And it was. A beautiful crisp day, perfect for BMXing.
For some reason, Julian couldn't be persuaded to ride on the bumps today, though he loved racing up and down the stop-start plateau.
Other bikers and observing Dads were impressed by his ability, since his eensy bike really stands out. Some other kids much older and bigger than him struggled to get up to the top. It doesn't take long for any kid to learn though.
I say observing Dads because Moms watching are about as rare as girls riding the course.
Bigger older kids than Gabriel also have bikes with smaller wheels than Gabriel, and I see those bigger kids hop on and off with great ease, and they need to do that sometimes to handle a sudden stop on a hill. But Gabriel absolutely can't be persuaded to use a smaller bike now.
He can barely touch the ground, but that's not the problem -- he can't easily hop on and off as you need to for BMXing. Ah well, all in good time.
(Anyone who knew me 6 years ago knows that I was an avid motorcyclist and advocate for short beginning riders. In time and over many miles, I overcame the beginner thing, and that's how I overcame the short thing and learned to handle tall motorcycles without having my feet flat on the ground. It brings me back a little to see my sons stretching to reach the ground, though when they're full-grown, they will have the height and strength I never had.)
On the way to the BMX park, I saw a decked-out motorcyclist on a brand-new shiny-red Kawasaki, clearly geared up for a fun ride. I'm almost certain this rider came from the court next to our house, and the rider looked decidedly female (full gear makes it tricky to tell). I think it was our serious-cyclist neighbor three doors down. It makes sense; interest in two-wheeled vehicles often crosses over. My heart sailed and sank all at the same time as I saw her tooling down the street, full of promise and anticipation of the twisty trashy mountain roads ahead. I WANNA GO TOO!
But you have to walk before you can run -- or ride, as the case may be. Katrina practiced being walked around a little, but she seems to have hit a wall with actually doing it herself.
Then again, her reluctance might have been explained by rosy cheeks and a burning forehead after her nap. 101.1 fever, great.
More importantly, her appetite was off and she was obviously uncomfortable and grumpy. Still, she showed no noticeable decline in energy or attitude, but as is typical of her, she reached her limit suddenly and then crashed hard. She was almost screaming when I put her to bed at 6:45pm. No sad whimpers from this one, it's ALL ON.
I can't say I'm entirely heartbroken about not going to work tomorrow, even with a sick baby at home.
1/1/08
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