Bicycle

Bento No. 261

Finally, I figure out how to make the shape of bicycle to mark another milestone that my son achieved i.e. riding with two wheels!  At 4.5 years old, we decided that it is time for him to ditch his four wheels. We talked to our big boy about it and he was willing to try.   Having read so many articles and friend in overseas raved about balance bike, Papa thought why not improvised it by removing the four wheels (the extra two small wheels) as well as the foot paddle!?  Well, our dear handyman proceed with the modification. My son was more than happy to try on his 'new toy'.  I left it very much to him to straddle on the bicyclle with two feets on the ground mostly along the corridor at first.  He cautiously maneuvered the bike without a single bad fall.  That encouraged him to move faster with his feets.  I did not schedule a time table for training but rather, allow him to develop his confidence at his own pace.  Without any pressure, I asked him one fine day if he was ready to venture out of his comfort zone.  And I got an affirmative 'yes' from him!  So I brought my doggie, Nitro together with my son on his 'balance bike' to the nearest playground.  By then, he was pretty confident riding on his 'balance bike' and whisked passed all the parents and children (guess, they were unaware he was straddling on his two feets).  He became more daring.  On a gentle slope, he even attempted to balance by lifting up both of his legs without me.  And the other kids also loved to give him a helping hand by pushing up the slope.  They played on the slope again and again.  I was seated at one corner watching over them.  Instantly, I knew he was ready!  Papa put the foot paddle back on his bike and brought him down to the playground again for a real ride on two wheels.  It was a quiet Saturday and children were nowhere to be seen.  The next thing, we saw him cycling smoothly with occasional, stucked, stopped scenarios.

The whole experience was quite effortless on my part.  The balancing was done intermittently over a period of time with lots of encouragement and no pressure. Within a week, he ventured out with his balance bike and successfully riding on two wheels. Thanks to our daddy who came up with his idea and the children at the playground who gave him a push up the slope.

The next target would be cycling to Pasir Ris Park using the park connector from Tampines.  Crossing the roads, watching out for cars, looking out for green/red traffic lights, and uneven cycling path would be another challenge he have to learn. We had a scary experience previously when he veered off the path towards the traffic when he was cycling on four wheels.  Thank goodness, Papa grabbed him and stopped in time. Another recent heart-pumping incident was my boy cycled digonally to another road junction when he was supposed to go straight.  I screamed my lungs out to direct him back on the right course. As evidenced, he still has a lot more to learn before he is proficient with his cycling.....

His lunchbox consisted of homemade roast char siu, brown rice, blanched kailan/carrots, green kiwis, grapes and checker apple.  For the bicycle, I used a leaf foodpick for the frame, carrots/nori/cheese for the wheels.  Sprinkled some black and white sesame seeds to form the gravel road.