You guys have all given me so many good suggestions and so much to think about. I appreciate it.

Mimi and Karen - what kind of bikes did your sons ride when they were small? Although my little one may be 10, she is the size of many kindergarteners. (Way OT, but my sister told me yesterday that my niece is wearing size 8 school uniform jumpers now that she has started Kindergarten. When my little one started Kindergarten in that same school, I had to special order size 2 jumpers from the uniform store!!).

I know many children's bikes are adjusted so that thechild can touch the ground flat-footed while sitting in the saddle, but DD cannot do that even on a bike with 20" wheels. She IS properly fed (lol) and gets a great deal of encouragement as well. However, with her bike probably weighing about 70% as much as she does - wouldn't that take a LOT of effort? The two DD's do ride regularly to the local swimming pool and to the Walgreens (which you can reach via regular neighborhood side streets). She *likes* riding her bike and has done 5 or 6 miles with us, but she is just not enthusiastic about those longer rides. I have wondered if it would help if I could find a bike for her that weighs a lot less. I should probably at least change out her tires since the girls rarely ride on anything unpaved.