This week we have another dad guest blogger :) Darryl and his family are huge cyclists, and since we share their love of biking, we are excited to have them here! As always, feel free to comment and make sure you check out his blog, Loving the Bike.
I am one of many dads out there who is passionate about
cycling and definitely Loving the Bike. It’s only natural to want your kids to
have the same passions and enjoy the same things as you, right? I’ve never pushed cycling on them, but
I have to be honest and say that it brings a huge smile to my face when I see
them out riding or getting excited about the bike.
Due to us being a gypsy-like family and spending a lot of my
daughter’s earlier years moving around and not always living in a place
conducive to learning to ride a bike, she never started riding until she was
eight. She’s now 13 and although
she likes getting out there some nice rides together, her love is running. What’s a cycling dad to do?
As our older son grew to the bike riding age range, I was
personally more bike-crazy and we were also living somewhere with great
“learning to ride” conditions. I
can still remember the day….April, 24 2010. He was just over four years old and on that day he decided
it was time to ditch the training wheels and become a cyclist. We started with a few short rides down
the driveway to practice his balance, and by later that day he was pedaling
down the neighborhood (with me jogging right along with him.) He seemed so small to be actually
riding a bike all alone. I was so
proud of his accomplishment, and as a blogger I totally had to write about it. This moment was captured by the poem, “Indie”.
We don’t get out riding together every day, but when we
do…it is always the best ride ever.
My youngest boy is only two, but he’s been bike-crazed since
he was born. I swear that the
first word out of his mouth was “bahh” (translated as bike) and ever since I
can remember he has always gotten crazy excited when he sees a bike or someone
riding. Yes, I absolutely love it.
As a cycling dad, I feel that the bike offers so many great
things for kids and I’m going to continue encouraging them to make it a part of
their lifestyle. In addition to
this, we are also working on becoming a family that relies more on our bikes than
we do a car…to further make it a part of our life.
I'd like to leave you with three simple tips to help create bike-crazed kids of your own. There are countless ways, and I'd love for you to share yours with us as well, but here are my three:
1. Let it Happen: Provide the bike, the support, and any additional tools necessary for your kids to get out there riding…but be sure to let them fall in love with it themselves.
2. Ride Your Bike: Be the example for your kids and get out there for your own riding, and show them how great it feels and the benefits it provides to your body. Be their positive role model.
3. Family Ride: Get the whole family together for rides, and make it fun. Cycle to one of your kid's favorite restaurants, or pack a lunch and bike to a nearby park for a picnic.
Darryl runs a cycling lifestyle website called Loving the Bike, and has a passion for Family, Cycling, and Living a Healthy Life. Be sure to contact him if you have any questions about hemp hearts, cycling, or just want to say hi. You can find him onTwitter, Facebook, Google+, or catch up with him on the bike on one of the backroads of Austin.
Darryl, once again, you have completely summed up all the feelings I have when riding with my daughter.
ReplyDeleteTo anyone who has not checked out the Loving the Bike site, I highly recommend that you do. It is packed full of great information, tips and stories for cyclists of all levels.
Ride Safe.
Thanks for your awesome comments, Mark and for coming over here to check out this guest post.
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ReplyDeleteIt's great to be over here on your site today, Amelia. I'm very passionate about my Family and Cycling so putting this together in a post was a total pleasure.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the great work over here on your site and keep on Loving life on and off the Bike.
Darryl
Darryl,
ReplyDeleteMy husband is a little nervous about bike-mounted seats (I personally don't care for the rear seats either, but I could get on board with the front mounted ones). Our daughter is old enough to be in our bike trailer, but our son is only six months, and our trailer says he should be a year old before being in it. Are the front-mounted seats generally more secure than rear? Would you recommend that option for a baby who can't ride in the trailer yet? Also, are there trailers that are acceptable for kids under a year (maybe there's one we could invest in that would make more sense than a bike-mounted seat)? Our hesitation on what's safest for our son is what's keeping us from biking as a family. Thanks!
Emily
Hey Emily,
DeleteI would definitely recommend waiting until he is over a year until you put him in any sort of bike trailer or mount. When you start off with him once he's old enough, I feel more comfortable recommending a trailer than a mount on the bike. I feel that they are safer and will make you more relaxed on the bike as well.
I know you're anxious to get out there riding with him, but wait until he's old enough. Check out my review of the iBert front mounted seat (http://lovingthebike.com/uncategorized/the-ibert-safe-t-seat) and if you have any other questions, be sure to get a hold of me.
Darryl
I am going to jump in here too, Emily. :) First of all, this advice is just what we do (and please know you need to make your own choices!)
DeleteWe have a Chariot CTS (as does Darryl) and use it with the sling attachment (it is like a little hammock for Baby that keeps them secure.) Chariot definitely recommends not using it as a bike trailer (but it is ok for walking right away) until they are a year, but this is because their necks are not strong enough to support a helmet. That said, we started putting our kids in it for short bike rides at 6 weeks old. We live in an area with nearly no traffic and made that call. We went slow and checked often. I am not saying you should do that (because it is a risk, of course) but know that we are not the only ones that do! I also have to say that as far as bike trailers go, Chariot is the only one that I know of that holds your kid secure enough to even fathom doing that (with the sling infant attachment.) They are absolutely worth the investment. Our boys sleep better in the Chariot that nearly anywhere else. Just another point of view! :)