With Ross currently in the jungles of Indonesia, it was a momentous Sunday for Sarah getting out on the BIKES.
Now that the outdoor weather has arrived, we decided to get all four children Biked Up. We had a good start with Sarah getting a bike for her 40th last November, Anna always up for any activity (on the back) and Angus loving riding his BMX around the park with his mates. Sam was ready and willing to come off his training wheels and Jessie promised that, if given a bike, she would ride it regularly with Mum to the bakery and enjoy some special big girl time.
Last weekend, we went about formalising this coming of age for Sam by telling him that he needed to earn his helmet by sitting a test to get his Park Licence (ideally meaning that he would not harm anybody in the park whilst riding his bike). Sam was right onto it and counted down the days until The Test. Here he is being crowned with his new helmet and getting ready for his inaugural first park ride!
Jessie always loves new things, especially if it's bought from the shop specifically for her, so the concept of a shiny new bike was more than appealing. A shame we couldn't re-inforce the skill of 'waiting' and 'anticipation' and give it to her on her 10th birthday in late August....but the ulterior motive to get all 4 kids out on bikes during spring needed to prevail. We also remember all too clearly the 'wait' she (and all of us) endured last year to get her ears pierced and we wouldn't want to repeat that again. Parent survival I think it's called. Anyway, here's Jessie with her new bike:
And now, to cut a long story short, today was something to celebrate. I managed to load up the car and the bike rack with all the necessary equipment and take all 4 kids for a ride BY MYSELF. What freedom to be able to get out of our apartment and the busy streets and ride safely for ages through bushland and around a huge lake. Jessie spoke to my heart when she said "hey Mum, this is quite fun...maybe we could do this more in the school holidays". You bet.
However, it wasn't all plain sailing. The first 200m of the bike ride made me pause and question what I was undertaking. A few drops of rain were beginning to fall, Sam had never ridden more than about 800m in circling our park next door, Angus had already shot off ahead, Jessie wasn't 100% sure of the gears and, well, I hate to admit it but I couldn't understand the trail map. After dealing with the wide variation in riding ability and confidence, it was all worth it in the last stretch back to the car when Sam was pushing hard on his pedals singing his Mary Poppins song and he said delightedly "look Mum, I just follow the path!"
Before I go, I really need to record Sam's courage on the bike ride today. His first long ride, first time on undulating and sometimes bumpy ground, no gears on his bike...oh, what a trooper. Despite the tears when he suspected we were lost (quite perceptive of him really) and that we might be riding into the night (yes, quite possibly) and then Mum made him take a short cut across the bush (that was the last straw) he pushed on bravely and made it back to the car for some cake. Wow.
It's these times in life when I wouldn't swap being a Mum for quids.
Now that the outdoor weather has arrived, we decided to get all four children Biked Up. We had a good start with Sarah getting a bike for her 40th last November, Anna always up for any activity (on the back) and Angus loving riding his BMX around the park with his mates. Sam was ready and willing to come off his training wheels and Jessie promised that, if given a bike, she would ride it regularly with Mum to the bakery and enjoy some special big girl time.
Last weekend, we went about formalising this coming of age for Sam by telling him that he needed to earn his helmet by sitting a test to get his Park Licence (ideally meaning that he would not harm anybody in the park whilst riding his bike). Sam was right onto it and counted down the days until The Test. Here he is being crowned with his new helmet and getting ready for his inaugural first park ride!
Jessie always loves new things, especially if it's bought from the shop specifically for her, so the concept of a shiny new bike was more than appealing. A shame we couldn't re-inforce the skill of 'waiting' and 'anticipation' and give it to her on her 10th birthday in late August....but the ulterior motive to get all 4 kids out on bikes during spring needed to prevail. We also remember all too clearly the 'wait' she (and all of us) endured last year to get her ears pierced and we wouldn't want to repeat that again. Parent survival I think it's called. Anyway, here's Jessie with her new bike:
And now, to cut a long story short, today was something to celebrate. I managed to load up the car and the bike rack with all the necessary equipment and take all 4 kids for a ride BY MYSELF. What freedom to be able to get out of our apartment and the busy streets and ride safely for ages through bushland and around a huge lake. Jessie spoke to my heart when she said "hey Mum, this is quite fun...maybe we could do this more in the school holidays". You bet.
However, it wasn't all plain sailing. The first 200m of the bike ride made me pause and question what I was undertaking. A few drops of rain were beginning to fall, Sam had never ridden more than about 800m in circling our park next door, Angus had already shot off ahead, Jessie wasn't 100% sure of the gears and, well, I hate to admit it but I couldn't understand the trail map. After dealing with the wide variation in riding ability and confidence, it was all worth it in the last stretch back to the car when Sam was pushing hard on his pedals singing his Mary Poppins song and he said delightedly "look Mum, I just follow the path!"
Before I go, I really need to record Sam's courage on the bike ride today. His first long ride, first time on undulating and sometimes bumpy ground, no gears on his bike...oh, what a trooper. Despite the tears when he suspected we were lost (quite perceptive of him really) and that we might be riding into the night (yes, quite possibly) and then Mum made him take a short cut across the bush (that was the last straw) he pushed on bravely and made it back to the car for some cake. Wow.
It's these times in life when I wouldn't swap being a Mum for quids.
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