When he got his new viola on Friday, he made the comment, “I am not going to be able to ride my bike with that and my backpack, and my lunchbox.” I just looked at him and shrugged. He only had 5 days of school left, we would get him to school with his viola. I was not worried.
Well today, he decided since he did not have his backpack anymore, he was riding his bike. His new viola case has straps to make it a backpack. So he strapped it on his back and ventured out.
It is not far, it is 1/4 mile from our house to the front door of the school. Due to the fact that the school and our house is separated by a major road with lots of traffic, we have a bus. That is the only reason we have bus access. You might remember that we are almost 2 miles from the elementary school and we do not have bus access.
It is not the distance that is the problem for Kyle to get to school. It is the fact that this road is busy in the morning with everyone going to work. The posted speed limit on the road is 45MPH but this is not what people drive on this road. I know, I drive on the road on a daily basis, multiple times a day. The actual speed on the road is closer to something between 55-65MPH. That is is not something you want to fight with a bicycle, at least not if you are “faint of heart.” You are going to have to ride like you know what you are doing and you are going to have to take various safety precautions to make sure that you do not get run over by drivers that are just not paying attention.
There are 2 entrances to our neighborhood. There is the one that is closest to us and then there is one the one that is going away from the school but it is at a stop light with a cross walk. If you use the entrance/exit closest to our house, you will essentially be jaywalking across Spring Cypress but you end up right on the edge of school property.
If, however, you go down the street away from our house (and the school that sits on Spring Cypress), over a block, and back up toward the light on Spring Cypress you have a light with a cross walk to help aid in your “safer” crossing of that road. You do have to cross back over Old Louetta Road to the parking lot that is there, however, that is a minor road compared to Spring Cypress. Once you are across this small parking lot, you are once again on school property. So you are adding distance to ensure your safety so to speak.
I was okay with him doing this if he would ride this route. I am not sure how or when I became okay with this. I am certain that it was after riding to and from school with Lance that I learned that it was okay for them to do some hard things. I had taught them how to do this and for the most part they were ready to venture out on their own. Kyle is intelligent enough to know when he is in a dangerous situation and it was time for him to branch out and learn for himself how to get out of it.
I did set my “parental preferences” for him. He could not ride on Spring Cypress or Old Louetta (it does not have a shoulder), but he could cross over them. Incidentally, I have let Kyle ride as far as grandma’s house now and he made it safely. It is just over 3 miles if you ride along Spring Cypress, he had to probably 5-6 miles or so out of his way to appease my “safer route” request. He was happy to do that. He has even offered to ride over to the church which is about 6.5 miles away. He loves riding his bike. It is such great exercise.
Oh and I was not following him this morning to get these pictures, I was on my way to the pharmacy and just happened to catch him en route still. I love this child. I have really seen him grow and mature this year.
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