This is Zo's ride...the WeeRide.
In the world of "Toddler Cycling", there are 2 basic schools of thought.
The training wheels vs. The balance bike.
We picked the Balance Bike (or Glider), the idea being more in-line with our Montessori Homeschool. Always, just try the REAL thing and practice till you get it, no training wheels (in this case, literally).
Easier to learn how to pedal than how to balance, right? So naturally, we opted for the harder task first. The cool thing about this cool ride is that they can start trying at 2 yrs old. Short little legs? No problem. The training wheel bike needed slightly longer gams, which Zozie didn't grow yet. At first he walk around with the bike between his legs alot. Soon after a few months, at 2.5, he started to sit down on the seat. Then the magic happened. He walked while sitting. That evolved into a faster paddle and before we knew it, he was gliding...Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!
Like our homemade-classroom tools, we take the jist and come up with an inexpensive version. In this case, we went with the WeeRide for our Balance tool. This is a tiny metal bike with 10" foam wheels that don't need inflation. It comes with a hand brake for a basic introduction to this hand motion. We are adding our own bell. Wooden versions like Skuut run $100, other aluminum ones go from $100-$200. For us, $22 sounded perfect. Just in case he didn't take to it, no big loss.
Needless to say, Zo absolutely LOVES his WeeRide. At 3, we now take family rides and go to stores together on our own bikes. It's really a funny sight when we are all out. Most people can't believe they are seeing a bike that small with an even smaller boy on it. They often don't notice it's a pedal-less bike until we point it out because of his sheer speed. Z asked for his own lock so he can lock up at the racks like us. A simple 4 digit combo lock from Target ($5) did the trick.
Like Z says, "C'mon guys, let's Wiiiddde!"
His riding skills? Check. His "R's"? Still working on it.
His favorite "down grade" outside our front sidewalk:
we bought one for lena when she was two, but i think three was the magic number! this is adorable
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