Big's First Ride

Today was Big's first official bike ride! He has ridden plenty in the house, but never outside, in the fresh air (I use the term loosely) like he did today. Riding outside necessitates the wearing of a helmet, of course. 

I missed taking a photo of his smile when I first put the helmet on his head, and he quickly realized that the helmet was staying on (okay, "quickly" is a relative term--it really took him about 10 minutes of struggling with it to come to that conclusion. Slow learner, you ask? No, just convinced of his own gargantuan strength). 

Not happy about the helmet:

Attempting the stretch-the-neck method of removal:

Trying the one-handed tug to the side (the open mouth is a must for proper execution):

Maybe this will work (Not a chance. Notice the internal adjustable band holding true at the back of his head):

At least he's good humored in his defeat:

"Are you sure I have to wear this, Mom?":

Big finally gave up and, helmet askew, headed out for his ride:

Well, more of a walk with a bike between his legs, to be truthful:

Everything was going along great, Big was having a blast--until he hit that pesky crack (I think I felt a twinge in my back when he did so, really!). The next thing I know, Big sailed over the handlebars, hitting the ground hard enough to knock his head clean off and send it rolling down the sidewalk!!! 

After a moment, I realized (thankfully) that his head wasn't in the helmet after all, but still firmly attached to his body. I never thought the helmet would come off (what with all of Big's manipulations and all), so I just assumed, logically of course, that his head must still be inside.

Now Big knows what is needed to take his helmet off, though--just a good whack of the head to the cement, karate chop style. Easy as pie!

The internal adjusting strappy thingy tagged him a nice one on the forehead before the helmet popped off. I don't know why pictures never do bruises justice, but here is what resulted from the crash:

I'm pretty sure that now Big thinks he was right about the not wearing the helmet thing. I tried to tell him that the cement would have done much more damage, but he doesn't seem to think I know what I'm talking about.

It reminds me of when Pen was little and didn't want to wear a helmet. I explained to her that I have her wear the helmet for safety and that I love her so much that I just want her to be safe, etc. Well, after that, whenever she saw a kid riding without a helmet, she would say, "Their mom must not love them very much." It was a little awkward when the parent was right there. Umm.

Wow! This is my 100th post. Already! Maybe I should slow down a little so I don't seem over eager?