Today after work Laura asked me to take the kids to the park and the boys wanted to ride to Art Dye park. I took Emma’s bike in the van and told Ezra that he couldn’t ride the scooter all the way to the park and off we went. Emma told me she didn’t want to practice riding and after the first couple of tried I was ready to give up because she wasn’t really trying. I then raised her seat an inch for one last try and almost immediately let go once she started and just walked behind her. She rode along oblivious, even doing a full 180° turn, without realizing that I want helping. It was only 50 feet but enough to leave no doubt that she’s got the balance finally. We put the bike back in the car to go play elsewhere and promised to practice a little more before going home. When we finally came back to the car for more practice she began riding consistently in short order. She was excited to go home and show Laura. At home I got to run around the horseshoe twice following her while Laura watched from the driveway. By then she was starting and stopping alone – and beaming from ear to ear. Ezra then decided to try practicing. While he was living with Andy and Lilly they said he learned to ride but he has shown that he isn’t very interested here until today. He took almost zero help before he was starting by himself and stopping even more smoothly than Emma. Everyone in the family now has their own bike and can ride confidently. I have a feeling that riding the Murdock trail will be a regular family outing in summer and that trips to any nearby park will be fair game for everybody soon.
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