(Photo: Iowa Soybean Association / Joclyn Kuboushek)
Rural Route 2: Pedaling past the fear
July 1, 2026 | Bethany Baratta
We’ve spent the summer thus far learning to balance on two wheels.
It started as a challenge to our son: Learn how to ride your bike on two wheels before Memorial Day. Challenge accepted.
I can’t say the transition from four wheels to two was easy. There were days I would have been happy to pay someone to teach this. How do you explain that they “just” have to balance themselves steady and start pedaling? How do you reassure them that it’ll be OK because they have brakes on the bike (that they haven’t learned to use yet) and their feet can help break their fall?
We were pros at teaching this bike riding thing when the training wheels were on this bright blue and orange, Hot Wheels-themed beauty. But after loosening the bolts and stripping away the built-in balance, all bets were off.
I studied what I could. I watched other parents in the neighborhood teach their young children seemingly with ease.
How long do I hold on to the seat before letting go? Should I use that bedsheet to keep him upright while he learns to balance? Isn’t that a hazard?
The first week or so was just plain rough. Somewhere between the helmet check and overturned bicycle in the grass, we all lost our patience. There were tears and Band-Aids and “I quit!”
But practicing was non-negotiable — mama doesn’t raise a quitter! We were out the next day ready to try again.
It began the same way: Helmet and tire check. Kickstand up. On the seat; steady your feet.
But then our approach changed.
On the seat, but a pep talk before steadying his feet.
“I can’t wait to see what you can do today,” I said, reassuring both of us before we started out.
He got to the point where he could ride two cement slabs before leaping off his bike. Then three. Then five. By the end of that hour-long training session, he didn’t need me to hold on at all.
The next day was even better.
Still a bit shaky, but more confident. He learned how to brake before rounding corners.
The next started with the same routine, but a different pep talk.
“I’m confident that by the time we get back here, you’ll be able to do this yourself,” I told Luca before we started out around the half-mile city block.
By the end of the route, his confidence outgrew his fear. He wanted to discover new routes and go faster. He graduated to a bigger bike, and he’s excited to help a friend learn how to ride. Maybe we just all need that extra push — and the pep talk — to be steady on our feet.
Enjoy the issue!
Written by Bethany Baratta.
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