Cycling queen

One of my most priced possession has been my BSA SLR ... MY bicycle !! I learnt cycling during summer vacation before I entered 5th grade. My parents allowed me to bicycle to school which was a good 5 kms from our house since my 5th grade. I learnt a lot of tricks on my bicycle and mastered the art of manouvering it admist traffic. I proudly bicycled the next 8 hrs till I entered Engineering.... which is when I was gifted my "Scooty".

Anyways, this blog is not about my bicycle ... its about Cantaloupes' bicycling. We bought a bicycle to her on her 2nd birthday. When we bought it, we knew it was a size bigger than her tiny legs could handle. Initial few months, she dismissed the idea of even sitting on it ... much to our disappointment. We reasoned, it could be her uncomfortable feeling on hanging her legs in the air. But soon, her legs were able to touch the peddle ... but she continued to resist sitting on it. That's when BP realised that his daughter needed a good amount of encouragement before she would start bicycling. By then she had turned 2.5 yrs .... May be it was coincidence ... but most other kids around us seem to cycle comfortably and we were left guessing what age the child might have began cycling.
BP then claimed (it was almost that I challenged) that he would ensure Cantaloupe was cycling by her 3rd birthday. The initial few weeks were difficult with Cantaloupe refusing to even come anywhere close to the bicycle ... we just couldn't understand what her fears were. Gradually, she started liking the idea of just sitting on it with her legs on the peddle, while her parents pushed it. It was our evening routine to go for a walk like this for almost couple of months. Then I changed my projects and could not get time to go on these walks because of work ... BP and cantaloupe though continued this routine.
One fine day, BP and Cantaloupe surprised me, when I saw my little daughter bicycling on her own. I felt so proud of her ... I know most kids can bicycle ... it may not be a big deal ... but for me it was afterall my daughter ... all thoughts of my association with my BSA SLR kicked in and a tear escaped from my eyes !
These days Cantaloupe loves the time she spends on her bicycle ... infact she eagerly waits for her dad to take her out for cycling. She goes out on his, while she on hers ... I have another bike too ... we are planning to go on a cycling picnic soon, with all three on our bikes ! That sure sounds fun to me :)