how she rolls

Up until last Friday, Alex didn't know how to ride a bike -- a fact which is sad, not just because she's already 7-1/2 years old, but because her father is an avid cyclist, entering mountainbike races and trailbike races and triathlons with abandon. But for some reason, every time he had taken Alex out to learn how to ride her bike, she wanted to quit at the first topple-over. And so, since we had removed her training wheels ages ago, her bike has just been sitting in our garage, collecting considerable dust.

However, Marcus is on the board of the Greater Houston Off-Road Biking Association, and as it happens, this weekend they sponsored a kids' ride about 30 minutes from our home. We all went out (because the weather was glorious -- finally -- and Marcus and I wanted to take photographs), and while there watching the kids on their mountainbikes negotiating windy trails through the woods, Alex became determined to learn how to ride a bike.

So we came home, Marcus cleaned up her (now-far-too-small-for-her) bike and put air in the tyres, and took her out into the street.

And within 20 minutes, girlie TOOK OFF.