Can you really teach a child how to cycle in 30 min?

So D wanted to teach the children how to cycle. He thinks cycling (on two wheels) is important for the children since it's like the basic life skills like swimming.
(I don't know about that… I mean… it's not like the kids now need to cycle to school from now on...)

So since the Mr was free and we had some time in the evening a few days back, we decided to teach them how to cycle. But before any parent teaches their kids how to cycle, you need to do prep work first.

You need to get them a bicycle (given), remove their supporting wheels (if any) and also the pedals (Bet you didn't know that). Basically, you are stripping it until it becomes a balance bike.

After which, as any typical parent, we geared them up with their safety gear and off we went to the nearby park to cycle. The plan was simple. We bring them to a park, find a slope and let them balance as they come down the slope.. (At least that's what the video says… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMIyC0tMt1s)

But what the video didn't say is the ratio should be 1 adult to 1 child. (Maybe it's given but we didn't realize it) Also, always remember if you have fun coming down, it may not be the same going up. We chose a short slope initially but it was so short that before the kid can really get the feel they they were at the bottom of the slope already. So we progressed to a longer slope. Problem with that was while it was great to get them to balance, we needed to make countless trips up the slope (with their bikes) and down (to receive the kids).

The kids trying to balance...

After a while, we got tired so we just got them to balance on a straight path. If they reached a certain point, they will just turn back. (This reminds me of those silly gym classes we brought Audrey when she can't even walk.. And we had to go round the obstacles while carrying her… i mean how's that gym for her???? But yes that's one of those silly things I've subscribed to)

So did the kids managed to cycle? Julian was too scared to go down the slope, so he did better on the pavement, but still that was restricted mainly to just him "walking on wheels". Audrey managed to get a hang of balancing first. She had some points where she managed to cycle a little, but after awhile would lose her balance. Isaac could go as far as balancing but not yet on pedaling. So we spent 1 hr in the park and the kids still weren't able to cycle. (D and I were realistic about that)

Well, to be fair, if we wanted convenience we could spend $100/hr for each child to get a coach to teach them, but that would rob us of the chance of witnessing the kids' milestones. On hindsight, the journey of doing an activity with them was more meaningful than being efficient.

As you guys have read in his guest post, D had a period when he was ultra down. He sometimes wished that time could fast forward so that he gets over it soon. But he recognized that even at our down point, we have other things given to us which distract us from the pain we went through. If time really past quickly, these things would as well… and sometimes these other things bring more joy than the pain from the challenges.

An hour at East Coast Park

So yesterday D & I thought we should bring the kids out in the late afternoon since we wanted to tire them out for bedtime. (The children normally go to bed at 8p.m. to prepare for school tomorrow)

We had wanted to bring them for kite flying and thought that there would be some for sale at East Coast Park, but we were wrong. They sold frisbees, balls, bicycles, roller-blades, slippers, anything but kites. (Why not?) So we did what half the families in ECP did - rent a family bike. (on a separate note, the only way to get a kite now seems to from online shops….)

The bike rental was $40/hr and wasn't exactly the cheapest thing in ECP, but for a family of 5, it's not a very expensive activity for 1 hour.

These bikes have 4 pedals (but for our case, only 2 pairs were used). Audrey sat in front with daddy, Julian sat in between them, while Isaac sat at the back with me. Everyone started to pedal at the beginning. Isaac couldn't reach the pedals, so it started with 3 cyclists. 10 minutes into the activity, D asked if anyone was tired. "No!" said Isaac… like why would he be when he was just being cycled all the way….
D on the other hand was regretting, he thought we had cycled for some time, until he found out that it was just 10 minutes. I understand, because I was feeling that too… and I was wondering how to last through the remaining 50 min (Not that misery loves company but you guys should try when you are free…)

If you frequent ECP, you will notice their paths are continuously straight… Which means, we had to continuously cycle until the road was wide enough for us to make our 4 point turn.. (which is at least a 25 min cycle from where we started). It wasn't a glam thing as well, D had to get down to maneuver it while I pedaled.

On the way back, we went through this small path called Cicada garden. (Mistake… Big mistake) it was uphill… and from afar it seemed harmless. Halfway through, D had to come down and push the bike from the back, Audrey was tired, the boys were all just taking in the scenery… and i had to pedal… myself. It was like cycling on the gym bike with maximum resistance!
Fortunately, what goes up, must come down, and so we did… but because it was a short uphill… (it didn't feel short when we were cycling) downhill was short too… zzz

The cycle back was slower though… because now the adults are the ones cycling. We returned the family bike after 45 minutes (I am pretty sure we are not the only family who didn't make full use of it though) That 45 min made me appreciate motor engines. :)

The kids enjoyed themselves, we did too. We brought them joy… but guess the kids never knew how much more joy they brought us. :)