It’s been 11 months since our kids started using their Strider bikes! Time flies! Let me just warn you… this is gonna be a long post because I just couldn’t stop snapping pictures and I thought so many turned out awesome!
The kids have only been out a couple times since August because we’ve been so crazy busy with travel and holiday and work. It’s been cold and I’ve been less than motivated to take the kids out, but this week has been nice, so we decided to go out today to get some fresh air and burn off some calories for Thanksgiving dinner!
We loaded up the double stroller with the kids and the bikes and ran to the park.
After playing for a bit the kids rode their bikes on the way back (about a mile and a half!)! There are more down hill slopes that direction so it was way more fun for them than sitting in the stroller. Seriously… the perfect afternoon!
It had been a while since Lanae had gone downhill, so she was a little nervous at first and even crashed because she was trying not to run into me… taking a picture of her. Ooops!
But she’s a tough girl and got right back up. We built up her confidence and reminded her of a few key things to help her be successful and then she was right back to coasting like a pro! She’s probably ready to transition to a real bike, but I’m not sure it’s on Santa’s list this year…
Now Owen… Oh man! This kid just cracks me up. He says the funniest things. While at the park I saw a big white American Eskimo looking dog. I told the kids… Look at that big beautiful dog! I used to have one of those when I was little. Owen replies “I am little.” Pauses and says “can I have a dog?” Scott and I just laughed. So Owen continues… “The dog will poop and pee on my bed and Lanae’s bed.” I go… “What!?” He says, “I am kidding mom!” He’s 2. Funny boy!
He is starting to get the whole balance thing. I think he is on the verge of having it figured out!
He’ll get going fast enough to put his feet up, but when he picks his feet up he lifts them way up… Ha ha. In doing so, he sometimes jerks the handle with his hands, which means he loses his balance.
So we started to coach him on holding the handles steady when he picks up his feet and he started to get the hang of it. The bike ride started to wear him out and he needed to get back in the stroller before we got back to the car. So he only rode his bike for about a mile….
I love that these bikes give the kids the confidence to balance and I love all the stares that we get at the park and people who are like… “Those kids are tiny! How are they riding a bike without training wheels?” It’s so funny!
The kids have come such a long way since they started 11 months ago!
If you want to check out where we started with Strider, check out part 1, part 2 and part 3! I highly recommend getting a Strider bike to help kids learn how to balance and can’t wait to transition our kids onto real bikes with pedals… without ever having to use training wheels!
Stay tuned for future updates.
This post does contain affiliate links. If you do happen to get a Strider bike after clicking on one of these links, you’ll pay the same, but a small commission will go to me! Thanks so much for your support!
**We received 2 Strider bikes from Strider, however, all opinions are my own. Any bolded blue text is a direct quotation from Strider.