Boy Racer

Connor was keeping up with his big sister and her friends when they went biking, even when he was just running along on his toddler bike last year. He could race along in the middle of them all up the gentle slope of the nearby Greenway. 

Of course, at first, he couldn’t go all the way up the 1.5 kilometres, and we did make the mistake of stopping early for him and breaking off to go get a cookie in Starbucks. That became all he wanted to do, resulting in a few tantrums. 

But pretty soon, and with a bit of bribery, he was doing the full distance, and with less complaining than his big sister some days. He’d zip up the former railway line, and on his way home, he’d lift both legs off the ground and cruise quickly down the hill. He could easily stay ahead of the rest, never took a fall, and always stopped well away from the roads. 

This spring he graduated to a pedal bike. The fact that there was a noticeable hole in his old bike’s tire letting the rubber inner tube poke through was a bit of an encouragement. At first he was just running like he did with his toddler bike, but getting frustrated with bumping his ankles off the pedals. Then he progressed to cruising downhill toward home again as he got more comfortable, testing out the pedals while safely rolling freely. 

And then one day, just like his sister did, he was off! He never used training wheels, going straight from the toddler bike to the pedals. He started cycling at less than three and a half years old! 

Connor loves to cycle. Ada loves it too, but only if friends are going, and often has to be coaxed into joining. Connor will run to get his bike helmet at the merest hint of cycling. He zooms up and back, and can even do the longer rides without issue or complaint. 

Next spring we’ll get him a big bike like his sister. 

And then walking along behind won’t be good enough. 

I’ll have to get a bike too.