Riding on Gravel...

... can be kinda tough sometimes. Especially if you're just starting out on a big girl bike with training wheels!

Here, in our neck of the woods, roads aren't paved NEARLY as much as back home. To be a paved road it needs to be a MAIN highway (read: a really high traffic area!) or in town. And since we won't ever be moving to town or tossing our kids out on a busy highway... our kids are just out of luck! They may get the luxury of a concrete driveway soon, but for now it's gravel everywhere ya turn!

Alia was given a big girl bike awhile back and it has been SO fun seeing her progress!

At first we held onto her bike and let her give it a go WITHOUT training wheels.

Then we realized this method makes for a very LONG cruise around our little community... and back aches for Mommy and Daddy! So we put on some training wheels and told Alia to have at `er!

The main problem with gravel is that it isn`t even. Some spots she can cruise as fast as her little pedals allow... and then the next moment she`s hung up on her training wheels with no grip to move an inch!

We`ve let her cruise around in the garage a bit, and that has really helped her ability. Now she can pretty much keep up with us when we`re out for a walk.... with the occasional power boost when she`s stuck!

She found an old bungee cord the other day and now her ``race bike`` has become a tow truck.

She just hooks up Larren`s tricyle behind her and ``pulls`` her up and down the road!

I say ``pull`` loosely because the reality is Mom and Dad are pushing Larren`s trike a fair bit from the other end! But hey... whatever works!

Yeah, she may not be able to ride her bike as often as a city kid... but... she`ll sure know how to get through the rough spots when they come along! And ya never know... maybe she can charge the younger neighbor kids for her towing services to pay her way through college! :)