Family Ride?

[Divscotty]

Thought it would be interesting to hear stories about some of our younger riders.

Here is a story from this last weekend.

This is a note about our Grandaughter age 8 whom rides a Gary Fisher childs hard tail. Not sure of the model but it's red and that thrills her as it matches her helmet.

Last Saturday we rode 8 miles of begining/intermediate trail on the middle fork of the Willamette River. She's been riding trails approximately 2 years.

She amazes me with her courage. In particular one drop is at least 7 feet laced with multiple roots with a turn at the bottom to miss a tree. The drop is so steep, has large roots and I have not seen anybody ride up that ticky section.

We waited for her about 30 feet down the trail. She rode to the drop, peeked over. Grandpa hollard you can do it. Then she shoved off and rode it perfect and she did not take any speed into it.

Such a grin. I don't know who grinned more Dad, Grandpa, Grandma or Grandaughter.

Her wheels are little ones so the rock gardens are quite different for her. I waited for her at the end of a particularly long one. She cannot carry much speed. She moves slowly nearly track standing for each rock.

She is fun to ride with. Won't be long and she'll be waiting for me. The Grandson sometimes already waits.

Divscotty

[justwright03]

Great story! My wife and I have built many wonderful memories around cycling. So when we started having children, we were eager to share our love of the sport with them as well. With both sons, we had them in "baby buckets" on the backs of our bikes as soon as they were strong enough to sit up on their own. What a great bonding experience!

Lots of humor too. My four year old likes to slap me on the backside and shout, "Faster, Daddy, faster!" Meanwhile, my 18-month-old simply yanks my shorts down in the back as I ride...hahaha.

My older son has been riding a bike with training wheels since he turned 3. Now, at four and a half, he's furiously working to get those training wheels off so he can ride a trail with me or give the local skatepark a shot (just the easy stuff and with lots and lots of padding of course). Already, he sometimes accompanies me on rides on remote country roads, and he smiles from ear to ear the whole time we're pedaling.

The point is, our boys are already hooked on this great sport at a very young age, and we couldn't be happier.

On a related note, if you want to see something really cool, take a look at this: HERE (www.petefagerlin.com) Once on the site, click the "videos" link, then select the "Norcal Extreme" video. The little buddies are among us and they're holding their own! :)

[wooglin]

Originally posted by justwright03
My older son has been riding a bike with training wheels since he turned 3. Now, at four and a half, he's furiously working to get those training wheels off so he can ride a trail with me or give the local skatepark a shot (just the easy stuff and with lots and lots of padding of course). Already, he sometimes accompanies me on rides on remote country roads, and he smiles from ear to ear the whole time we're pedaling.
Take the pedals and training wheels off, drop the saddle so he can easily touch the ground, and let him push the bike around with his feet for an hour or so. Once he comfortably pushes with both feet at the same time and coasts in between, put the pedals back on. Et viola!

Me and the kid on a jaunt. Trail-a-bikes rule!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid69/p56f591377cb9b258a6669386cf093a83/fba63207.jpg

[Cyclenaut]

Damn Woog...HOT!

;)


Ahem, not the point of this post...

Justwright,

Woog is spot on with his advice. I think that training wheels are really more for a parents' peace of mind than something the child actually needs.

When I was in the shop, we would tell people to take the wheels off, then let their child ride around in some soft grass. After a short while they'll get the hang of it. My advice was always to let the child know that they might fall. Don't try to fool them.

If the parent insisted on holding on, I would tell them NOT to hold the saddle, which was the usual spot. If you hold the saddle the child will never get the sensation of leaning too far to the left or right, and it will take longer to correct. Instead hold the handle bar.

But, Woog's approach is a new one to me and actually sounds much better. Try that approach first. There's no reason why your kid should ride training wheels anymore!

[justwright03]

Funny how this became a conversation on training wheels. But that's cool. Actually, we were already planning on taking off the training wheels this weekend. I was watching my son ride this past weekend and realized the training wheels were actually doing more harm than good. His only wrecks were because one of his training wheels caught on something.

And he's totally ready. He really wants to get off road with me. Works for me! :D

[Divscotty]

It is fun to see where topics meander to sometimes. Suppose that just means it was needed.

My grandaughter still screaches every time she is riding and a snake appears. She seems to be a snake magnet. Earlier this year I sped around a corner and thump thump right over a rattler. I have to admit that surprised me. Funny how a person's vison just freezes on the buttons.

MBD

[polly]

OMG! A real snake - I've never seen one not on display, stuffed in a museum...

I ran over a cats tail once - thats not quite the same though is it?

[Divscotty]

Some rides around here we see oodles of Rattlers, Bull snakes, lots of lizards (one with a bright blue tail once I have a picture of him) rabbits, deer, big horn sheep once, Elk are not that rare. It's just good riding around here.

My cats a manx so no tail to run over here.

Divscotty

[CRUM]

My daughter's first exposure to real rides was from the back of a Burley trailer. I hauled her everywhere. Once in Franconia Notch, NH - we were riding the paved bike path there and I hit a squirrel. My rear wheel threw it into the trailer wheels and it became inextricably entwined in the frame and wheels and stopped me cold. Needless to say my 3 1/2 year old daughter was some upset. I had to drop the wheel out of the Burley to get the damn thing out. And in the meantime, Lis is crying a blue streak. I know the other riders on the path must have been thinking I was beating her with a bike pump or something.

I also used to run her and me down to the local lake for a swim. On a return trip, we were caught in a thunder storm. Just as I hit a fairly steep downstroke on the road, a bolt hit a transformer right next to us. I very nearly pissed myself. I had never been that close, I stopped in the pouring rain and turned around to look at Lis. Her eyes were the size of dinner plates and you could have parked a Mack truck in her mouth. And then another bolt hit close, making us both jump again. It wasn't as close, but too close for comfort. I got back on the bike and hammered. Usually I was fairly conservative on this particular downstroke when hauling my kid. Not today. I looked down at the computer and it read 48MPH. I started to slow down. It was wet and I knew if we had to stop in a hurry, it wasn't going to happen. Just as I started to slow, I heard this plaintive plea from the rear, "Faster Daddy, Faster". Lis wanted no more to do with this rain storm. She had had her fill.

[Divscotty]

Does your Daughter remember the exprience? Your story made me laugh. I remember doign things with my Dad and treasure those memories I'm sure all our kids and grandkids will too.

Divscotty

[CRUM]

She has some memory of the lightening, but none of the squirrel incident. The main memory she has of the Burley was when she did not have to ride in it anymore and could ride her own bike. That was a big day for her. The memory I hear the most though regards the incident when I ran her over. Every time she recounts it, the accident gets gnarlier and the injuries more severe. What happened was we were down to Pawtuckaway State Park in NH. This was to be Lis' first real ride with SPD pedals. Well, she had climbed a hill ahead of me and on the following downstroke had come upon a gnarly section that pysched her out. She came to a stop and forgot about the SPD's. Down she went. While she was attempting to extricate herself from the bike and pedals, I came screaming around and down the trail. And there she was blocking the best line, no, make that the only line I could take. So, I did what anyone would do, I ran over her. Actually, I had little choice, I was out of control by that point and she just happened to be in the way. I did attempt a bunny hop, but it came up a tad short. She ended up with a really cool tire tread bruise across one thigh. It lasted quite awhile. She has never let me live that one down.

Lis came home this weekend from college. And once again we went for a Sunday ride. Some of the fast guys took us on a megadeath ride and hurt us hard. Damn, I like cycling. It's the one activity you can enjoy with your family in so many ways. Cycling allows everyone to participate. Mom and Dad are not just relelgated to spectator status while Junior pounds the line for his high school team.

There's a local family who are all members of the shop team. Mom and Dad both race and Helen and Phil rip up the kid's races. I have been watching these folks for several years and I know that when the good memories get pulled out years from now, Phil and Helen will invariably bring up the races they all attended and all participated in. Perspectives may vary, but the shared experience won't.