Riding with a new solo bike rider
Oh bike-loving mamas! So, there are bike trailers, bike seats, tag-alongs/trail-a-bikes, and - of course - the Xtracycles. However, there will come a day when we will no longer be hauling our children on the bikes, for they will be riding their own! Has your child made the hop from being hauled to pedaling on his/her own bike? How have you handled riding on the roads with the newest of the biking batch? An urbanMama recently emailed:
I am looking for tips about transitioning to biking alongside your child. Our 5yo daughter has recently shed the training wheels, and so we're biking more places together, with her on her bike and me on mine. She's very cautious, so I don't have to worry too much about her veering into traffic or bumping into anyone, but I still am unsure about some things. I'm sort of afraid, e.g., to ride in the bike lane, but riding on the sidewalk when there aren't curb cuts is a huge pain. Also, is it safer to ride with her in front of me, or to have her follow me? I'm sure many of these things I'll just figure out with practice, but I was interested in tips from those who bike with their kids as a way of getting started.
Here is an article from my site that people might find interesting. http://www.pdxfamilyadventures.com/pdx-urban/biking/biking-with-kids/690/01/07/2008/
Posted by: Vince Schreck | July 03, 2009 at 07:52 AM
I've been wondering about this as well. My boy is 5 and on two wheels. Right now, our riding is local, and he stays on the sidewalk with me on the street. It is a pain to be on the curbs. I've tried him on the street in front of me, and he's not quite ready to do it. He races a lot, isn't always aware, and cuts me off repeatedly, which makes me feel like I'm going to dump my bike with his little brother on it. I'm guessing it will be next summer before he's really competent.
Posted by: mom22 | July 03, 2009 at 08:30 AM
When our 8-year-old is on her own bike, with one adult, she typically rides behind, so we can set the pace, judge the intersections first, signal when it is time to turn, give warnings of upcoming hazards, etc.. We constantly enforce riding on the right.
I think biking on sidewalks can be more dangerous than biking in the street. Cars backing out of driveways are looking for people on the sidewalk going pedestrian speed, so people relatively close - bikes are faster and traveling more distance in a the same time, making them relatively harder for someone to see when trying to navigate down the driveway to the sidewalk. Driveways also often have limited visibility. Drivers typically stop again before going into the street, where they have better visibility to look for things going car and bike speed. Hope I wrote that in a way that makes sense...
Posted by: Liz | July 03, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Have her ride on the street, take it slow, and put a tall flag on her bike.
Posted by: holden | July 03, 2009 at 11:11 AM
I usually keep my about-to-turn-7-year-old, Everett, on the street in front of me, though he prefers to ride on the sidewalks. I agree that they're more dangerous than the street, but tend to let him while we're riding in the middle of the day (we rarely ride during commuting hours) and in residential neighborhoods (especially those where there aren't many people walking dogs or pushing kids in strollers) or when riding on the street seems far more dangerous (Division between 10th and 30th during rush hours, eek!). he's been riding now on his own for almost a year and his learning curve was pretty steep; I'd say he gave me about three dozen near-heart attacks in the first six months, and since then the scares are very rare.
I've also been amazed that he's learned things like how to fix his chain when it falls off, and he can do all the hand signals. riding in group rides like Kidical Mass has made a big difference in his general rule-following ability, and his confidence. I take pains to follow all conceivable rules myself, especially when he's riding on the back of the xtracycle, so I'll set a good example. now I hardly ever have to remind him to make a full stop at stop signs. and he rarely pulls to the left side of the street when we're on calm back streets any more, though he constantly did so when we started riding together.
I guess the best thing to do is to practice, practice, practice in the middle of the day in calm weather on residential streets and bike-only paths -- and you'll know when she's ready to do more. we regularly ride downtown to the farmer's market now, and he's so proud that he can ride across the bridge by himself.
mom22: I have so been there. the racing and the cutting off! ack.
Posted by: sarah gilbert | July 03, 2009 at 03:42 PM
I just don't feel comfortable myself with my 5, almost 6 yo riding on the street yet. Doesn't mean you shouldn't, but I find I would just spend more time worrying about what he's doing and not enough on paying attention to our surroundings. I bike commute, ride with them on my xtracycle, and road bike and I know how vigilant I need to be about paying attention. I just don't know that he can be predictable enough to maintain himself so that I can concentrate on the being vigilant part.
We are lucky enough to have a big jr. high lot nearby to ride ride ride in, and we stick to quiet sidewalks with me jogging along or sometimes in the street on a quiet day/quiet street to grandma's so I'm not on my bike w another kid on the back. So we get lots of practice in without being "on the road" headed somewhere. It works for us so far.
Posted by: LizardMama | July 03, 2009 at 04:53 PM
I wonder if it might be helpful to look into the summer bike camps at the Community Cycle Center an Alberta Street. I live near there are I see the "campers" heading out each morning on their rides. Some of the kids look pretty young and they are definitely teaching them bike safety and also maintenance. I think the groups are segregated by age. Just a thought, if you don't want to do all the teaching yourself, or are not sure how to do it.
Posted by: j | July 03, 2009 at 05:06 PM
We looked at a camp this summer for my 5 year old and find they start at age 6. Does anyone know of one for the 5 year old set?
Posted by: kim | July 04, 2009 at 11:36 AM
There are two Sunday Parkways left this summer--I think that's a great place to practice independent street skills with kids, as the streets are closed to cars and you can talk about potential hazards as you bike without having any near-misses.
http://www.portlandonline.com/Transportation/index.cfm?c=46103
Posted by: Kirstin | July 04, 2009 at 02:01 PM
Our kids both started riding in the street with us fairly young--only four years old. That doesn't mean we zoom down major boulevards or anything, but most of our routes involve very quiet back streets and we use sidewalks for any portion that involves busy streets.
Here's how we've done it. The new rider rides to the inside (on the right hand side) of the adult and about even with the back wheel. We give lots of reminders to stay on the right side, pun intended. If there's a car approaching from either direction, we pull over to the curb and stop. The adult judges all the intersections and says when to stop and when to come through.
At first, kids swerve a lot, but riding sandwiched between Mom or Dad's bike and parked cars or a curb is a pretty safe place to be. Once they grow out of the swerving, we practice riding in a line with the child both ahead and behind the adult. Once they're good at riding a line, we no longer pull over to the curb when there's a car approaching. Instead, we call for everyone to line up.
At the first sign that a child is upset or angry and won't listen to commands to stop, pull over, or ride to the right of Mom/Dad, we stop and climb off the bikes. Have a snack, have a break, or have the fit. But no riding unless the kids are able to listen.
It really helps to have those initial in-the-street rides to be along familiar routes that the child has traveled by bike before. They know when to stop, where to turn, etc. They can pay more attention to riding fast enough and straight enough then.
Oh, and one more tip--if your child is swerving a lot on their bike, it might be because they're on a bike that's too small. We've noticed big improvements in a couple of "swervers" when they moved up to bigger bikes.
For riding in traffic, including busy bike lanes such as on Vancouver and Williams . . . that's another topic entirely.
Posted by: Janice | July 04, 2009 at 07:10 PM
Janice,
Great advice! My 5yr old thinks the streets are like riding/racing around the park. His riding is dangerous, we take breaks from riding to library & grocery because back streets didn't slow him down/pay enough attention. I remember reading on the BTA that kids don't have enough understanding of speed and safety to really ride well on their own until closer to ten years. I'm fine with always riding together until then, and having him on the inside is my next approach to getting there in one piece! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: bikey mama carie | July 05, 2009 at 11:18 AM