Guys Bikes

When we decided to start a family, Tony and I had many discussions about how we were going to parent; what we valued and thought was important to us. One of those decisions was to turn off the television. Not forever...we are realists, but for a while.

While she is young, we want to expose Molly to the world; to learn to do things in a more hands-on way. We want to help her find interactive ways to occupy time. I guess our theory is that we laying the groundwork for good habits later on down the line.

At first, turning off the TV wasn't an easy thing. But once we got past the first few weeks we discovered new things to do instead of hitting the power button on the remote. I am proud to say that for Molly, The Wiggles are something she gets when she has been in a car seat for too long. Elmo is just a red, furry guy pictured on her diapers. And Dora? She is just an obnoxious toy that Mom tries to hide as much as possible. (Side note: Is it just me or does Dora shout everything she says? Does the girl ever speak in a normal tone of voice? I must confess that Molly likes the Dora toy quite a bit, but I can’t take all of that yelling!)


I must confess that I recently made an exception for the No TV rule. What for, you ask? Guys Bikes, as Molly refers to it. Le Tour de France for the rest of the world. Le Tour, the only good to come out of a country that offers very little else that is redeemable (okay, I guess some say they make good wine, but I am not a wine drinker).

For 21 glorious days in July, Le Tour de France winds its way through the French countryside. And for several of those days Molly enjoyed her breakfast while watching Guys Bikes. She would point out their “hats” to me and ooh and ahh over their bicycles. She got to witness the beauty of the peloton moving as if it were one living, breathing organism as it sped through villages and hamlets. She cheered breakaways, gasped at crashes and held her breath during sprints. I taught her strategies for climbs, descents and attacks. I explained the responsibly of each team member.

Molly was hooked. Every morning she would wake up and ask, “More guys bikes?” How could I resist. It was such a pleasure sharing one of my passions with my daughter. Will she ever love bicycles as much as I do? Who knows? But it was certainly fun watching her enthusiasm over the event.

Now that the Le Tour is over, we’ll go back to our old routines and turn off the TV once again. Quite honestly I don’t think Molly will miss it. She’d much rather be climbing at the playground or cooking all sorts of wonderful meals with her play food or pushing her babies around in the stroller. Ahhh, when you are two years old, life is good!