Look Ma... no WHEELS!!

Well, I made the pledge that I would have Nathan riding his bike without training wheels by the end of the Summer and I'm happy to say... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! 

I decided to take him to my parents house because they have a much flatter and wider driveway than we do, the sidewalk is really long, and I knew that I could utilize the CVS parking lot (used to be Mayflower grocery store back in the day) that I used to ride around in when I was a kid.

We started off taking a few trips up and down the sidewalk with both of the training wheels still on, which Nathan and Joshua both enjoyed thoroughly since they aren't allowed to leave the driveway at our house.

THE SIDEWALK of all places?? OH JOY!!

Not to be outdone, Joshua graduated from the starter trike to the "big boy" Radio Flyer tricycle today and was zipping around in style. It's like the Cadillac of tricycles. Fully equipped with tassels, rims and shiny chrome accents. It even has a place for passengers to tag along! A proper set of wheels.

Upgrade!!!

Once Nathan was "warmed up" I took off the right training wheel and took a couple of jogs back and forth with him while acting as a crutch when he needed it. He did really well with one wheel and actually amazed me with his ability to turn on the non-wheel side. He seemed so comfortable that we quickly moved on to the parking lot so that he could ride around in a "great big space", as he and Joshua excitedly called it.

He wore himself out a bit, because he was peddling around as fast as his legs would take him, so we went back to the house to rest up and re-hydrate before taking on the big thrill of 2 wheelin'.
Before I even got the second training wheel off, Nathan was already telling me that he DIDN'T want any help. OK... buddy... do your thing... I've been there.

I vividly remember my Dad teaching me to ride and me, trying to do wheelies while he was still holding the seat to balance me because I could even ride smoothly yet. Boys will be boys right?

There were a couple of minor crashes into fences while we has learning how to get the steering figured out, but no major wipe outs and no skin loss (whew).

TWO...

ONE...

NONE!!!

In no time he was speeding around on his own! One of those proud moments a father has in life. 

One of those moments when see your boy becoming even more independent than you already knew he was. 

One of those moments when you're both happy & proud...
but secretly wish they didn't have to grow up so quickly!

Click play to go for a ride...

Oh... when I was putting Nathan's bike in the garage that night I noticed he also got his first flat tire. Nice! Now I can teach him early on in his biking career, how to patch a tire.