EuroLIfe: Day 110

Look closely at the bike in the picture....no, no, not at the copyright watermark hovering over the picture, but at the bike itself--or should I say, the Like-A-Bike? No pedals; none whatsoever. These things are awesome, and we see them all over the city, every day. They are little pedal-less bikes for toddlers, and you should see how the little guys zip around on them.

So here's an excellent story from today. Michael and I were walking to "Bagels and Beans"--a coffee shop in town--when we saw a tiny little terror tearing towards us on his Like A Bike. On his face was a look of unbridled determination; he was, without question, not yet two years old. Behind him ran his mother, a look of anxiety and frustration on her face as she did her very best to catch up with him. She was yelling for him to wait for her but, as I said, his determination was unbridled and he paid her no heed.

Now, this was definitely the youngest Like-a-Bike rider I've seen yet, and also the most fearless. (He was propelling himself madly downhill, though not a steep hill, and it had only recently stopped raining.) Still, I am convinced that this explains why German children seem to ride bicycles at a much younger age than American children. I have no source to back up this claim, and maybe it's not true, but we see children who seem to be very adept bicycle riders by the age of 4 or 5. We see as many or more children zipping around on Like A Bikes at the age of 2 or 3. Coincidence? I think not. (Want to find out more? Read the book. Does anyone else remember that commercial?)

The mom did eventually catch up with the boy and, from what I could tell, give him a stern talking-to. Anyway, despite this one reckless little fellow, I heartily endorse this Like-a-Bike phenomenon. And, and now this is where it gets good, they are apparently available in the States! (John & Moira, if you're reading this, I think if Eamon and Reed every time I see one of these things.) There is a Like A Bike USA website in case anyone is interested: (www.likeabikeusa.com)

I'm telling you, these things are very cool.