Tag Archives: WOOM Bikes

Riding Without Training Wheels: The WOOM 2 Transition

Teaching your kid to ride a bike without training wheels may seem like a daunting task. But, if they’re used to riding a balance bike like the WOOM 1 from WOOM Bikes, it can be done in less than a week.

Not long after I announced we were getting a WOOM 2 Pedal Bike to transition from the WOOM 1 Balance Bike, the much anticipated two-wheeler arrived. Avery diligently “helped” Daddy open the box and get her Big Rocket ready to ride. Luckily, WOOM makes setup easy so your kiddo can hop on and ride pose for a cute pic.

woom bikes, balance bike, pedal bike, no training wheels, training wheels, riding bike, kids

For those wondering, yes, she quickly accrued 10 miles on the WOOM 1 to earn her new bike. Actually, it took less than a week to get there. Okay, okay, I admit that’s not much of a goal to earn a nice new bike like the WOOM 2, but hey, I wanted to see our girl pedaling for the first time! I imagined her hopping on and pedaling on the first try while she cried out in joy as she took off.

So much for my imagination.

After a few more attempts, it was clearly not happening on the first day. Knowing not to push her too hard which will easily ruin a kids’ experience, we called it quits for the day. Before getting on the bike that day, her enthusiasm for her new pedal bike was through the roof, but afterward, she was telling me she was all done with it and i could give it back. Ummm, sorry, dear, that’s not quite how it works.

The next day, after an encouraging talk and promises from daddy that I will be right there to hold on to her, she agreed to give it another go. Little did she know, I was going to suddenly let go as she was moving along. I wasn’t sure how it would turn, but it sounded like a good idea to this wise dad. But was it?

A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad) on

YES! On the second day of riding, unsure if my “just let go” plan would prove successful, Going Mom and I had a pedaling toddler on our hands! You could see and hear the confidence radiating from our little girl.

It’s always bittersweet watching your little one learn and grow, but this definitely goes down in the super proud dad history book. Avery has been riding great all by herself since that day and can even hang with the older bike riding boys in the neighborhood. When asked if they want to ride, I’d say their actions are all that’s needed.

She kept up well on her WOOM 1 Balance Bike, but now she can really hang with the more experienced friends. She’s also learning how to share her pride and joy, “Big Rocket” (the balance bike is now “Little Rocket”, obviously), with her friends.

The WOOM 2 is parent, Avery, and friend approved!

We’ve been watching her ride for a couple weeks now and while she’s getting better, there are still areas that need work. Thanks to the freewheeling kit offered by WOOM, she’s quickly learned to use her hand brakes, but every now and then she’ll shoot her legs out to stop with her feet as if on a balance bike. Another issue is getting her kickstand up/down.

It’s a daily struggle, but I refuse to help in hopes that she’ll eventually catch on. I know she will, but until then, it’s painful to watch. As frustrating as it is, she surprisingly accepts that she should do it on her own, and knows a nice bike deserves to be properly…errr, propped and not just laid on its side. Always respect your belongings, another great lesson.

Riding straight and not wobbling all over the sidewalk is another big area to work on. We have to remind her to look where she’s going and not get distracted, but any parent that has or had toddlers knows how that goes.

I’ll share more as her transition continues, hopefully with a better braker that can ride in a straight line! No matter what, everyone is in awe that she picked up riding her pedal bike so quickly and never needing training wheels. We tell her how proud we are each and every day.

Any tips on continued training on a pedal bike?

Care to share any stories of your own?

Balance Bike to Pedals: Making Room for the Next WOOM

For over a year, Avery has been riding her WOOM 1 Balance Bike (aka Rocket) as her number one choice for getting around the neighborhood.  As expected, it was a bit of a slow start as she got used to riding on two wheels. She’s never had or used training wheels, so you can only expect it to take some time. Here she is on her first riding session….

balance bike, kids, bike riding, learning, no training wheels

Surprisingly, she caught on fast as noted by her increase in speed and confidence in weaving left and right. She’s even displayed her skills at the local skate park.

Maybe it’s a biased parent thing, but I’d say she’s pretty good with her WOOM Balance Bike. Of course she still has her falls, usually from something like a construction truck catching her eye while she’s riding, but overall, watching her on the WOOM has give us nothing short of numerous #ProudParent moments. Including things like conquering a steep downslope even though she fell a few times before that.

I give some credit to using the song “Get Back Up Again” from the Trolls soundtrack. Her WOOM balance bike has even helped her learn how to share and get along with friends.

Any parent probably thinks about how their child develops socially, especially one that stays home with their kid instead of taking them to daycare/school, so seeing this puts a giant grin on my face! Now it’s time for the next step up in learning to ride a bike….pedals!

As fans of WOOM Bikes in our house, the choice for her next, pedaled, bike, is the WOOM 2. The super generous folks at the WOOM Bikes USA headquarters in Austin, TX happened to enjoy my posts with Avery riding their top-of-line balance bike and have agreed to send her a WOOM 2 to ride!

balance bike, kids, bike riding, learning, no training wheels, WOOM, balance bike, training wheels, pedals

WOOM Bikes has provided the WOOM 2 and accessories free of charge in exchange for my documentation of the transition from a balance bike to a pedaled bike. The plan is never relying on training wheels along the way, but some of her friends do have bikes with training wheels that she will ride as a part of them sharing so well.

I’d like to eventually have a weekly gathering of kids to ride their bikes in a safe place as parents join to encourage keeping active, sharing, and having fun. Hopefully we’ll be able to pry Avery off her new ride to share with other friends if they happen to want to test it out. At first, Daddy will be lucky to ride!

But before we give her the Rocket replacement, she has to earn it. Since we don’t want her thinking she just gets nice things for no reason, she must ride 10 miles on her WOOM 1 and maintain good control while doing so. Negative miles for times when she misbehaves. She’s almost at 5 miles as I write this, and so far we have a sweet kid besides the “freebie” upsets no toddler can escape.

I’m excited to start this journey to riding a pedaled bike, and extremely grateful to WOOM for allowing me the opportunity to share their high quality bikes for kids. My blogging time has gone down dramatically as I focus more on my family and playing with Avery, but keep an eye out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in between my posts to see how Avery is doing with her WOOM 2.

This one will be purple, any suggestions on a new nickname?

Bobcat Butt Hugs: #MySundayPhoto

This past week, we ventured through new territory on her WOOM 1 Balance Bike to explore the construction trucks in our neighborhood. Avery will call out a bobcat from a mile away, and when there’s multiple, her excitement can hardly be contained.

bobcat butt hugs, #mysundayphoto, kids, cute, bikes, adventure

When we happened upon these two skid-steer loaders (we just call them all Bobcats for Avery) parked back to back, she proclaimed they were giving each other butt hugs. Hence, bobcat butt hugs. Can’t really say she’s wrong, but I guess it would make for an awkward explanation if she were to say outloud around a group of people. I have a feeling it’s coming….

I’m loving the adventures we’re going on, and we are so proud of our little girl covering new ground and going farther than ever. Before we know it, she’ll be racing several miles on her bike while leaving mommy and daddy in the dust. The cliché of kids growing too fast also means going too fast in this case.

Another big thanks and shout out to Darren and his fun #MySundayPhoto linkup. Check out his blog full of beautiful pics and maybe share your own #MySundayPhoto!

Photalife