Biking is something that I have always enjoyed doing. I love being able to get out, feeling the wind rushing by as I pedal down the road. I have never bicycled for sport but more just for pleasure. I love being able to get out and enjoy the world around me at my own pace. I was really excited to pass my love of bicycling down to my children. I just couldn’t wait to get my daughter her first bike. We went all out when she was finally old enough to learn to ride a “big girl” bike. No more tricycles or training wheels, she was ready to roll. We took her to the store on her birthday and let her pick out whatever bike she wanted. It was pink, of course, complete with pink basket, pink horn and pink ribbons streaming down the handle bars. We got her fitted with a pink bicycling helmet and we were off. I could hardly contain the excitement I felt as we got ready for our first ride. There was just one little issue to conquer first and that was learning to ride without training wheels. No big deal I thought. Just a simple lesson and we would be off. I soon discovered there is nothing simple about taking that first ride completely on your own. I quickly learned that it takes practice to learn to balance your first bike and I mean lots of practice. Soon my day was not filled with my feet on the pedals but hitting the pavement as I ran beside my daughter, one hand on the handle bars and the other firmly holding onto the back of the seat. That brings us to the second mountain to conquer when you are first learn to riding, letting go. It amazed me how once it was noticed that I was letting go the bike when seem to promptly crash. Kisses and hugs would make it all better, followed by a determination to try once again. After awhile I began to get discouraged (and I little achy from all that bended over running). I wondered if learning to ride a bike was worth all this effort and then something amazing happened. One hand let go and then the other and my daughter was off. As I whooped and hollered I saw the look in her eyes. The look of excitement and joy as she raced down the street, with the wind rushing past and I knew that learning to ride a bike was worth every minute.

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