Bike riding promotes independence.  (Provided photo — Diane Chase)

School is almost out for the summer! It conjures up a feeling of freedom as older kids weave around pedestrians or take their bikes to the streets. Whoosh! I can almost sense the children’s joy as I look around town. I’m not sure how school holidays make other parents feel, but summer is for exploring. It never meant a grand adventure, but discovering new things in our neighborhood, community, and always within ourselves.

Learning to ride a bike was one of those summertime rites of passage. We wanted biking to be something to help our children with balance, coordination, and confidence. It took patience from parent and child to achieve that final launch without too many skinned knees. My son was the cautious one. We were surprised as well. He circled his wheeled machine like it was the enemy. We left the bike in the driveway, where he would try to balance on it until he finally decided the pedals were not just footrests. My daughter just wanted to keep up with her older brother.

We managed never to invest a lot into our children’s’ recreational bikes. We traded and upgraded our children’s’ tricycles to training wheel bikes. We slowly progressed to a jumble of recreational bikes.

I understand bikes can be expensive. There are options for free or low-cost bicycles. Garage sales, social media, Craigslist (it’s still a thing), and local bike shops are just a few possibilities for someone searching for a beginner bike. COVID has managed to make biking even more popular. It may take patience to find a deal or work in your favor when someone tries to unload a COVID purchase.

I wanted to give my children more independence but still focus on some mindful activities. Driving a car was out of the question, but learning to pedal a bike was not. Having a means of transportation got them outside and away from the TV. When my kids were old enough to venture off to a friend’s house, they were old enough to pick up milk or bread. They quickly understood it’s a cheaper way to commute.

Area bike shops have experts to answer questions for adults and children of all ages. We remain casual bicyclists, but there are plenty of local events to leap into mountain biking, road races, or practice skills on the local dirt jump park. I hope you can share biking with someone else or find the joy of exploring with pedal power.