Viva Gets a New Bike!

We've been talking about getting our 10 y.o. a new bike for some time. Her current bike is a 20" single speed that was too small for her. It's the steed that she first learned to ride.

Originally, my thought was to get her a kids' road bike. The problem is that they don't make them! Ok, I did find one at the LBS (local bike shop), but there aren't many of them. My wife Carol and I discussed it. And debated. And discussed some more.

This past weekend, Olivia and I headed over to the Trek Store Madison to see what they had. There we saw a couple bikes that looked interesting, but nothing that really grabbed her attention. Our sales person, Leah, then offered to get another bike that was just built up the day before.

Olivia test rode the one from the back as well as one on the showroom floor. After the test ride, she was real excited about the bike that Leah pulled from the back room. I placed a deposit and we left.

That night, Olivia talked excitedly about the bike and asked if we could go back and buy it. The four of us (Olivia, Carol, her sister Whitney and I) actually did run back into Madison for something else and swung by the store. Closed. She was disappointed.

Sunday morning, Olivia asked again. But Carol had to go into the office. We talked about it and made the decision to go ahead and do it when she came home. When Carol got home, we piled into the car and headed back to Madison. And bought the bike.

(I know, she's not wearing a helmet. This is in the Trek lot, riding it from the door to the car.)

We headed home and, surprise, surprise, Olivia wanted to go for a ride. So, off she and I went for a quick spin (about 2 miles).  It was a little cold, but she didn't care. She loves her new ride!  She's getting used to shifting the gears as well handbrakes.

See? A helmet! She knows that she MUST wear it whenever/wherever she rides.

And while it's not a road bike (my prejudice), she is very happy with her MT220.  We're already planning for a ride this weekend (if the weather cooperates - it is February in Wisconsin, after all!).  And she's talking about what accessories she wants/needs: lights, a lock, cycling clothes (a Loving The Bike kit, perhaps?!?), gloves, etc.

I may have created a monster! But that's quite alright!