Friday Fun: Toddlers Take to the Race Track

"It's a hot spring day in Fort Worth, Texas, where hundreds of toddlers and parents have gathered at a series event for the Strider Cup—the biggest thing in balance-bike racing," writes Jason Gay to introduce a very cute story that will appeal to fans of bikes.

Balance bikes are new way for toddlers and little kids to learn to ride bikes. "Today, more children than ever are learning on balance bikes—low-riding, pedal-less two-wheelers that toddlers propel by repeatedly pushing their feet off the ground, the way Fred Flintstone drives his car," explains Gay.

The new balance bikes also make possible events like the one Gay sends this dispatch from. The Strider Cup is actually a series of races that began with the race in Texas and concluded at the end of July at the World Championships in Salt Lake City, "where more than 400 of the world’s fastest balance-bike athletes—many of whom presumably still hydrate via sippy cups—are expected to compete."