Kids and Bikes...

[NattyBoy]

Went out with my 3 year old lad on his LT50 quad bike this morning across some fields...which he really enjoys !!!

All of a sudden, as I was watching him tazzing around..it suddenly dawned on me...hes going to be wanting to get a road bike when hes old enough..gulp. And its gonna be because of me !

Now ive got mixed feelings about this. Yes ive had a very serious accident, and yes the roads are getting increasingly busy and full of complete herberts and id worry sick about him (as im sure my parents did when I went out on the MBX50 all night at 16 and often kipped at a mates house without telling them...:o).

But lets face it how could I possibly talk him out of it having the passion that ive got for all things shiny and italian with 2 wheels..??!!

I just remember the feeling of complete freedom as a 16 year old yoof..riding along into town on a friday night in a procession of AR/RD/DT/TSX 50's!!

Id love him to experience that one day but will just worry silly over him... especiaslly with the increase of traffic (and subsequently idiots) and just wondered what all you parents felt really..??!

Suppose at least we can make sure we give them the benefit of our riding experience.

Cheers
Nat

[DesmoDog]

Nat,

what the hell..... If you don't encourage it he only go out and do it anyway. Let him enjoy it and remember that most of us made it through. Ironic as it is, my first school mate no no forget that. Just let him go on.

[CK & AK]

now you know how your parents must have felt Natty :lol:

I was worried about Becca at coming up to 16 - so gave her the choice - we would either:
help fund a moped etc at 16
or help fund a car at 17

much to my worry, she opted for a FS1E at 16, which we got a month before her birthday, so she could ride it around the ponies fields, under AK's instruction!
She never looked back - the fizz was followed by a CM125 at 17, brought by her, for her birthday - then taking both her car & bike test 4 weeks after her birthday - 5 months later buying her viffer400 which had to be restricted.
In the meantime, she managed to wangle herself onto my car insurance & drive that on the roads too (having been driving it up & down the rough track to the stables for the last couple of years).

I lost count of the times I sat biting my nails when she was out on the bike, or in the car late at night, but at least she had a mobile phone, unlike us in those days.

She is going to be 21 at the end of the month, and now lives with her grandpa, but 'Parenting' eh? - never stops...... :rolleyes:

C :)

[Mand]

The thing is Natty you are there for him and can give him the benefit of your experience. It's in the blood.

I had a dad who did road racing and trials with sidecars and I saw him crash more times than I can remember.

He gets all edgy making sure I wear my leathers at all time and I'm the grand old age of 40.

Saying that though, my lad is 12 and already saving for his first bike. :lol:

[Plum]

My nipper (shes only 2 1/2) loves 'daddys bike'. She even knows its called a 'Cati'. When we ask if she likes daddys bike she says 'I like daddys bike. Its called a Cati' So you ask her if she wants a bike she just goes 'Nahhh!' My wife says we cant stop her because i have one. My response 'No kid of mine is having one' Funny that as my Mum said the same thing to me, but i still got one.........

[The Kevlar Kid]

We've not got kids yet (just practicing etc etc...), but this is something Mags and I have often talked about.

My view (and that'll probably change when we do have some) is that, like Nat, I'll want to get our kids on a bike early, that way they'll either decide they don't like it long before they get to 16, or if they do like it, they'll at least have 10+ years of 'experience' to know how to handle a bike and to know it hurts when you fall off - which is more than I had at that age....

[Plum]

I kinda agree with you Kevlar about the whole having years of experience of handling a bike before getting on the road, but sadly even the best riders in the world are still vulnerable to the stupid and moronic a-holes that are on the road in their 4 wheeled tins. My daughter is a happy, energetic and angelic princess, and thats the way i would like it to stay. Putting her on the road with irresponsible drivers is just asking for trouble. If i hadnt had a bike when i was 19 (i started late) i very much doubt i would have a bike now. At 31, i consider my riding 'career' very short in comparison to some of the members (probably coz your older!!) i think of myself as a safe and considerate road user, but i have been a victim of twotty car drivers who give it the whole 'sorry mate didnt see you' Unbelievable consider i was wearing a bright red jacket with reflective lettering all over it and a light the size of a dustbin lid. I would never want any of my kids to be involved in an accident like mine, and i got off lightly with busted ribs and 70% of my body just bruised and battered. The strange thing is my mother hated bikes as my father was nearly killed on his, and i lost a couple of mates to an accident when i was 16., she always said that i would never have one while under her roof, but I still bought one and it broke her heart and made her worry even more about me. I feel selfish in a way for putting her through it. I had my first spill 3 months after she died and when the ambulance scrapped me off the road, i just cried, but not in pain, just the sheer fact that my mum was right (probably) and i know what she would have gone through if she had still been here. Being a parent now makes me realise how my mum felt and i now understand what she went through. She has been dead nearly 9 years now and i know that even now she would nag me even now to get rid of it if she could.

We have sand racing on the beach in Jersey, and i would have loved my kids to have done it, but i think i would find it hard to watch them buzzing around, falling off and possibly getting hurt. But on the flip side it would be awesome to see them doing something i never had the chance to do as a kid.

[marchesini]

I have similar worries myself but having come into biking relatively late (mid twenties), I didn't do my learning as a spotty 17 year old 'yoof' - I saw my older brother falling off his bike enough times than I care to remember. So I would like to think that my formative years of 'reading the road' were from the safety and warmth of a car - so I had some idea of how badly people can behave on the road (myself included).

As time has passed, my driving (and riding) has got safer - at least I would like to think so and feel less and less of a need to arse about on the road. I use track days and motocross tracks to learn the limits of the bike - which I feel are the safest places to learn - ambulances and medical staff on hand with no traffic coming in the opposite direction.

When my oldest (at 10 - now 15) started to show an interest in bikes, we picked up a couple of motocross bikes and learnt together. Within a couple of years, I'm sure he'll be wanting some transport of some kind but I would be very worried about him riding a bike due to his lack of experience as to how others behave on the road - no matter how talented a rider he may be.

My gut feeling would be to encourage his interest in 2 wheels by funding either track days or motocrossing so he can ride as fast or as slow as he wants. That way (hopefully), he won't feel the urge to be Valentino on the road and he can get from A to B in the relative safety of a car. He is a pretty level headed sort of chap so I think he would agree that would be a good plan.

My youngest though (now just over 2) I am afraid will be a different matter entirely - his favourite channel nowadays is 'Extreme Sports Channel' rather than CBeebies and he is convinced that he can skateboard and ride his bike like the "big boys on the telly" can do. I feel I may have a few issues with this one ..... :eek:

[dean]

i have two kids, a boy of three and a bit and a girl of 18 months. My little boy has been naggiing for ages for me to get him a "big Jump" motorbike (we watch a lot of motocross and he has started coming on my KTM with me, much to his mothers panic!). I think it's great that he is in to it so early and as soon as my wife lets me i'll be getting him a little quad.


My little girl is crazy bonkers for bikes. Only yesterday (on her little wooden bike) she launched her self off three stone steps outside our house. She is now sporting a bruise the size of a golf ball on the front of her head. She even rides round the place popping wheelies (she picks up the front end of the bike!)

[Lost Again]

Can't comment from a parents point of view on this one but thought i'd add the opinions of a young 'un (not that i'm saying any of you are old, ermm..i'll get me coat).
Neither of my parents have ever even been on a bike so as you can imagine wern't too keen on me getting a bike. eventually managed to persaude them however but it was quite clear that the whole lot was to be paid for myself. after much saving i had an aprilia RS50 sittin in the garage just after my 16th an i've never looked back. now on my 4th bike in 4 1/2 years and still loving it every time i set off for a bimble.
only thing I can say with any hindsight is make sure they're wearing decent gear every time they go out. crashed my 400 3 years ago whilst wearing jeans. after an 85mph tankslapper i've now got a permanent reminder in the form of a crackin purple scar over most of my right knee, nice.
past that its a case of just getting out and learning for yourself.

sorry if this was a complete load of poo but i thought i'd write it anyway, hurrah!

[SAMMYE]

Not a parent myself (that I know of ;) ) but I suppose you can only show them something that has given you masses of enjoyment and happiness and make sure they are in the best position possible to enjoy and be safe riding bikes if that is what they choose and support them as much as you can throughout

[Mrs Soup]

We don't encourage our six year old in any shape manner or form, there are too many wheeled hobbies in our garage for him to choose from. However, he still wavers between being a rally driver and motorcycle racer.

As and when he does show an interest and I just know he will, with two petrol head parents he's been going to race meetings since he was 8 weeks old, then its sensible reaction time as he'll just do it anyway. The best any parent can do is prepare your kids as best they can for the path they want to take. :burnout:

[Phoenix]

Hmm well I've been through this once already with Jase and of course Tiffs got herself a field bike now and it's only a matter of time before she gets a road bike.

I have to say I worry lots if Jase is late.

I've had 3 phone calls with those dreaded words '' Mum i've come off me bike''
The worst last year when he rang me from the back of an ambulance.
I've considered many times if offering my support and active encouragement at times has been the right choice but then I think back to my teenage years and reckoned I was much safer on my bike than I ever was in my car - my car went fast with 5 of us in it and those hump back bridges were a hoot at 70 - :eek: I recall my Dad wondering what i'd been doing with the car when he noticed all the cooling fins were missing off the bottom of the gearbox :o

I think we all have different feelings when it comes to our own kids. Like Ck I teach horseriding and have taught hundreds of kids and adults to ride. But I had to send my daughter elsewhere when it came to teaching her how to canter - i just couldn't bring myself to do it, thats my kid up there off the lead rein and these horses are dangerous creatures - Huh ??? :confused:

[Banshee]

My kids have a quad, its great fun, But i hope and prey bikes stay off road for them both. not that we as parents have a choice.

Daddy not having a bike, but works some Sundays when its sunny helps. :rolleyes: