It’s Just Like Riding a Bike

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“I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” – Maya Angelou

Riding bikes with my kids has given me a new appreciation for the learning process. That is to say, I’ve come to see “two steps forward, one step back,” in a more growth-minded way.

I bought eight-year-old Miss O a bigger bike (24 inch wheel) with gears. She hopped on and owned it. It was like she aged five years in that one move because it was bigger and sat her up higher.

As a result, four-your old Mr. D got her old bike, a medium sized bike (18 inch wheel). I moved the training wheels over from his small bike. But even with training wheels, he got a huge boost in confidence and speed from having a bigger sprocket.

We’ve spent the week riding everywhere and in all sorts of conditions. We’ve gone round the block so many times we must have worn a groove. Then one night we rode around our local little lake to get pizza. The next night we went up the hill to get pie. All the while, I’m riding behind Mr. D watching him wobble back and forth before he gains his balance, my fingers crossed that the training wheels will hold.

Then, we got the small bike out of the garage to pass on to another kid in the neighborhood. Mr. D hopped on his old bike, now without training wheels.

I held the back of the small bike for a moment. Before any of us could really think about it, Mr. D took off – riding the bike without training wheels. So, Miss O and I took turns running up and down the block a dozen times holding the seat for the start until Mr. D mastered that too.

All this has made me think of the rhythm of growth. Sometimes you have to go back a step to see how far you’ve gone.

It makes me think of the feeling I get when I go back to the town where I went to high school. With the swirl of old memories all around, it’s easier to see where I’ve grown.

Or when I dust off an old favorite recipe and discover how I’m better at trusting the timing.

Or when I hike a familiar trail and feel the burn of my muscles within the certainty that I can make the summit.

Or when I re-read something I wrote years ago and I can discern how it’s gotten easier to put my authentic self on the page.

Sometimes we have to go back to figure out how much we’ve learned.

43 thoughts on “It’s Just Like Riding a Bike”

  1. It’s always amazing to me Wynne how you find inspiration in everything around you. Exactly as I mentioned in last night’s post.
    Mr. D’s experience with his old bike is the perfect example of going back to see how far we’ve travelled. For this reason I keep copious amounts of photographs and write little anecdotes that are witness to growth as time passes. Occasionally I look back just to take notice and celebrate.
    Yeh for Mr. D and Miss O on becoming expert bike riders. Aren’t you exhausted? 😆

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    1. I love that you keep photographs and note anecdotes. It’s such a fun practice, isn’t it, Alegria?

      I’m a little exhausted. But since I guide us so that we ride to get our food, I’m cooking a lot less. It sorta balances out. 🙂

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  2. in looking back it’s useful to allow oneself to be reminded of one’s own own life as our children pass through similar moments to those you experienced. If we allow ourselves to grasp this opportunity, enlightenment is possible. The look back is, in effect, to see our younger selves through the lives of our children. We remember not only our lives, but those of parents and siblings. I suspect this is already happening, Wynne.

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    1. To see our younger selves through the lives of our children. Such a powerful insight, Dr. Stein! I hadn’t thought of it like that but yes – it’s like a duality of experience!

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      1. Thanks, Wynne. There will be many opportunities when your feelings in reaction to one of your children’s experiences produces emotion inside of you that go beyond an empathic response. It is not a customary “transferential” response, but not less significant for that. And the more that your kids are like you, the more often you can expect it to happen.

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    2. Indeed! This post made me think of Fredrick Douglass’s words: “measure their progress, not from the heights to which they may in time attain, but from the depths from which they have come.” It’s not only of how far away from being on the Tour de France we are, it’s also how far we’ve come from riding a tricycle?

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  6. So much wisdom here, Wynne, and it’s practical to boot. There is something almost magical about taking a step back and easily falling into and rhythm or recognizing our growth. Beautiful, and doubly so seeing that in your kids! 🥰

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    1. I love your amazing insight about, “There is something almost magical about taking a step back and easily falling into and rhythm or recognizing our growth. ” Yes! Thank you, my friend!

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  7. Oh this is so special Wynne. At times, I really don’t think we digest how much we have truly learned over the years. Thanks so much for sharing such times that you can never get back…just savor at the present. 😊🚴🏼‍♀️🌞🚴🏼‍♂️😍

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  8. I love how you infuse wisdom into daily life activities! You are so right, sometimes we need to take a pause to see how far we have come. I was thinking of this the other day, and felt so grateful for all the growth!

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  11. That is so true Wynne. As my retirement approaches, I have been spending a lot of time looking back. I definitely see how far I’ve come. Don’t you wish you could go back and give some advice to your younger self? It would be a fascinating conversation.

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  13. Today tennis player and champion Yannik Sinner lost at the Roland Garros. He said that being defeated is part of the growth process. Not only looking back but being able to accept failures makes you learn and grow. Beautiful post Wynne !

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  15. Wynne, this post is excellent. Revisiting past experiences to measure our personal growth is so important. It’s a continuous process that we should engage in if we want to improve our lives.

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  16. “Sometimes you have to go back a step to see how far you’ve gone.”

    Such wise words, Wynne. And I find that blogging and writing provide us with that gift of reflection to step back and take stock of our progress. I know you feel the same way.

    Congrats to both kids for graduating to bigger bikes. Just in time for summer break too. Enjoy it!!! 😊

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  18. I agree with Belladonna’s comment: your last line sums up the idea very well! And what a shining piece of wisdom. To take moments to look back and appreciate the growth. Also, big congrats to Mr. D for getting the hang of riding his bike without the training wheels!

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