A cycle adventure I'll never forget

by Micaela MacAulay
28th March 2018

So I’m strutting proud as punch beside my highly capable two year old son with the latest turbo 4500 balance bike heading to the main street which involved roads going up and of course roads going down.

 

He made it so easily over the first hill with the descent bringing a little speed, but nothing that was enough to ruffle his feathers.

So when he saw the next descent he didn’t think anything of it and unfortunately neither did I, in fact I was so cocky I lagged in my flip flops at least 5 metres behind which was when he really took flight and then I was more like 50 metres behind my balance bike speeding toddler!

 

As he sped down that hill I then also realised that the bike had no brakes, Oh bugger no freaking brakes! Could this moment get any worse? Why yes it could, because he was about to hurtle across the round about into a summer heaving high street full of Range Rovers and every other SUV you could imagine, with unsuspecting drivers about to see or feel a hurtling 2 year old balance biker head towards them.

 Some very kind strangers tried to throw their bodies on the line and become human speed bumps, but it was to no avail he was lightning. This was the moment where I couldn’t get to him thanks to my stupid flip flops bending like rubber underneath my toes which made it impossible to give chase.

 Just as I thought my world was about to end, my son dived and rolled on to the road like he was escaping an explosion. I lost at least 10 years from my life in just that brief 5 minutes of action.  As he hobbled up from the road, tears streaming down a red and sweaty face. I had to do a double take, there was no blood streaming down or broken legs or missing teeth, he barely grazed his elbows, there were two faint scratches on his knees. I couldn’t believe it, was he bionic?

As we crossed the road hoping that the crowd full of fat old men in tight lycra sitting outside drinking their lattes after 5 kilometres of flat road cycling didn’t notice, the crazy mother pathetically trying to rescue her 2 year old son in her flip flops! An old bloke screams out with concern

“Gee that was close!”

Lesson learnt just when you think your son is god’s gift, moments will remind you to get back down to earth!

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