I had three complete novices to train to ride a bike today. Two 10
year old children, a boy and a girl, and a parent.
My God! I didn't know what I was letting myself in for. Running
around the playground holding onto saddles, stopping children from
cycling into the fence or wall for two full hours. It was exhausting!
And by the end of the two hours?
The two children could merrily circumnavigate the playground - the
girl with a beautiful collection of grazes and bruises, and the mum
could manage one or two pedal revolutions - but was unscathed.
Then an odd thing happened.
The grandad of the boy turned up, and mum and younger brother of the
girl turned up and the teenage daughter of the mum turned up.
The boy wanted to show off his new skills to grandad.
The girl wanted to show off her new skills to her mum and brother.
The last thing the mum wanted to do was to show off her skills to her
teenage daughter.