A beautiful sight

For Christmas our eldest daughter was presented with the one gift that she has wanted all year long. A new bicycle. She was so excited she couldn’t wait to get on. But before we let her take off, we took her Allanti, our favorite bicycle shop and had her fitted to her new ride. The guys there are awesome. They made her feel really cool and grown up because they were explaining everything they were doing during the fitting and teaching her basic bicycle stuff. And also commenting on what a great bike she has. You can ask them pretty much anything without them making you feel like a tool. And sometimes I ask tool-worthy questions…
You see she is only 10 and barely big enough for this womens bike. And being a little fanatical about our bicycling around here we know the importance of proper fit. She also picked out her very first pair of clipless riding shoes! She seemed a little nervous but the guys at Allanti had her so amped up to ride that her nerves were over rode by excitement.
Me, being the Mom that I am, was a bit nervous because I know how difficult it can be to get used to clipping-in and un-clipping at a stop. I actually hated the first pair I had and gave them up. But I have also been on a 30 mile ride without them. I learned the hard way that they are essential. Even so, the potential for falls is great. And it hurts. Bad sometimes…

Here she is sporting her new shoes and pedals:

Safety first:
I took her on a short four mile ride Saturday morning to instruct her in the art of “clipping in” and when and how to change gears and in proper brake usage. She had a couple of spills, she started to get really frustrated when she couldn’t get clipped in. We had to stop and take some deep breaths to keep from tearing up. I played the role of gentle encourager. She got back up and kept on trying. She has some scrapes and bruises. But she didn’t give up. She kept right on trying..my heart is swelling with pride..
But after we got back she rode all day long. I wish she had a GPS on her bike so I could know her exact mileage. I think it was somewhere around 20 miles. On her first day.

Here she is in all of her glory:
A beautiful sight for a biking Momma-

Look out Lance!! This girl is going places!