The bicycle

Remember the times when you would rent a bicycle for an hour for a rupee and beg your parents to help you out on the road?I have had many of them when I was about nine years old. We then moved to Chennai, where my cousin and I would still rent bicycles from the local shop and have fun on the roads. All this stopped when my cousin was gifted a BSA champ bicycle with stabilizers. This became our pride and joy and a ride on this bike was almost always the first thing we did every morning before leaving for school. When I was 12 and my cosuin was 11, we had our own bicycles - a Hercules and a Hero to take to school regularly. For Aditi, the bicycle interest started early on. Every evening over the last month or so, she would be seen sitting on a little bicycle with stabilizers when I went to pick her up in the nursery. There are about half a dozen kids in our estate, who own bikes and go for joy-rides in the evenings. Aditi would normally ask for lollipop, but whenever she saw one of these bicycles, she would stop and stare at them and ask for one. It would go something like - 'Amma, Where is my bicycle?' Thoughts of my own childhood flashed from time to time and we decided to get her one. Two weeks back on the sunday, when Prashanth was at work, I took her to the local bike shop. she was excited to say the least. She got onto a little pink bicycle with stabilizers - a test one and started riding it all over the shop floor. We tried another little yellow and pink one. I explained to her that we could not take one home that day as we did not bring the car. The next evening when Prashanth came to pick us up, we went straight to the bike shop. Aditi rode the little bicycyle again to impress her dad and we brought home a yellow and pink one, fitted with stabilizers. She's got a little red helmet and wears it proudly before every biking session. Her two friends aged six and nine come knocking on our door, if we do not take her out for her bike rides every evening. Overall it has been fun so far, to watch my little princess ride carefully on the road outside our house. It helps that we live in a cul-de-sac inside an estate, for there's hardly any traffic in the evenings. Yesterday, I met a lady with her little daughter, who's moved recently into Sheffield and lives in our estate. Aditi was on her bike riding spree and the lady asked me if I had skipped the tricycle stage. I was astonished - it made me question myself - Should I have bought Aditi a tricycle before moving her onto a bicycle? I know she's ridden or tried to ride a tricycle in her nursery. I ahve seen her on it when she was younger. But what I have seen and learnt is children never RIDE a tricycle. They just move it with their legs on the floor for a long time and by the time they learn to pedal, have almost outgrown the tricycle. The bicyle makes it easier to pedal and the stabilizers do provide the support. The only drawback I can think of is that it can only be used outdoors. Given that we live in an estate that's closed to public traffic, it was easier for me to make the choice. I hope Aditi does not demand pictures of her on a tricycle when she grows up!