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On two wheels, another stage of childhood arrivesBy MICHELE MILLER
© St. Petersburg Times, It's Sunday afternoon, and there's way too much to be done around the house. But the to-do list will have to wait. It's time for the youngest to try out the hand-me-down two-wheeler with the purple and white streamers. Clad in elbow, knee and wrist pads, and a hot-pink helmet and wearing a grin that stretches from ear to ear, the 5-year-old is most definitely raring to give the road a whirl. My job is one I've taken on a couple of times before. I am the cheerleader and camera woman who watches from the sidelines to capture the moment for posterity. Although the little blondie on the bike has a different face this time around, the instructor is the same, just a little older, a little more gray around the edges and perhaps a little more winded as he jogs alongside with one hand on the bicycle seat, urging his daughter to pedal faster. While I watch through the videocamera lens, my mind's eye can't help but swing into rewind mode. I go back to the days of the sky-blue Schwinn and the knees that still show the scars from an inaugural ride on my parents' gravel driveway. Back then, learning to ride a two-wheeler meant freedom and entrance to a bigger, wider world. As the fourth of five children, I was often left behind. Mastering the two-wheeler meant that I was able to tag along with my older siblings on those daylong bike trips to the town pond, the beach, and once or twice, a coastal nature park called "World's End." It's a different world now, though. The kid in the pink helmet won't be venturing much farther than her own street, and never without parental supervision. My generation's parental perspective has come with a wary and often fearful awareness of danger. In a time when young children are snatched off the street, are stalked by cunning predators who are able to reach into our homes via a computer modem, we dare not send them out alone. So, for my daughter, riding a bike is not so much about freedom. Still there's something to be said for learning how to keep one's balance, how to steer straight, how to be aware of the sandy spots and potholes. Greater truths also come into play. "Practice makes perfect" helps combat a child's "I can't do it" frustration. Courage and her desire to strive for a new and different experience are traits to embrace and be applauded. She learns to trust the one who runs alongside her and learns that falling down can leave you bruised and feeling hurt, but it's something that happens to everyone. You just get up, brush yourself off and give it another shot. After about a half-dozen tries, the kid in the pink helmet is getting there. She rides about 30 feet, then wobbles some. True to his word, her dad catches her before she falls and encourages her to give it another try. Off she goes again and again. Before long, the instructor is sweating bullets. Weary from running up and down the street, he begs for mercy and promises to run alongside again tomorrow, or at least until she's able to go it on her own.
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