This is how we ride in the Fielding family...

About three weeks ago, out of the blue, Elliott asked for the stabilisers to be taken off of his bike. We must admit to being a bit dubious - he still preferred his wooden balance bike and had hardly ridden the 'grown up' metal one.

Anyway, the stabilisers duly came off. And Elliott was off like a greyhound out of a trap. We were amazed! We cleared the patio for him and he practiced up and down, up and down. His confidence grew with every successful length. We bandied around the idea of taking him out to get more freedom and he grasped that idea and nagged and nagged and nagged.

So we popped to the bicycle shop to get him a more fitted helmet, got Tabitha and Milo gussied up with theirs and went for a bike ride. Kelvin rode alongside Elliott, with Milo in the baby seat behind him. I dragged the trailer with Lady Tabitha in it.

That week we built up to five mile round trips. After three in a row, I was shattered but Elliott still had more energy. He loves his bike with a passion. I can see that we'll be doing a lot more cycling in the future.