Training Wheels

Grafton's been having a ton of fun at school riding the red tricycles on the playground. He's told us about it a number of times when we've asked him what he did at school that day. (Usually he'll also explain that he didn't crash into anyone.) So realizing how much he was enjoying the pedaling experience, we headed to the bike store and traded in Grafton's Specialized Hotwalk bicycle for a Schwinn Gremlin pedal bicycle, with training wheels. At first, it didn't go so well, as he kept hitting the breaks (turning the pedals in reverse), and had lots of trouble getting started. Then Dad realized that the cranks were binding for some unknown reason. After a quick repair at the bike shop, the pedals were turning smoothly, and Grafton did much better. He still would hit the breaks at inopportune times, and didn't always apply them after picking up speed on a downhill section. But the couple of times we've taken him out for a ride, he has been able to get cruising on the sidewalks around our house. For short bursts, at least. So far, each time, we've ended up dragging the bike home ourselves. But I'm sure it won't be long before we can't get him to bike back home at all.