riding bikes

We did get Carl a new bigger bike.  Kenny kept telling me to get him the biggest size he was able to stand on because it would make it easier to ride.  Gretchen has a new 20" one that we won last fall at the school's hoedown celebration.  I had originally thought I needed a 20" one for Carl, too.  That was last fall/winter as I anticipated the spring.  Then, as spring arrived, we realized he is too tall for that bike, but felt he was still going to need training wheels.  I needed real advice since the internet wasn't helping, so I headed over to one of our local bike shops.  They were super friendly and helpful.  They had a wall chart that showed Carl needed a 24" bike and she also told me that you cannot put training wheels on a bike with gears.  I don't ride bikes.  I wouldn't know that unless someone told me.  So, I was not about to drop $300 on a new bike for him there and they had no used 24" ones in a decent price range.  So, I headed home to research more.  I discovered I could find a 24" Cruiser bike (picture someone riding along the beach boardwalk - sitting up nice and tall... cruiser.)  that would have no gears.  Meanwhile, we removed the training wheels at home on Gretchen's bike.  They shared and Carl surprised us all by being much more successful than expected.

So, I went back to the bike shop a couple more times looking at a used 24" bike and asking more questions.  Someone else said Carl would probably fit on a 26" bike as well.  Remember, Kenny said the bigger the better for easy riding.  Also, that person told me how to tell the difference between bikes they sell and other lower quality bikes I might find on craigslist.  Basically, anything you can find in a store like Toys R US, Walmart, Kmart, etc is the lower bike.  Any other brand name, they would actually buy from me used in trade-up someday.  So, back when Mom was visiting, we finally talked ourselves into buying the one used 24" one the bike store was selling.  I was still not completely certain I needed to spend that much money on a 7 year old kid's bike especially when we are not a bike riding family.  If you remember my earlier post, once we made the decision to buy that bike, it had sold earlier that day!  "It wasn't meant to be"....  yadda yadda yadda.

Now, several times, the bike store said if we found a bike on craigslist and wanted them to check it before we bought it - just have the seller meet us at the bike shop.  So, Kenny checked out craigslist and told me a couple to call on.  One guy never returned my email.  Another, had two 26" bikes.  One with a 13" frame and one with a 19" frame.  Kenny said to mom that 19" was a size for Lew and 13" would most likely be good for Carl.  Since Lew didn't have a bike (other than the one he bought for $4 at a police auction about 15 years ago) we asked the seller to bring both bikes to the bike shop to meet with us.  The one for Carl was a tad big, but we decided he would grow into it quickly.  Lew rode the other around the parking lot, declared it too short and said he didn't want it since the seat was all the way up.  The seller said, "Actually, the seat is in it's lowest position" and he raised it.  Voila ... Lew liked it.  Ugh.  So, the guy gave us a deal since we bought both.  We got both bikes from him for less than that other used one for Carl would have been.   I also picked up some new tires from the bike shop for my police-auction-special as well.  Mine seems to be in better shape that Lew's was.  I now know I have to go back and buy myself some streamers for my handlebars.  Gretchen agrees.  But, let me get the tires changed first.

So see - buying a bike is a crazy long drawn out process that involves a lot of worrying, a lot of online searching and researching and even some convincing to spend money.  I will say, the customer service of this local bike shop is amazing.  They helped us so much and all I bought there was $40 of tires.  Very pleasant people who were just happy to see a little boy get a new (to him) bike.

Now... the photographic proof......
photos taken April 7th, 2013

I have fixed his helmet - the plastic insert inside was sized wrong.  Now, it covers his forehead.

Her helmet will not stay straight.  Her head is shaped funny.  I know Kenny says it can fit straight, but it won't stay.

This was the first time he was able to start himself!