I Will Never Give Up

Gage is 6 and Landen is 4. Most children by Gage's age have long been done with their training wheels and I have even seen some as young as Landen. I don't know why but we are struggling in this area. Landen loves to go out and ride bikes. Gage likes it, but would never suggest it on his own. I blame part of their lack of bike riding skills on Mike and I because we haven't been that great about making them go outside and do it. So today, I had the great idea to ride our bikes from our house to Jensen Park. It is maybe a little over a 1 1/2 miles away which doesn't seem that far except when you have two kids on training wheels trailing behind.

Mike was gone, but was planning on meeting us later in his truck with his bike in case we weren't able to make it home. I loaded up Tanner in the bike trailer and got helmets on Gage and Landen. I went through safety rules which Gage listened to intently and Landen could have cared less. Landen was really the one I was speaking to. Gage has always been my rule follower even asking questions to make sure he understands properly. I told the boys I would take the lead, followed by Landen, and then Gage. Landen is a better and faster rider then Gage so I thought it would be good to have him behind me so he couldn't go too far ahead and so he also wouldn't keep running into Gage.

Well, we started off slow and continued really slow. Gage is such a trooper but for some reason his legs just aren't very strong and he is my little worrier. Gage also talks a lot and kept saying things like the following instead of concentrating on riding:

"Mom, good thing you are a nurse cause like if someone got hurt while riding bikes you could fix us."

"Mom, maybe you should have brought your nurse's bag just in case someone gets hurt."

"Mom, I only stand up to peddle when I'm close to home just in case I get hurt."

"Wait up you guys."

We finally made it to Jensen Park which has a bunch of jogging/biking trails around it. Mike met us there with his bike. We hung out around the pond for a little while.

The boys couldn't wait to check out the water.

Tanner loves wearing his helmet even when he doesn't need to. He wants to be like his big brothers.

Landen on his shark bike. For some reason, I didn't get a picture of Gage on his bike.

After playing for awhile, we started the trek home. Mike took Tanner and Landen and headed towards his truck that was parked about 1/2 mile away . Landen easily kept up with Mike. I stayed back to help Gage. Gage was complaining that he was too tired to ride, but I forced him on his bike. As we slowly road the trails, here's what I listened to:

"Mom, I'm exhausted."

"Mom, I really suck at riding a bike."

"Well, I do."

"Mom, I'm a failure."

"Well, I'm terrible at riding a bike."

"Ooh, look at that bird!"

"Mom, I'm sore."

"Oh look! There's a bench. I want to rest on it right now."

At one point, Gage got off his bike and sat down on the bike trail. I kept telling him how good he was doing and that riding a bike takes lots of practice. Obviously, Gage could tell how much better Landen was at riding bikes, but what he did next I will never forget. He hopped back up and got on his bike and said, "Mom, I will never give up bike riding."

Hopefully, we will continue practicing and I have a goal to have both Gage and Landen's training wheels off by the end of the summer. Wish us luck because we are going to need it!