Learning to ride a bike is one of the most valuable skills a child can learn, helping them master the art of balance, a skill crucial to so many other physical activities and sports. Not to mention there is just something plain magical about riding a bike, what with the wind in your hair, and your green conscience in the clear and all. Traditionally, children learn to ride a bike with training wheels, or at least they did when I was a kid. Now, things have changed, and before you go and get all nostalgic on me, let me tell you, they have changed for the better. A little over ten years ago Rolf and Beate Mertens came up with a novel idea that challenged the way children learned to ride bicycles and the very technology that we (adults) learned with: The Training Wheel.

Rolf and Beate were the creators of the first “like-a-bike”, which has since become a childhood staple for 2 to 5 year olds. It is a simple concept really — a bike without pedals or cranks that relies on two wheels and two feet to keep it upright. It ain’t rocket science, but I bet you wish you’d thought of it. This just goes to show that there’s always a better way to do something, and a lot of the time the “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” mentality can actually hold back progress, that a simple idea with some sweet design can do a whole lotta good. Now companies like UK-based Kiddimotto have taken the Mertens designs to the next level with a neat little range of kiddie motorbikes.

The Kiddimoto range comes in four styles, each based on a motorbike classic. From the “Scooter”, inspired by the mod scooter of the 60s, and the “Chopper”, a nod to future Easy Riders, to the Super Bike, based on real race bikes and the Srambler, a more traditional bike shape.

All this talk of bikes makes me want to go for a ride…and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Peace.

Patrick