I had a wonderful tricycle when I was 5 years old. It had some rust and the spokes on the tires were bent but the wheels turned just fine. The house had a long-inclined sidewalk that went from the front door down to the driveway. It was just wide enough for the little tricycle to turn around at the bottom and go back up to the front door. The trouble with tricycles is the amount of room from the pedals to the handlebars. As my legs grew my knees were knocking on the handlebars. I then resorted to standing on the back between the back tires and pushing off with one foot, like a scooter.
The only 2 wheeled bicycles around were my brothers' big bicycles. They were boys' bikes that had the bar running across from the seat to the handlebars. Eventually my legs got long enough to reach the pedals with my tippy toes if I leaned from one side to the other. I would scoot off the seat forward just enough to reach the handlebars and hover over the bar. The next problem was how to get on the thing. There was a propane tank that was just the right height to climb onto, you know the ones that wore off silver paint on your hands and legs. Well.... if you got the bike to lean against the end of the tank, crawl up on the tank, put yourself on the bike seat while one hand is on the tank, then push away from the tank to a vertical position and start pedaling across the yard, you were on your way. It was important to stay in the grass for the eject landing. Stopping the bike before you ran out of yard was the next problem to solve. Picking the softest place in the yard for the dismount was very important. As I coasted at the end of the ride, I would throw one leg over the bar next to the other leg, lean the bike in the other direction and propel myself as far away from the crashing bike as possible. Then tuck and roll. Next get yourself up, pick up the bike and walk it back to the tank to do it all over again. It was hard work but a great lesson in problem solving.
There are a lot of times in life when things seem hard, uncomfortable and not how you wish it would be. I did get a bike, a girl's bike, after several months of this adventure riding. It was not a new shinny bike, but I loved it. My whole foot touched the pedals. There was no bar to split you into. Getting off and on was an easy task. I had great appreciation for that bike that I may not have had without the hard experience of the other. Thankfulness is greatly increased if you have had to do things the hard way and uncomfortable way. Don't give up when the going is hard and uncomfortable. Be thankful for the hard and uncomfortable things because of what you are learning. Get back on that bike and give it another go.
Grandma Lynn
"Packer & Stacker"