I’ve always had friends who are sharing some of the same life adventures as I. When I was a father of very young children, I swapped stories with other fathers with similar-aged children. When our children were young adults, I enjoyed talking with other fathers of young adult children. I learned how to be a grandpa from my father and my father in law to be sure. I’ve had good role models in my life. But I also have relied heavily upon friends who are grandfathers of children who are slightly older than my own grandchildren. Before our first grandson was walking, I was hearing stories of Strider brand pedal less bikes. The bikes were invented by a person in our town, Rapid City, South Dakota, and a friend who also is a grandpa had bought one for his granddaughter who took to it immediately and quickly learned to ride it. I was fascinated in part because although I enjoyed teaching our children how to ride their bicycles, the process took longer than I had thought it might.

As soon as our grandson was old enough, we purchased a Strider bike for him. He quickly mastered it and really enjoyed it. We bought him a pedal bike for his fourth birthday and he learned to ride it without training wheels within the first half hour that he had it. I had to get my bicycle to keep up with him the first day. It was very different from the days and weeks of following our children around on their bikes when they were learning. I was sold. There have been Strider bikes in the lives of all of our grandchildren except the youngest, who is just learning to walk. He’ll have access to a Strider soon.

Our four-year-old is on his second strider. The original 12 inch bike gave way to a 14 inch bike that has an add-on pedal kit. After he made the transition to the 14 inch bike without pedals, his father installed the pedal kit and he was off and riding the pedal bike.

One of the routines of visiting him this trip has been an evening walk around their neighborhood. Well, we walk. He rides his bike, turning in circles and doubling back to us because he goes so much faster than we are walking. There is a half mile loop in the neighborhood that we walk around three or four times. On the loop is a three-year-old friend of our grandson who comes out with his pedal less Strider and joins us. His mother and our daughter walk and talk while all of the adults keep our eyes on the boys zooming around on their bikes. There isn’t much traffic and the boys are good at going to the edge of the road whenever a car is coming down the street.

Watching the three-year-old on his bike reminded me of another thing about kids and Strider bikes that I had forgotten. The bikes that don’t have pedals don’t have brakes, so the kids learn to drag their feet. Once they get the hang of riding fast, the toes of their shoes become worn through rather quickly. I’ve been told that there is a similar problem with children who ride skateboards and scooters. The three-year-old on his Strider has worn holes in his shoes in just a few weeks. The rapid destruction of footwear has been a topic of conversation among the adults as we walk around the neighborhood following the boys on their bikes. Our grandson’s bike with the pedals has coaster brakes and has learned not to drag his feet to slow and stop any more. His shoes seem to be lasting a lot longer than those of his friend who rides without pedals.

Being a regular customer of Strider bikes, I’m on their email list, so I was interested to receive an email in which Strider bike founder, Ryan McFarland, announced a partnership with a shoe company to promote special shoes designed to take the tough wear of children who use their feet as brakes. Ryan is a very practical guy. He invented the pedal less bikes when his son Bode was 2 years old. He just wanted to share his love of riding bikes with his son and the result was a company that has become his life’s work.

At first it appeared that the special shoes, manufactured by the partner company, Keen, were on the market at about half the price of a Strider bike. However, after talking with the parents of the three-year-old a little internet searching revealed a supplier that is selling the shoes at a less expensive price. If they last twice as long as regular shoes they will be a good investment for parents. There is a pair on its way to the family of the three-year-old and I’m excited to see what the results are. No one who loves children and witnesses the joy with which the boys ride their bikes every day would want to try to stop them from having that fun, even if it means that shoes are quickly worn out. Having a special shoe that is designed for the heavy wear of a strider bike rider might be a good investment. Because McFarland’s idea has proven to be so successful with our grandchildren, and we’ve felt good about all four of the Strider bikes we’ve bought so far, I am inclined to trust him with other matters and his endorsement of a shoe seems worth a closer look. In this case, I’m not fronting the funds for the experiment, but I’m very interested in seeing the shoes and observing how they work.

I don’t know the grandparents of the three-year-old, only his mom and dad, but I’m confident that the grandparents are also interested in the shoes. If they last for six months, the boy will be ready for a bike with pedals and the shoes will have been an enormous success.

In the meantime, I’m getting a lot of entertainment from following the bike riders around the neighborhood.