, yet learning how to ride a bike is such a major milestone in a child's life. Kinda funny.

Anyway, my girl just loves her bike and cruisers in general. I can't even go out in the garage for a second and suddenly she appears with helmet in hand, wanting to ride her bike. Unless we're going to get nailed with snow I don't even dare park our vehicles in the garage. The garage must be available 24 hours a day for an impromptu circular bike ride(including dad riding in circles). She's always looking for cruisers when we're out driving around and alerting me. "Dad, there's a cruiser!" Once in awhile I get "Dad!!....Oh, forget it. It's just a road bike(or mountain bike)". I'm just so impressed with her interest in bikes and she's not even 5 until July. She loves to clean my bikes and knows what kind each one is. She also likes to pick which of my bikes I should ride(usually an Electra...girl has good taste :wink: ).

I'm sure alot of you guys have kids that are just as interested in bikes, but I wasn't expecting this level at all. 8)

 

[Rat Rod]

That's awesome...I think it must be due to your membership on this forum. :wink:

My 6 year old did the exact same thing two weeks ago. I thought for sure there would be a lot of me running behind her holding her up and her wiping out, but she took off and hasn't stopped since. Only difference is that she's running a 16" bike instead of a 20".

 

[Gold Street Customs]

Thats awesome, I know my daughter has helmet in hand anytime there is sunshine still linguring outside, anything that keeps the family bonded is good thing.

 

[Dee-Em]

Nice man!!! the bike looks awesome too... and she looks so confident and comfortable on it, i think we got another one

 

[sensor]

thats always a great feeling :mrgreen: congrats!

 

[cody-james]

That's awesome! We are all happy for you and proud of her

 

[xddorox]

Enjoy these times Bro. Next thing you know in no time she's in College.

 

[blacksheep]

Well, it's been four days since the initial "no training wheels run". We've been out riding every day since and my girl is a nut on her bike! She keeps wanting me to race her and she's flying around corners(and making me nervous!). It's really bringing out the parent in me. I keep saying "take it easy" and "slow down", telling her to make sure the inside pedal is not down when she turns and other helpful hints. She keeps saying "Why, Dad? I'm fine!" Shows you what I know.

She has also shown some interest in how her bike looks. We had to remove that huge, ugly rear reflector from the fender(because you take your reflectors off, Dad). To keep her visible we will be filling the holes left with a couple vintage round mini reflectors. Gotta at least have reflectors on your kid's bike, right? :wink: We also celebrated the occasion by letting her order a pair of red gem dice for her valve stems(like Dad's). Man, I have to soak in all this attention while I'm still cool to her. :lol:

I'll have to post up a couple pics of her little cruiser in a couple days.