Second grade I received my first bike, a pedal bike, which puts me at 8 years old. I recall, precisely and clearly the experience of being pushed on the bike, being told to pedal, and once it got going, pedaling to the very end of the road.
Actually turning around was a bit of an adventure, but I managed that (and precisely recall the experience as well) - and so, 5 minutes after being introduced to my bike, I had pretty much mastered the basic skill.
I wonder if there is an age at which training wheels really don't make sense, and how many children after around five years old or so actually bypass the training wheels stage - I'm guessing it's a majority.
I've got another anecdote to support this: I taught my girlfriend's little brother (age 10) to ride his bike in about 30 minutes one afternoon. He'd never ridden, not even with training wheels, and is not particularly athletic.
All it took was running along beside him and letting go, then following and catching if he started to tip.
http://bit.ly/gmaps-firstRide
Actually turning around was a bit of an adventure, but I managed that (and precisely recall the experience as well) - and so, 5 minutes after being introduced to my bike, I had pretty much mastered the basic skill.
I wonder if there is an age at which training wheels really don't make sense, and how many children after around five years old or so actually bypass the training wheels stage - I'm guessing it's a majority.