Weekend Cycling

Now that Kecil can hold up her own on a bike (quite) close to the size of her parents bikes, on a rare weekend when we all managed to wake up early, we decided to cycle together. Given the mode of transport (bike, instead of walking), Daddy was optimistic enough to set the horse stables as our goal.
Mama was just happy to tag along and take pictures.

We took a water break at the next housing complex where Mama checked out the pool at the background. See the rows of plastic boats at the top right corner? Looks interesting, no?

Soon after the housing complex, the road became steeper. It was going down, but both sides of the road also went down steeply. It was a pretty cool view, but definitely not for the faint-hearted.
Not to mention the fact that there was no longer any sidewalk along the road.

For safety reason, Daddy recommended going on the grass rather than on the road itself. This was because the cars seemed to drive pretty fast there. But going on the grass proved to be too much for Kecil. Her little hands soon got tired from handling all the bumps and the brakes.

So.... we did not quite get to the stables. We were pretty close, but I think Kecil's knowledge of the terrain proved to be her undoing. She knew we would still have to handle a bit of a stretch of rough roads, so she gave up early. So we turned back, and Kecil, with her tired little hands, chose to 'rest' on Daddy's bike while Mama pushed her bike and Mama's.
 (Yeah, I know. I am awesome, am I not? Kekekeke.... It was not THAT easy, but it was doable, and anyway, it was not that far from the housing complex where there were again sidewalks)

Thus ended the story of our weekend cycling. Actually, once back on familiar ground (sidewalk & safe, flat roads), Kecil was back to her usual sporty self. I guess we have to go slowly if we were to transition to off-road biking.

Still... we have hopes for next time. Now it's just to figure out another weekend when we all wake up early enough to cycle. Ha! I shall leave you with the speculation of the black sheep who tend to wake up late during weekends. Cheers!

Cycling 3.1

So fast after my report on Kecil's mastery of 2 wheel bike, Kecil 'complained' of the bike being too small for her.
To quote her, "My knees are bumping into the handle!"
Dang.

So, Daddy decided that for our Christmas holiday trip, we are due for another epic loot.

Yes, another bike.

From the very same shop, we got this baby, and lugged it across 2 countries before finally made it home here. This time round, we decided to bring the bike to a proper bike store to be assembled (we got it still in the box, the parts still un-assembled and the tyres not yet inflated). Unlike the Hello Kitty bike, this one has gears and two (two!) suspensions. We were not taking chances, and indeed, by the time we got the bike, we were glad for the decision. The work looked kind of complicated!

Anyway... it was test drive time.

This 'big' bike is definitely quite a jump from the Hello Kitty one. Although both Mama and Daddy agreed that it was just the right size for Kecil, the height of the saddle (and the bar) definitely took some getting used to. The weight so did not help (the bike is pretty heavy thanks to the middle suspension).

It took a lot of tries, a few falls, LOADS of practice and encouragement, but finally Kecil is 'road-worthy'. Why, just last weekend, we cycled together, Mama, Daddy & Kecil. Only no pics because Mama's hand was full with the bike and the not-sufficiently-trained Dog. Not sufficient, because I can't trust the Dog to stay on our side without the leash. Holding the leash, this Mama had to be very careful not to get pulled down by the Dog.

One unprecedented effect? Kecil wears her shorts and pants more often now during her cycling days. Hahaha.... No more dresses, because they can't be worn for cycling, no? Oh, and did you notice how she purposely matched her clothes to the bike?

The bike might be new, but it's already getting some scratches and other signs of some hard use. Sigh.... Still, I guess that's better than for the bike to be buried in an inch of dust of disuse.

And for those of you who were reading my title and wondering, here's cycling 1.1:

Then the trike seat broke. Me thinks Kecil got too heavy for it. That's how we came to epic loot numero uno, aka the Hello Kitty bike, and cycling 2.1:

Still with the leash while she built up her muscles. Sure enough, she did grow enough strength to push and ride her own bike without Mama's leash. Ehmm... let's kind of forget that Mama had to bring the bike to the bike shop to have it's brake fixed before I dared to let her go on her own, eh?

So that was cycling 2.2, complete with the fashion statement. Haha...

Then there was cycling 2.3 when the wheels came off, but you already know that, right?

Cheers for you, Little Girl. Take care always, on the road, but also have fun! Cheers!

2 wheels ...

The Halloween post (s) took a while to finish, in the mean time, life goes one and Kecil's stories just piled up for Mama to share.... like the one on Kecil already RIDING ON 2 WHEELS BICYCLE!!!!

Ahem.... hehe... sorry. This (very proud.. ahem...) Mama is excited.

It actually happened before Halloween. It was a public holiday, and there were just Ami and Kecil around that day. Then Kecil suddenly asked me to take off her stabilisers (those extra 2 wheels on the bike). We tried taking them off before, but I noticed that she simply did not practice, letting Jessica & Ami (who were able to ride 2 wheels before Kecil) borrow the bike instead. So I put them back. Until that day.

Ami coached and encouraged Kecil for a while. She even let Kecil use her (smaller) bike to practice for a bit, then she had to go for her music lesson, and Mama went inside as well. Apparently Kecil kept on practicing, and pretty soon she got the hang of it.

By the time Ami finished her music lesson, Kecil was already 'proficient'. Why, that top picture was actually taken not long after, when we went swimming.
During the days that followed, Kecil practice EVERY day, even before going to school, while waiting for the rest of the car pool team to arrive.

It's kind of amazing, especially since this Mama still remember a time when those girls still had to be pulled using dog leash:

Imagine that! Now that all the girls are on two wheels, of course we had to take mini bike trips around the complex:

Why, the other they she even managed to bug Mama into cycling with her!

Ohohohoho.... now if only this Mama can peel the little girl away from her beloved fellow midgets friends for more cycling trips, I think I am going to be one happy (and healthier) Mama. 

Cheers to you, Little Girl!

More cycling news

Just because this Little One is very much into her bicycle, and through daily practice, she has now become quite the expert on cycling! (so the proud Mama enthused).
Here's a video that I think turned out quite well. I hope you enjoyed it.

And right after the video, we of course moved on to our daily walkies, to enjoy the lovely evening sunlight. Photography, after all, is all about light, remember? And cute subjects.

(I think I am really overdue with the rest of the holiday coverage, but seriously, we are accumulating a serious stack of beautiful pics of Kecil and her new bike, so I had to just get this one out of the way. Again, we'll try to finish the hols coverage soon. Sometime before Valentine's day? haha)

Epic Holiday: The Epic Loot

The biggest, most epic loot from the epic holiday came in a heavy cardboard box with a pink Hello Kitty stamp. 

And just in case you are wondering, yes, this particular loot is also Mama's biggest justification for calling the holiday Epic. 

Especially since  we had to drag this particular piece of loot through 3 airports (with 1  night stopover in between) before we finally arrived home safely with the said item. 

Thank God for the availability of cars, taxis, trolleys as well as luggage deposit service through out the journey!

And if you are wondering about the loot.... let's first start with a story.

About a year back, Ami arrived back from her holidays with a small, pink bicycle. 

Well.. in her case, actually the bike arrived slightly later in a delivery box. 

But the point is that the bike became an instant hit. 

Do remember, however, that Ami is older than Kecil, so at the point when Kecil is still content about being pushed on her old, small tricycle, Ami was quickly picking up proper cycling.

Kecil, on the various occasions when she got to borrow the bike, usually only manage to move small distances on the smoothest surfaces. 

Most of time, she prefers to pedal backward. 

Me thinks because it's the path of least resistance, or something. 

In any case, Kecil's trike broke one day, sometime before we embarked on our Epic trip. 

I think it was a combination of a heavier load, general wear and tear as well as some abuse through the ups and downs of the road. 

But it broke, and we couldn't fix it. 

And Kecil demanded for a new one, a particular Hello Kitty one that Daddy once showed her on the computer.

And so it became one of the objective of our holiday to find the said item.

Thankfully, we succeeded.

A pink, super girly Hello Kitty bicycle, with hearts and Hello Kitty everywhere, complete with a matching pink helmet 

(Mama was so going to kiss that nice store employee for actually rummaging through the store and coming back with an adorable PINK helmet to go with the bike! That was some awesome service at Rodalink Store, Rungkut, Surabaya!)

Oh, and did I mention the cute Kid on top as accessory?

Yup, that Kid.

Anyway, unfortunately we do not really have smooth, flat roads around the house for Kecil to easily cycle on. Although somehow having her own bike managed to make her learn  how to pedal properly (in the right direction) within record time, climbing uphill is still  quite beyond her ability.

So Mama got a bit creative (more inspired by Ami's Mama, actually).

Oh, yup. We actually put a leash on the bike, so Mama can pull the bike whenever it gets too heavy for Kecil to pedal. It turned out pretty useful too, because we have to figure out the proper setting for the brakes. So now the leash can be used to pull the bike through steep inclines, or slow/stop the bike when going downhill. We really should be getting along with fixing the brakes, but in the meantime...we also have a bundle of energy ever so eager to 'test-drive' her loot.

Yeah, not a day passed without seeing this familiar sight near the front door these days. On the other hand, Mama also managed to get this pic:

Absolutely adorable! Hahaha.... I guess it was really Epic, the loot. Until next time!

A little ode...

When the head is heavy, yet sleep doth refuse to come,
Let's write a little ode, for the past and the years to come.


Also, I think I promised some 'vintage' photos. So.. here we come...

Little Lamb Friend

Have you met our Little Lamb Friend yet?
This is our very special friend, whom we take for almost every single walkies, apart from the Dog and the Little Girl, that is.
It's actually attached to the tricycle which I bought quite sometime ago for the very purpose of taking walkies with BOTH the Baby and the Dog.
Well, there's also that part about the Little One not being able to keep her hands away from the neighbor's tricycle, but we shall not mention that, ya?

So, here was the trike when I first bought and presented it to the Little One...

Kecil on the trike

 Twas indeed a long time ago. Haha...
It was chosen and bought based on just a few basic criteria: it has an adult size steering handle, and not electronic thing-a-magic in front. Those kind of thing usually do not last very long. Hence we have just a simply squeaky toy in the form of Little Lamb Friend.
Of course, we somehow lucked out in many ways: the color scheme (blue and pink) happen to match the neighbor's trike (which Kecil had set her heart upon), the whole construction was pretty sturdy and well thought (with the baskets both in front and at the back of the trike), the design would be usable through several stages of growth... etc. Simply said? I love that trike, and as the one pushing it on daily basis, that's important.

Kecil on the trike

Thankfully, the other party, the one who has to ride it on daily basis, also love it.
From the squeaky toy, the safety belt (a bit hard to see), the everything.
And for a while, she was content to ride while Mama push the trike on daily walkies with the Dog.
Once she's bigger, of course, she wanted to copy Mama...

Look, Mama, I can push it too!

I can push and bring the Dog too, Mama. Oy, Dog!

Posing

Ahem, Ok, I do NOT pose with trikes. But then again, maybe I do show off. Ahem. So...

Curly Kecil on the trike

Well... the color has somewhat faded slightly, but the trike is still going strong. Nowadays, Kecil is already strong enough to walk run(!) on her own during walkies, but we still bring along the trike anyway, just in case she got tired.
Better on the trike than being carried by Mama, ya? She's not that light anymore.

Unfortunately, there's no escaping carrying her should she fall asleep. The seat simply does not accommodate a sleeping baby.
Just try not to make it a habit. Juggling a dog, a trike, a sleeping (heavy) baby and some funky terrain is sure no joke. Fuh.