cycling – Mum Friendly

B Small Publishing constantly produce books which we love – and their latest addition is another favourite in H’s collection. My Book of Bike Activities is, as the cover says ‘A Wheelie Good Book’ – targeted at older kids and full of fun activities. We were sent a copy to review.

My Book of Bike Activities is lots of fun – and has lots of different things inside. For example, spot the difference, name the bike, know your bicycle, a cycling-related wordsearch and so much more. It’s targeted at children 6 and upwards, and crucially, both boys and girls – it isn’t a gender-specific book.

With the interest in cycling at the moment, and indeed now H has worked out how to ride on two wheels, it’s perfect timing. The Tour de France is set to start again from the 4-26th July, and after last year’s visits to York which we all watched on tv, I know this kind of book will appeal to H.

That isn’t all – there are guides on how to do various cycle-related tricks, and plenty of advice (how to avoid getting a puncture – how I wish I’d had a book like that when I was H’s age).

Towards the back of the book is lots of information about various kinds of bikes from the past (and indeed, these days) – I had no idea an MTB was a mountain bike – so even I’m learning here! (Well, they do say six and upwards)

Author Cath Bruzzone is a keen cyclist, and wanted to share her love of cycling, which is why this book exists. She realised there were plenty of books for adults to read about cycling, but none for kids – so she created My Book of Bike Activities.

The final word is with H, what with it being targeted at her age group. On seeing My Book of Bike Activities she exclaimed “WOW! Is this for me?” and then sat in silence doing several of the puzzles – not completing them all, but just a little bit of each one, or using her finger to trace the bike race, so as not to spoil it a second time. It’s a book she enjoys going back to.

As a parent, I like to think of My Book of Bike Activities as being like an issue of Okido or Anorak magazine – lots of small activities and articles that will keep a child entertained, plus they’ll learn about it too. Highly recommended!

My Book of Bike Activities can be bought from Amazon (affiliate link).
We were sent a copy of My Book of Bike Activities for the purpose of review. All opinions are our own.

H keeps growing. She’s going to be a tall girl, this we already know – but I had no idea a tall girl would go through two bikes in a year due to growing so much. Another one of those things they don’t tell you when you’re thinking ahead. We went for a cycle in Beddington Park in January where I took this photo. Later on we were looking at it and had an ‘uh-ohhhh’ moment. Look where her knees are.

We knew it was time to shop for a new bike, less than a year after getting the Apollo Pom Pom bike – a 14″ one. On looking at all the 16″ options, one thing stood out – no stabilisers. I know my daughter well enough to know that she’s not ready for two wheels yet, she doesn’t have the confidence. We’re in no rush, but for the first time in a long time we’ve had to really think about the kind of bike we’d like her to have.

Argos have a good range of bikes – I liked the Zinc range but don’t feel we’re quite there yet as far as getting a bulkier outdoor bike goes – so opted instead for the Silverfox Glitz. I could have done without the girly pink (which is why the Zinc range appeals with reds and purples), but spotted our chosen bike comes with mudguards. You can fit a parent handle onto it which could help with H’s confidence too (we need to buy it separately, Halfords have some for under £20).

We picked up the bike yesterday, all packaged in a box ready to be assembled. The tools were included so last night Shaun assembled it, and H had a good play on it today, working on balance. She finds two wheels scary at the moment so we’re lucky she hasn’t outgrown her old bike yet, just almost. I’m hoping by April she’ll be on two wheels and confident.

Given she’s moved into larger helmets recently, I’m hoping this bike will last for more than eight months – keep your fingers crossed! The balancing on two wheels updates will be happening from time to time on here – we’ve never had a balance bike so we’re going cold turkey. Wish us luck….

This post is in association with Argos, all opinions are my own

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Tag / cycling

My Book of Bike Activities

B Small Publishing constantly produce books which we love – and their latest addition is another favourite in H’s collection. My Book of Bike Activities is, as the cover says ‘A Wheelie Good Book’ – targeted at older kids and full of fun activities. We were sent a copy to review.

H Got a New Bike