Bikecidents

Trey has been riding his trike for a long time now and really wanted a big boy bike. So with birthdays coming up we got a new bike and put training wheels on the old one. Early Saturday morning the boys woke up ready to hit the pavement. Helmets, check, help them get on the bikes, check, start pedaling check. The boys took off and the next thing I know Trey is bouncing over the curb into the flower bed and crying because he can't stop. Me to Brad: Did you teach Trey had to work the brakes? Brad: Nope. You? Nope. A quick lesson and more encouragement to convince Trey that he really can ride a big boy bike -it's not scary- and he was off again. Things were good until Ty, who panics if he gets close to any type of object on his bike, somehow managed to avoid all the open road and crash into Trey who was trudging along on his bike. No one was hurt but it did not help Trey's new idea that big boy bikes are "too scary." A quick talk with Ty about steering, braking, and stopping if you are going to run into something. More encouraging talk to Trey who just wants to sit on his bike for a little bit. Halley, meanwhile is walking back and forth along the driveway and road just watching all the excitement. She is about three feet away from me when Brad yells "Watch out for Halley!" I look up and Ty is riding his bike right towards Halley with a look of panic on his face. I quickly reach out and grab his handle bar to steer him away from Halley, but this frightens him more and he jerks the handlebar and smacks it right across Halley's head knocking her to the road. Halley's crying, Ty's upset, and Trey is even more scared. Ty has now taken out both children with his bike. I think its time to go inside.

Later on that afternoon while Brad and I were doing yard work Trey says "I want to ride my bike." Awesome. I tell him to get it out of the garage and walk it up our downhill sloping driveway before getting on. A few minutes later I hear Trey yelling. He is on the bike rolling down the driveway right for the van. "Push back on the brakes!" I yell. "I am! I am!" he says as he smacks into the van. Clearly we need to work on braking with him. I convince Trey to get back on the bike and just ride down the length of our yard to where Brad is fixing our lawn mower. I help him stop on the curb while I talk to Brad. Somehow Trey, who is still sitting on his bike, manages to tip over with training wheels stabilizing the bike and a foot on the curb. The bike falls on top of him and Brad and I can't help but laugh. Trey immediately is crying and screaming at us "Stop laughing at me! You're laughing at me! Get the bike off! Stop laughing!" Which makes Brad and I laugh harder. After getting his legs untangled from the bike I walk him into the house and sit him on the couch to take a little break. He is still mad about the all the laughing. "Daddy wasn't laughing at you," I say to pacify him. "He was laughing at the lawn mower." Trey replies, "Well, he was laughing at the lawn mower and at me!"  He hasn't gotten back on his bike since.

All smiles before the riding actually took place.

This should have been a warning of further bike incidents to come.....