back in the saddle, or "bike seat"

I'm going to try really hard to write more often, really I am. Maybe I'll make a deal with Tim; every time he practices riding his bike, I'll try and come up with something to write, which, if I WATCH him practice, will be no problem whatsoever.

Because, here's how it went.

Most kids jump on a two-wheeler equipped with training wheels sometime around age 7 or 8. All those kinds of experiences were lost on Tim, who at the time was still struggling with large motor issues. So, here we go, Round Two at the nicely matured age of 19. That's right; we got him a brand new bike of his own for his 19th birthday.

He was cautiously enthusiastic about it, remembering back to other failed efforts, but also acknowledging that those were long ago and that he could probably master the skill this time around.

A) The crotch on his shorts was a little on the long side that day and it took 3 flinging tries with plenty of "Uuuughooof's!" to get his leg swung up high enough to clear the seat and land Over Yonder, though the seat was as low as it would go. I had to turn around and have a silent howl, putting myself at significant risk of wetting my panties. I had to clap my hands over my mouth to sufficiently suppress the deep chuckles. Hernia risk, for certain.

B) Really, the bike was too high for him, so getting his hulk settled on the seat without a do-it-yourself-prostate-exam being the accidental result was quite a feat in and of itself. Poor chappie. He was very good-natured about it and stuck with it for as long as we encouraged him to, but the overall assessment was that he needed a shorter bike to conquer this particular skill.

C) We found one! Sent the blue one back in exchange for a beautiful, short red fellow, cheery and far less threatening. Tim has at least got balancing on it down now, which was accomplished by sitting on the seat and sticking both legs out off the pedals while rolling down our sloped driveway, applying the handbrakes whenever acceleration got a little on the brisk side. I left him doing that because sometimes you learn better when there's no audience. He came in some fifteen minutes later declaring, "Don't get too excited Mom, but I think I managed two or three actual pedals up the driveway that time." I'll keep you "posted" on the progress......