Kids - How far do you cycle with yours?

[steven1988]

Thanks Steven, that would be great I’ll look out for the Facebook page and put your next event on our calendar. I’m not in a club (probably not a fast enough rider), but I could keep up with the kids plus it would improve my kids’ confidence as well as making new friends too.

Thanks again!

I wouldn' be too sure about the not fast enough bit we have rides for everyone. Out of interest where are you from if you don' mind me asking?

 

[Jody]

Local MTB club took the rippers to Sherwood pines at the weekend. Youngest was 3 and did an 8 mile red route.

I can't comment on mine as my lad only did his first ride without stabilisers on Saturday

 

[derrick]

I was talking with another parent yesterday evening who mentioned he and his 8-year-old son did a 13-mile loop last weekend, mostly on a muddy towpath.

My son is 9, 10 in 3 months, and the furthest he’s ever been is about 8 miles (last summer in nice weather on a repurposed former railway line).

I wonder, am I not encouraging / pushing him hard enough to do better?

For those of you that have kids, and we were all kids at some point, how far should we aim for at his age?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

My thoughts are to push him to go a mile further than he is comfortable with and build that distance each time. I really, really don’t want to put him off cycling.

Thanks

I rode with my 9 year old granddaughter from London to Cambridge on a tag along bike, the following year we did it on a tandem, but now she just rides horses. I have a nice bike built up for her if she ever wants to do it again.

 

[smutchin]

My son did a 50km audax with me when he was 9. He loved it but found it hard work and really struggled towards the end. He never really pursued an interest in cycling after that - took up rugby instead. Perhaps I should have started him on shorter distances.

The main thing is to give your kids the opportunity to try things. If they take to them and enjoy them, you can gently encourage them to push their boundaries further and further... If you're subtle about it, they won't even realise that you're hothousing them to fulfil your vicarious ambition of being the next Bradley Wiggins.

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

I wouldn' be too sure about the not fast enough bit we have rides for everyone. Out of interest where are you from if you don' mind me asking?

DM sent

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Local MTB club took the rippers to Sherwood pines at the weekend. Youngest was 3 and did an 8 mile red route.

I can't comment on mine as my lad only did his first ride without stabilisers on Saturday

Excellent! We love Sherwood Pines, some great routes and walks too.

Congratulations on the removal of the stabilisers too. Big step for a young one.

 

[Jody]

Excellent! We love Sherwood Pines, some great routes and walks too.

Congratulations on the removal of the stabilisers too. Big step for a young one.

You have no idea how chuffed I am with him. Took a few tumbles but kept laughing and going again. Very proud dad moment.

 

[Ian H]

We took our two out on the tandem many times. R initially in a childseat, then she was relegated (or perhaps promoted) to the Hann trailer when A came along. R was always happier on longer distances than A – 50 miles in the childseat and up to 30 on the trailer. A didn't much like more than 30, though he never graduated to the trailer.

At a tandem meet in Yorkshire I had a conversation with the late, great George Longstaff about children on bikes. "Don't do it", he said. "I took my daughter out on the back on the solo once. It was terrible! She cried for the last 50 miles."

 

[Time Waster]

Late to the thread but the difficulty of distance is down to individuals. Everyone has differing fitness levels, interests and mindsets for a challenge.

Our son did two weeks at ten to thirty miles per day on his single speed 16" bike. He got tired and caused accidents but we had to battle to get him attached to my bike for a rest. Then when attached he put even more effort in!

Our approach was to be totally laid back. We looked at the map for potential campsites and rode in a general direction until it was getting to mid afternoon then we cycled to the nearest campsite. If it was 10 miles or 30 miles so be it. The odd day we did a ten mile shopping trip on top of a full day but only after a break.

This is considered unusual for non cycling people but it felt natural to us. But most important of all it was what our son wanted to do. He loves cycling so much. He wanted to go back the week after we got home, but for 3 months!

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Late to the thread but the difficulty of distance is down to individuals. Everyone has differing fitness levels, interests and mindsets for a challenge.

Our son did two weeks at ten to thirty miles per day on his single speed 16" bike. He got tired and caused accidents but we had to battle to get him attached to my bike for a rest. Then when attached he put even more effort in!

Our approach was to be totally laid back. We looked at the map for potential campsites and rode in a general direction until it was getting to mid afternoon then we cycled to the nearest campsite. If it was 10 miles or 30 miles so be it. The odd day we did a ten mile shopping trip on top of a full day but only after a break.

This is considered unusual for non cycling people but it felt natural to us. But most important of all it was what our son wanted to do. He loves cycling so much. He wanted to go back the week after we got home, but for 3 months!

That’s fantastic! He’ll be doing the Ironman next!

I agree about fitness, mindset and interest. My son and daughter both tell me they love going out cycling with me and when both cycling together will travel further when with me than when just one or the other is out with me. Fitness will come with more outings, and slowly increasing distances. I find gentle encouragement helps too, especially on the hills!

 

[Time Waster]

That’s fantastic! He’ll be doing the Ironman next!

I hope not. I don't want him to be better than me, fitter than me for a long time yet. I remember when I realised I was stronger and fitter than my previously invincible dad. It's a passing of the baton moment but I felt bad at the time.

He looks up to me occasionally. Usually when I'm cycling easily with him and he's sprinting. The day he's doing ironman events is a long, long, long way past the baton passing moment.

Still I was proud of his cycling in Holland. Kind of showed up the Dutch kids his age. They were really only riding on seats on their parents bike when we saw any.

The Holland trip was our second tour together but first where he was solo most of it. The one before he was on a child seat. He loved that and when deciding on a holiday he said he wanted to ride.

How far is up to the child. You can tease a few more miles out of them each trip but if you pass their limit and it stops being fun for them they'll not enjoy it and you might lose them from cycling. Of course if they're as passionate about cycling as you then your biggest problem it's stopping them from cycling. Ours doesn't think snow and ice is a good enough reason to stop cycling to school. I have yet to find spiked tyres sized 16".

 

[steven1988]

Roughly 13 miles ish when riding with other kids .

Enjoyed it today mate thanks for the company hope to see you at Go Ride

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Roughly 13 miles ish when riding with other kids .

Enjoyed it today mate thanks for the company hope to see you at Go Ride

Thanks! We had a great time. I’m amazed and proud at how well the kids just got on with it and loved every second.

Definitely send me the information for Go Ride

 

[atbman]

They were exceptional, but two of our club's 8 year olds did the Wetherby-Filey Great Yorkshire Bike Ride (70 miles). Both considerably knackered by the end. (smugface). There's no set answer tho'. We limit our Family Ride age to 8+ - from Ilkley to Bolton Abbey, 7/8? miles each way, with a stop at the cafe there. Had no failures so far but we often stop on the way back at the medieval stocks.

 

[dantheman]

At about 10 years old I began trying to get my son into cycling more (selfishly of course as I wanted some company every now and again) he was riding an old giant mountain bike with knobbly tyres and front suspension . We'd go to the next town and back, maybe 8-10 miles total with break in the middle (looking around some toy and bike shops) this progressed to about 15 mile rides and it was so tedious for me that we got him a secondhand Road bike for his 11th birthday.. It's still hard to get him to be bothered sometimes, but he is 12 now and about 30 miles is the longest ride we have done together. The speed is still slow, but sometimes it's nice as it's time well spent with him, and he has no interest in other sport/exercise (much like me).

I still find he needs more spacial awareness, I'm hoping that's normal or that it's just the way a parent would see it worrying about safety etc..