Bicycle Riding with My Four Year Old Daughter
Kaitlyn and I riding our bicycles on the Towpath Trail in Canal Fulton
Sometime in May, i took the training wheels off Kaitlyn’s bike. Kaitlyn is my four year old daughter. She had been riding a very small bicycle with training wheels all around the first floor of our house, as we have an open floor plan in the house. Secretly, several weeks before I removed the training wheels, I moved them up so that the wheels would not touch until the bicycle was leaned over a good amount. I watched for a couple of weeks as Kaitlyn rode around the kitchen and foyer, the training wheels were almost never touching the ground. She was riding a bicycle and keeping her balance very well, so that is when I took the training wheels off and the bike got moved outdoors.
Kaitlyn’s first experience outdoors on her bicycle without training wheels went very well. Kaitlyn started in the grass with me holding her up and doing the “run and release” start. Kaitlyn told me to let her know when I was going to let go, but she had already been riding 50 feet and didn’t know that I had let go. She rode for hours that night, eventually grasping the concept of turning, but taking many tumbles to get that concept. We made Kaitlyn wear long sleeves, long pants, and her helmet, as we expected far more falls than she actually experienced.
Fast forward several months and several trips to the local baseball field for riding practice. I needed to keep a promise to Kaitlyn. On the first day of riding without training wheels, I told her that I would reward her with ice cream. She immediately said that she wanted to ride her bike somewhere for ice cream, something that we could not do on her first day riding, but I promised her that “one day” we would ride somewhere for ice cream. It was time to make good on that promise, and Kaitlyn had not forgot about it. We loaded the bicycles in the van with the stroller. We headed out to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Canal Fulton, OH. Amy pushed Ashley, our two week old baby, in the stroller and Kaitlyn and I headed north from Lock 4 Park toward the Cherry Street Creamery in scenic Canal Fulton. My speedometer battery was dead on my bicycle, as I had not used it in several years, but I estimated the distance to be about one mile to the ice cream shop. We ordered our ice cream and enjoyed it on a bench in front of the shop, then we headed south again on our bikes. When we reached Lock 4 Park, Kaitlyn was upset that the ride was over, she wanted to continue south. When Amy caught up to us, she agreed to take the van to the next trailhead and pick us up (the next trailhead is about 1.5 miles away). Kaitlyn had just ridden between 3 and 4 miles on her first real bike ride! I was amazed and excited.
Two days later, Kaitlyn wanted to ride her bicycle again, so we went to the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail again at Lock 4 Park in Canal Fulton, OH. We rode into town and had breakfast, then returned so Amy could get the van and meet us at the next trailhead. Kaitlyn was not ready to stop after 3.5 miles, she wanted to keep going. Keep going is what we did. After 8 miles, I had to stop so that I could make it to work on time. Kaitlyn was disappointed that our ride was over “already.” I promised her that I would take her on a longer ride tomorrow and she was happy again. We drove to the local bike shop and bought a bell and a basket for her bike, then went home.
The next day arrived, and we went to Canal Fulton again and rode north into Summit County. We rode the Towpath Trail through Clinton, OH and continued north past Locks 3 and 2. We stopped at 5.5 miles from the van and we headed back. We arrived back at the van after riding 11 miles. This was the first time that Kaitlyn was not upset about not continuing a ride. She was tired and after our ice cream, she fell asleep within minutes of getting in the van. She later talked about how fun it was taking a long ride on her bike. I am sure that I got to hear her new bell for the bike for all 11 miles. She took her teddy bear “Max” with her on the ride (he rode in the basket).
Kaitlyn riding through the ruins of a lock on the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail
While researching rides to take with my four year old daughter, I looked at riding the Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail north from Akron. During my research, I discovered that the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad has a program called “Bike Aboard.” Bike Aboard lets you park your car at a train depot, ride the trail, and pay $2.00 per person and ride the train back to the depot that your car is parked at. Kaitlyn loves trains. She asks me all of the time if we can go ride a train (again). This is the perfect ride for her. I decided to try Bike Aboard out. We parked our car at the Akron Northside Depot and rode north on the Towpath Trail. Kaitlyn marveled at the scenery the whole way. We passed ruins of old locks along the canal, and crossed over new boardwalks and bridges. We got to see the train running south, then it passed us going north again. Kaitlyn was not told that we were going to ride the train, but that there was a “surprise” waiting at the end of the ride. We rode past two depots, and Kaitlyn stated both times that she felt great and wanted to keep riding. I calculated that we could make the Peninsula Depot with about 50 minutes to spare. We pushed on and arrived at the Peninsula Depot with 55 minutes to spare. Kaitlyn actually kept a faster pace toward the end of the ride than she had all day. When we arrived at the Peninsula Depot, we rode to a store to buy snacks and some juice, then rode back to the depot. Kaitlyn had just ridden 15.81 miles!!! We boarded the train where she continued to eat fruit and a Powerbar. After arriving back at the Akron Depot, Kaitlyn asked me if we could go somewhere else and ride our bicycles some more! She never said that her legs were sore.
The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad arrives at the Peninsula Depot in Peninsula, OH
Kaitlyn has talked about her bicycle rides to anybody that will listen. I have always loved riding bicycles. My father used to ride with me all of the time when I was in school, and I hope it was half as enjoyable for him as it is for me. It has been great spending extensive amounts of time with oldest daughter. I can’t wait until my youngest daughter, Ashley, is old enough to ride in the bicycle trailer with me!
Tags: Akron, Bicycle Ride, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, Ohio and Erie Canal, Towpath Trail