It’s got a basket, a bell that rings, and things to make it look good…

A few weeks ago I walked down to the mailbox, and as I reached inside I heard a sound that I really hadn’t heard in about 20 years. I looked up at the road that runs past ours, and three boys were riding BMX bikes in the direction of the trailer parks. I stood there and watched them, and I was 13 years old following the boys on my ten speed, playing “You Can’t Put Your Foot Down,” and skidding out on purpose.

One of the boys riding past noticed me watching and threw up his arm in a, “hey,” which is totally different from a, “hi.” I tossed my arm up at him, watched them ride out of sight, and walked back to the house.

I loved that moment.

Livvie hasn’t had an actual bike yet. She’s been knocking her knees against her chest while riding her tricycle, and she also spends time in her Cozy Coup car. She’s begged for a bike. Her fourth birthday is September 12, and the plan was to find her a real bike so she could learn the ropes.

Never ask your child what color bike they want. Not at this age. She first said pink. Then she wanted purple a few days later. After she changed her mind again I decided that I would make an executive decision and find her a bike that would work best for her size and this terrain, something she could grow into, and to hell with which “girl” color it ended up.

I’ve been on the bike search for months.

Every time we go into a store we check out the bikes. I started taking them down and sitting her on them. She can pedal a 20 inch, but her feet don’t flatten on the ground enough. I thought about a 16 inch. After discussion we decided she’s growing too quickly for a 16 inch.

It’s a bit hard to find an 18 inch bike in the stores.

Time’s a tickin’, there are two weeks left, and my head has been spinning.

Last night I was scanning Twitter while Rich was working at his desk, and I saw that James Durham had tweeted this:

WOOOO-HOOOO! One of the greatest days of my life so far! My wife and I taught our little boy how to ride a bike! What an amazing thrill!!!!

What happened was I had this sudden flash to the first time my father let go, and I stayed upright. I asked James about it, chatted a bit, and delighted in his joy. All I could think about was how I was pedaling my ass off up the street in the direction of a large sedan belonging to the neighbors, and I realized I was doing it all by myself. I had a moment where I wished I could have had eyes in the back of my head to see my father’s face after he let go.

James has taken care of that for me.

I’d wondered about it all. As a kid my bike was my freedom. Once I got going on that thing I didn’t look back until I was almost “too old.” Biking wasn’t the thing back then. I left my bike at sixteen and sat in my car at seventeen, and that was pretty much that.

When Rich took a break from his desk I asked him if he remembered the first time his father or mother let go and he did it alone. he said it was probably his dad, but he didn’t remember the moment. I told him my bike was a Frankenbike my dad had built from discarded pieces, spray painted an atrocious teal in some areas, it had a yellow sparkly banana seat. I eventually got a purple and white 3 speed with hand brakes, and I loved it, but that first bike was the best bike ever.

So we sat on the bed, and he talked about cracking up his first bike. He’d been about six, and as he was riding down the road the frame snapped, and he ended up on his ass. After that he and his friends built what they called “Chopper Bikes” out of spare parts on a regular basis.

I have a bike. It has handlebar streamers. I’m going to be using it soon, I think.

After Rich and I talked I got on Google and did yet another search for 18 inch bikes.

The answer smacked me in the face this time.

For her fourth birthday my daughter will be getting her own BMX. The terrain here needs a fat-tired bike, and she’s a goob (and, as a matter of fact, yelled, “I’m a DORK!” in the back seat of the car the other day) who is rough on her things.

I conceded on the original request for pink.

It didn’t break the bank.

I’ll be able to hear That Sound all of the time.

It comes with training wheels. I can’t wait for the time when we remove them, and I let go to watch her fly.

With that comes her own freedom.

Bittersweet, but oh so exciting. She’s growing up.