Riding with Children, how do you do it?

Anonymous

I have two little girls, one is 4, the other 7.

The little one sits on a seat on her Mum's cross bar, so that's pretty easy.

The 7 year old is a little more awkward (with regards to cycling, other than that she's lovely). She can cycle a fair old distance, about 25 miles isn't too much problem as long as we stop.

Problem is she doesn't really have the road scene to cycle with us on the road (or perhaps I'm too paranoid), especially living in London. It's also not really practical for one of us to cycle on the pavements with her.

So it's a case of her riding the pavement, and me riding along side on the road. This can be a bit of a pain as she's constantly getting held up by pedestrians and I'm pottering along the road. Seems to take a age to get anywhere.

Just wondering how others do it? What age/ability do other children start riding on the road with their parents?

I did think of a tag-a-long bike attached to mine, but really don't like the idea.

wyadvd

my daughter is three and a half. she sits on the tag alongvery safely and pedals hard too! have done several 5 mile plus rides (some on main roads) in the summer and make at least 2 trips with her and the ortleibs to the village shop at the weekends. On the roads she is already learning road sense and seeing me indicate and look over my shoulder, she understands why. I have a "bike eye" mirror trained on her which helps. Go the tagalong route! she feels like shes on a real bike, learns some balance and theres no delay. I have a twelve year old son also. we wanted to all go out for a ride. now he was a bit miffed , but in the end was happy to go on the tag along with the seat raised considerably. just shows you tag alongs have longevity. car seats mostly expire when the kid is 20kg. I have a flexicane on the back btw with an exposure redye shining back hooked on with gaffer tape.

wyadvd

last post promise:

pp478-487 Forester

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0n2t ... rs&f=false

jellybellywmb

+1 for the Tagalong my son used his until he was 7 and 4 year old has just started using it, perfectly safe on quiter roads but not sure i would use one in London, mine has a large flag on the back and also fitted a good old indicator lollypop type thing on the back so people give you a wide bearth.
Ideal for teaching road sense , I used to get my son to do all the same indications as i did and he now rides on the road with me very safely.

One problem is that to encourage my daughter onto the taggy i had to let her decorate the rear flag which now resembles a exhibit in Gay Pride parade :oops: fine when she is on it but not so good cycling back after school drop.

wyadvd

what i say to myself, is just cycle safe, be even more of a "primary riding position" nazi loads of daytime exposure lights on full beam and why should you be any less safe with a tagalong in traffic than you are on your own? unless you think the kid is stupid enough to jump off while you are going along for no reason?

dmch2

If not a tag along bike then we have a tail gator which connects my (hybrid, not road) bike to hers. Then unclip when you get to the park and she can ride around by herself.

Anonymous

Thanks for the replies.

To be honest the reason I'm not sure about a tagalong is not just the (possible) safety issue, it's also that I just can't seeing it being much fun cycling with a wobbling child behind you.

But I haven't ever tried one, so could be very wrong. Might look in to ways of trying on out. I'm wondering if they hire them out at either Richmond or Batersea Parks.

If not a tag along bike then we have a tail gator which connects my (hybrid, not road) bike to hers. Then unclip when you get to the park and she can ride around by herself.

Now that is interesting, best of both worlds. Will have a look in to that. Though her bike has 20" wheels, so might be too bike.

wyadvd

the bigger the child is the worse any wobbling seems to be ime. And a bit of targetted admonishment seems to prevent future excess wobbling, and teaches them what it means to balance and control a bike!

dmch2

We got ours new for about 40 quid but they're often on ebay so you could easily buy one off there to try and resell for just the cost of the postage if it doesn't work out.

If the child can ride anyway then they shouldn't wobble about too much. Just make sure you attach the bracket tightly enough with a bit of protection for the paint underneath.

bompington

dmch2 wrote:

If not a tag along bike then we have a tail gator which connects my (hybrid, not road) bike to hers. Then unclip when you get to the park and she can ride around by herself.

+1 (Trail Gator to be pedantic)
Fantastic, really made family cycling heaps more fun - they can ride solo when they can, then get towed when they need to. The kids enjoyed it, we had the satisfaction of knowing they were on their way along the path of righteousness, and it's surprisingly good training if they're tired and stop pedalling uphill.

Mind you, we did once get a shock when we stopped to look at some horses in a field - and only realised a couple of hundred yards up the road that there was no-one on the back...

laertes

My son is nearly 7. For about a year we have been riding on roads together, albeit mostly quiet ones. I keep him in front of me and talk to him all the time about what is going on, what we are going to be doing, where we are going to go next etc and encouraging him to observe on the roads himself. Works pretty well, he concentrates hard and does what he is told. Sometimes it can be difficult to be exactly clear with communication, but we have not had any problems, and I gradually introduce him to busier roads in very small doses.

northstar

RichardSwt wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

To be honest the reason I'm not sure about a tagalong is not just the (possible) safety issue, it's also that I just can't seeing it being much fun cycling with a wobbling child behind you.

But I haven't ever tried one, so could be very wrong. Might look in to ways of trying on out. I'm wondering if they hire them out at either Richmond or Batersea Parks.

These are the people who hire bikes out in RP, they have a tagalong bike in their range

http://www.parkcycle.co.uk/hire-information/bicycles-available.aspx

I've seen a few of them being used in the park, never seen any accidents and they look relatively stable.

father_jack

I think tandem would be safest. Also wouldn't like to have entire weight of a child and a bike on seat stay bolts :shock:

thecrofter

+1 for the Trail Gator. Make sure you torque it all up good and tight (especially the bracket on the towed bikes head, to make sure it stays in-line) other than that it's great. The little one can get some assistance when their legs tire or if the traffic gets a bit hairy hook 'em up and you know they're safe. When the roads are quieter or they've had a bit of a rest set them loose. Perfect solution.

Anonymous

laertes wrote:

My son is nearly 7. For about a year we have been riding on roads together, albeit mostly quiet ones. I keep him in front of me and talk to him all the time about what is going on, what we are going to be doing, where we are going to go next etc and encouraging him to observe on the roads himself. Works pretty well, he concentrates hard and does what he is told. Sometimes it can be difficult to be exactly clear with communication, but we have not had any problems, and I gradually introduce him to busier roads in very small doses.

I think that's what I should start doing, trouble is that although my 7 year old is a good at riding her bike in a way, she kinda gets distracted, I find my self constantly telling her to "look where your going". Although maybe I should give her more credit, the other part of the problem is probably her slightly overprotective Dad.

Doesn't help we live in Balham, where you get people driving like idiots, even in the quite back streets.

I'm definitely going to try a Trial Gattor, I just can't see it being much fun. Would be a good investment though, the 4 year old would get some use out of it too. She's just learning to ride with out stabilisers, so would could be a useful learning tool.

Anonymous

Father Jack wrote:

I think tandem would be safest. Also wouldn't like to have entire weight of a child and a bike on seat stay bolts :shock:

Yes, but cost and somewhere to keep it might be a problem.

Anonymous

northstar wrote:

These are the people who hire bikes out in RP, they have a tagalong bike in their range

http://www.parkcycle.co.uk/hire-information/bicycles-available.aspx

I've seen a few of them being used in the park, never seen any accidents and they look relatively stable.

Thanks