I told Elise that we can’t take training wheels on the trip. They take up too much space and cost weight. Can’t do it… She went along with it, but not until after giving me a look more commonly found on a thirteen-year-old. The one that says, “You are not remotely amusing. I take nothing you say seriously. I only tolerate you because of the whole food, shelter, clothing thing.” Ah, kids.
Anyway, we’ve been practicing without training wheels here and there for months. The previous sessions were somewhat short because I would get tired — not Elise, mind you, but me. You can only run stooped over, holding the back of the saddle of a little bike for so long.
It had been awhile since we last tried, but this past weekend gave us an opportunity. Elise got on. I prepared myself for the Stooped Run Relay. But before I went four steps, she took off! No wobbling. No crashing. She just went.
It was beautiful. I watched her riding away, growing before my eyes, her hair gently trailing, her legs pumping. Then I realized she was headed for a busy street and had no clue how to turn… Luckily she stopped herself. A couple days later we had wide turns and downhill-facing starts conquered too. All without a major injury.
I hope learning to tow and back up the trailer goes as smoothly!
April 13, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Wow, tough Dad! But Elise was up to the challenge. Congratulations to her!
I’ll bet when you first hitch up two tons and 30 feet of expensive aluminum, you might be wishing for the towing equivalent of training wheels for yourself! Just remember, all your Airstream friends will be running alongside you (in spirit).
April 24, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Reminds me we need to do this with Meg. Rich and I can’t decide who needs to tackle this one. Which one of us has more patience and ability to deal with the falls and possible frustration, not to mention the sore backs as well! Hopefully our experience will be as successful as yours. It gives us hope. Great to see you last weekend!
Janelle