Father and daughter at fod this afternoon

welshkev

I was riding the blue trail earlier and ended up riding behind a guy and what was presumably his daughter. She was only about 10 and he was giving her great direction and encouragement.

It really brightened my day to see her riding the berms, I can't wait til my son is old enough to take him to fod

So if it was you on the black trek and your daughter had a pink top on, I salute you sir

pete_s

I was there yesterday and a guy had one of these with his kid in it:



Weren't exactly holding back, either. Kid was having a wail of a time.

97th choice

I have a weeride for my 3 year old, he sits between my arms so feels pretty secure. I've taken him out on forest roads and blue runs but just pooling about. The 10 year old has a go at red runs and natural trails.

Personally I spend as much as I can on stuff for him as there are few chances to get kids hooked on a sport and I wouldn't want him to be put off due to a crap heavy bike.

cooldad

pete_s wrote:

I was there yesterday and a guy had one of these with his kid in it:



Weren't exactly holding back, either. Kid was having a wail of a time.

Built in airbags. Safety first kids.

paul.skibum

I saw a guy on part of the red at Swinley with his kid in a seat on the back of the bike - no lids between them and no skill on a bike I was less impressed but on the same run saw a fella out with his 7 year old on a proper little islabike and the little guy was giving it a good go with loads of great encouragement from his dad - great to see for sure.

veronese68

Excellent, nice to see things like that. I wonder how many people would say "ooh, isn't that dangerous."
I took my 14 year old son to Swinley a few weeks ago. He had a great time until he stacked it into a tree and pringled his back wheel. It would appear he has as little talent as I, but with no fear. I had to give him my bike to ride back to the car and I rode his with the brake disconnected. I told the boy not to tell the EPO exactly what happened, so he did. I got quite a bit of grief off her but he will be allowed out again.

rockmonkeysc

I saw today that the organisers of the British Downhill Series are considering having kids balance bike races at some rounds. As long as they allow plenty of time either side of masters and vets race runs its a great idea. Plenty of families go to races for the weekend, getting the kids in to it early and making race weekend family friendly seems like a great idea.
I wont be happy if my daughter does better than me though.
I take my oldest daughter for rides around the local xc trails, plenty of loamy dirt so it doesn't when she falls off, she always has a big grin for the whole ride.

othello

welshkev wrote:

I was riding the blue trail earlier and ended up riding behind a guy and what was presumably his daughter. She was only about 10 and he was giving her great direction and encouragement.

It really brightened my day to see her riding the berms, I can't wait til my son is old enough to take him to fod

So if it was you on the black trek and your daughter had a pink top on, I salute you sir

Fantastic, and great that other riders see it as a 'good thing'

I've taken my two kids (currently 8.5 and 7) to trail centres for a couple of years (Whinlatter, FoD etc) and they regularly ride Swinley. They have great skills which have been developed over the years by slowly building up their technique and confidence. Parts of trails first, then blue's, then the odd bit of red. Now my eldest happily rides red trails and I'm hanging on to keep up! It has meant a change for me too. I know if I'm riding with them I'm not going to have a flat out blitz around the trails, and that is *just* fine with me. I'm there to help, encourage and let them have a good time. I'll get my own riding in another time.

What is also great is also getting encouragement, even a smile, from other riders. We always move over if a fast rider is approaching and needs to overtake (though my son is a climbing whippet and smokes adults uphill as he weighs nothing!). Often we are greeted with a cheery thank you. We've had riders come up to our two at breaks in trails to congratulate them on how well they are riding. They love that.

Better than riders cutting past with a sneer and the 'get off my trail' attitude...

mattshrops

Good post Othello.
I was at llandegla last sunday and there were a couple of young lads going really well with some adults in tow obviously helping out.
Great to see, brings a smile to your face. And you're right- as I went past I gave him a few cheery words and his face lit up. Heart warming.

welshkev

Yeah the guy saw me behind them and told his daughter to stop, I said it was no problem and carry on until I could pass easily. when I could pass I just said thanks very much and have a good day

i'd much rather see someone like that enjoying the trails and having fun than them sat at home on an xbox all day (not that there's anything wrong with xboxes )

j_l

I take my 5 year old to Haldon have done since he was on a running bike, he loves it, we did a ride on Monday to the pub via some local trails, when we got there and I looked at my Map my ride app we had done 9.5 miles, needles to say he slept well that night.