I did it!

So it turns out that you were both right--I needed to start on a little bike, and the big bike does fit. :)

Had a biking lesson today with Kathy and Tim, both of whom are currently at the top of my favorite-people-ever list. Kathy was an amazing teacher (she has the patience of a saint, but wasn't afraid to tell me when to suck it up and wear the big-girl pants) and Tim was our fabulously supportive photographer. (Linda, we know how much you like photo documentation!)

We started out with an old kids' bike that Kathy's neighbor had. Isn't it fabulous?


We had to start with Kathy holding on to the back until I realized there was pretty much no way I'd be able to fall far enough to hurt myself and eventually figured out how to balance. Then I did it by myself:


When I had the little bike down, we broke for dinner (and a random freak hailstorm) before bringing out the big-kid bike. The confidence-gaining process was considerably longer, but Kathy was again super-patient and I only screamed like a girl twice. Here are some action shots...


Poor Kathy got quite a workout. Can it still be a brick session if one of us is running and one is biking? ;-)


Stopping is important...


Determination or trepidation? I'll let you make the call:


And for good measure, here's one where I'm not making a weird face:


After this, I rode a little bit in Kathy's subdivision while she watched for traffic. I think after one more lesson, I might be (easy, no-hill) trail-ready. :-)