The World of Bikes

The other day my husband and I pushed our boys on their Radio Flyer Bikes up to the local Coop Grocery Store. The boys call these their "blue bikes" and they smile big when they get to ride them. Not being quite large enough to fully reach the pedals means they are dependent on mom or dad or someone to push them, but they don't seem to mind. They sit on their bikes like they are low riders, chilling out and watching the world.
These days parents have it easy, pushing their children, since the bikes now come with push handles. On fancier bikes I hear that their is even an override so the adult is fully in charge of steering, however in our case the boys steer. Usually this is just fine & on the rare occasion I need to I can overpower wild steers.

In anycase, the world of bikes is mostly friendly and I just wish we would see even more. It was great to have to get over to the edge of the sidewalk to let two young bikers and their father pass on the sidewalk. There was time for a quick hello, an exchange of compliments on bikes, and a smile. It made me realize that this experience is still just too rare, but maybe that is changing.

When we made it to the market, the bike racks had room for both the boys bikes, but when we came out two college aged boys seemed to be waiting for our spot. Nonetheless, our exchange with the young men was pleasant and our boys rang their bells to express their greeting. This experience in a car would probably have been stressful, but on bike was full of cheer.