United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Thanks for bumping this up for me!!!

Ian's arm is not really shorter but he does keep it bent. We did nothing special to get him riding his bike. I think he often rides with only one hand though. I would like for him to use two. As a side note his bike is smaller than what he really needs so perhaps that makes it easier like some people have mentioned.

Thus far our kids had no trouble learning to ride a bike without training wheels. BTW we did a lot of scooter riding to... I actually think this may have helped. The handles are closer together and it is a big more controlable for a younger child... it could be that it helped Ian be more ready for a faster moving bike.

I also think that training wheels are somewhat helpful but they can slow you down quite a bit which is not helpful to learning the balance required to ride on two wheels. Something I would consider with a hesitant rider would be to have them wear more protective gear besides just the helmet so if/when they do fall less gets hurt. Also wear a jeans that cover the kness and regular shoes until they feel more confident and are not falling as much. Possibly learn on the grass although the terrain is more difficult to ride on in someways.

Wow I had more to say than I realized!

Blessings,
Kristie

I heard from a number of people that they bought their bikes for their BPI children at the Bike store VS. Wal-mart /Target. This makes sense to me after I talkd to the guy at the local bike shop.

Although Brandon rides a Wal-mart bike, they are designed for older children(TEEN's) where as with the bike store, they are aimed more at the younger one's. Although say 26 ince is 26 inch, you are talkng wheel size. The length of the frame is much longer on the bike from Wal-mart....where as when you buy one from the bike store, they are aimed at the children and the frame is shorter so itmakes it more difficult for a child to reach the handle bars and balance !!! It is true. My son who was 18 bought a bike at the bike store and his frame was much shorter than his brothers bike.

Check it out sometime......you will see a wide variety of frame sizes !!!!

GAYLE

Gayle,
that is interesting. We always bought from the bike store, as I wanted someone with knowledge to help size my kids (they all have bike store bikes). It cost a little more, but I wanted them on the right sized bike.

good luck to all our new bike riders!

claudia

Gayle,
WOW!! great advice for all BPIers, adults too now can maybe excercise that way! If I want to ride a bike again 'cause it was f-u-n!, I'd even buy the wide training wheels at first to get re-started on that bike balance. ....I just thought of it!!..., I'd love to go bike riding inn our local park!!

I just may do that soon!! :^)

HUGS,
Carolyn J

My daughter (RBPI) had difficulties learning to ride her bike. We did training wheels on a real low bike and then took them off. Her feet could plant firmly on the ground so she could catch herself. A lot of confidence building went into this. At the same time, we had a tag-a-long bike (Dad/Mom rode up front and Elizabeth rode on the back with her own wheels. This helped her gain balance. Dad and Elizabeth advanced to a tandem bike when her legs were longer. She eventually learned to ride her own two wheeler (7 yrs. old) but it took lots of patience and not pushing her before she was ready. She and Dad ride the tandem to school and on 5-6 mile rides. She loves being with Dad and pedaling like crazy to make that old tandem go (Dad bought a real old used tandem dirt cheap. Now my 16 year old son's friends like to borrow it to ride around. They think it's cool! They try to go real fast....it just doesn't move that fast. Go figure!)

I guess my suggestion is to start with a tag-a-long when they're little so they gain confidence and a sense of balance. An older child could do the tandem with an adult up front for the same reasons.