Cycling Sisters

Traveling with solo children:

Once your child gets bigger, chances are you will want to investigate letting them ride solo, at least part of the time.

Solo bike with training wheels: Training wheels are somewhat controversial in biking circles. They train kids in improper technique (e.g. lean away from the turn vs lean into a turn). They slow kids down tremendously making family outings plodding affairs (2-5 mph). They also get hung up on holes and ridges in the road and can be downright dangerous on sloping surfaces (tilts the kid way over to the side vs allowing the self-leveling of a bicycle on an angled slope). However, they DO allow for hesitant kids to master some basic bike and safety skills. One of the big conundrums for teaching a kid to ride a bike is the fact that a bicycle is inherently UNSTABLE at slow speeds. You have to ride fast to be stable on a bike. Some kids are *very* hesitant about doing this when they are just learning.

My son was extremely cautious. There is no way he would have ridden a bike without training wheels. As it was, he became incredibly proficient riding with them, often going 10 miles at decent speeds (6-7 mph), frequently canted over 10° to the right. We raised his wheels up to allow him to ride on uneven roads without getting hung up, hence the pitch while riding. When he finally gave up that crutch, he was able to do 15+ miles at speeds up to 10 mph!

In most communities, kids are allowed to ride on the sidewalk to the age of 12. I suggest they do, EXCEPT when they are riding with an adult. I feel it is important for kids to learn how to ride on the street; doing so with a parent is a good way to make those skills an ingrained habit.

Tip:when giving up training wheels... based on the BBP No-Fall Method developed by John P. Waterman and cited in the wonderful book _Bicycling with Children_ by Trudy Bell.

Stage One: Learn how to brake. It’s not a bad idea to have your local bike shop install kid’s hand brakes. Coaster brakes are hard for little kids to master, not to mention that they are slow (they require a complete 180° reversal of the pedals to engage). Practice on a flat, smooth surface.

Stage Two: Learn how to balance. 1. remove pedals on bike. 2. drop seat to lowest setting. 3. allow child to ‘scooter’ on bike. Work on going faster and coasting while scootering. This stage may take 15 minutes or a few weeks, depending on your child. My experience has been that most kids are comfortable within two or three sessions.

Stage Three: 1. Add the pedals back on (but keep the seat low). 2. Work on mounting and dismounting. 3. Work on teaching the child to keep the left foot on the ground and push the right pedal to get going (this is due to the drainage slope of most streets... the left foot is higher and therefore more stable). 4. Raise the seat for proper leg extension.

Solo bike: Kids feel very empowered when they are allowed to ride their own bike. Remember your own sense of freedom when you learned how to ride? It’s an exciting time for kids.

Safety is the biggest concern. Don’t trust children under the age of 8 to be able to make good judgment calls about cars and traffic. Brain research says they literally do not have the analytical cognitive abilities to do so.

Practice the basic rules of traffic whenever you go out with your children: ride on the right, stop at traffic signals, indicate when you are turning, etc.

*Keep a running commentary going between you and your children.* “Okay, there is a pot hole up ahead. Be careful.” “There is a truck coming up behind us, be sure to stay to the right.” “That light just turned yellow. Get ready to stop.”

Kids should ride ahead of, and to the right of the parent. If there are two adults, the child should be sandwiched between them.

I like my kids to be incredibly obvious to car drivers. I fit them out in fluorescent safety vests, add flags (when possible), and put both front headlights and rear blinkie lights on their bikes *and* helmets.

Along the lines of safety, a quality bike is worth the money if you plan on doing regular bike rides. I help run a bike safety week at a local middle school. You cannot believe how cheap some of the ‘big box’ store bicycles are. Broken spokes, cracked rims, seats that shred, and a huge number of nonfunctional brakes (@@)--all common problems.