Advocacy & Safety - Nice Column in USA Today

Craig Wilson, who writes a weekly column in USA Today's "Life" section, has a really well done, bicycle-related one today:

Go Outside and See What the Kids Are Missing (http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20050803/d_final03.art.htm)

Of course in this day and age nobody would allow their kids to wander all day on their bikes. Too Dangerous.

When I was 14, I used to ride all over town on my old Peugeot gas pipe 10 speed.
I would cut the lawn at my Grandmother's and my aunt's houses. I would go to the park, I would visit my friends, I would just ride around.

The daughter of a friend of mine is 14 and likes to ride her bike and wants to earn money cutting lawns. It is about a half hour ride over to my place, mostly along bike paths, one steep hill. Will her father let her ride over and cut my lawn? Not a chance.

I can identify with the author's musings, although I think he might be suffering a mid-life crisis... :D

I like this line: "Ride circles around your cul de sac. Let the neighbors talk. They do anyway."

Of course in this day and age nobody would allow their kids to wander all day on their bikes. Too Dangerous.

When I was 14...


When my son was about 12, I gave him a nice Haro BMX bike... he rode it everywhere... found dirt mounds and jumped them all day long. When he got flats, he went back to skateboarding.

When he became 16, he made all the arrangements to take drivers ed, took the class, got a license and then asked for the keys. He wanted to go surfing. He hasn't looked at the bike since.

I don't know about "too dangerous..." sure, there are stories of the wierdos out there... but I think much of it is just that the media makes us more aware.

Your son will come back to cycling, at some point.
Maybe when he is 30.

I don't think it is any more dangerous today, its just our perception.

As if sitting in the house all day and eating junk food and playing video games isn't dangerous... not to mention that
a) most accidents and even fatal accidents happen at home
b) the leading cause of death for 16 year olds is car accidents.

As if sitting in the house all day and eating junk food and playing video games isn't dangerous... not to mention that
a) most accidents and even fatal accidents happen at home
b) the leading cause of death for 16 year olds is car accidents.

Good one.

Not to mention that life is wasted spent watching others live their lives.

LOL. This guy's childhood sounds just like mine. Kicked out of the house all afternoon, I was left with nothing but a bike and the world waiting for me. Granted, this was only about 10-15 years ago, but things have definately changed between the "Net Generation" and the "Millenial Generation". I can't stand to spend all day sitting inside working on my computer. I long for the days when I could do just as the writer said, and that is to walk/run/bike for hours at a time with nothing to do but simply "be".

Very nice. Great find.

I liked, "Ride all the way into town. Ride to the edge of the earth if you want, look over, ride back. You have all the time in the world."

Sounds like my weekend rides around the city. :)

I read the other day the game developers are making more money this year than last. It's the result of kids buying more games than ever before and just vegatage in front of the tube. When you think of the cost of buying these games and the console, it could easily buy a quality bike from the LBS.

Beautiful!

As if sitting in the house all day and eating junk food and playing video games isn't dangerous... not to mention that
a) most accidents and even fatal accidents happen at home
b) the leading cause of death for 16 year olds is car accidents.
I thought most fatal accidents happened on the road.

http://www.nsc.org/lrs/statinfo/99report.htm

Al

noisebeam
how can people pontificate when you keep resorting to facts?
looks like it would be much safer to sit at home and play video games than be anywhere around motor vehicles.

looks like it would be much safer to sit at home and play video games than be anywhere around motor vehicles.
In the short term, perhaps.
In the long term you get:
-health problems
-lack of experience around vehicles as you grow up, which will increase risk when you do and then must deal with vehicles
-learning that driving is like a video game, so when you do eventually drive you think of pedestrians as 'bonus points' and think you can press the 'reset' button when you crash.

hows that for pointification with no fact. ;)

Al

I remember announcing to my mom, "I'm going to stay in all day and watch EVERY cartoon." 30 seconds later I was standing on the porch in unlaced sneakers with my jacket in my hand. Looking back on it, I'm not even sure I had a chance to finish my Cap'n Crunch.

I loved this article. I also don't have kids.

Man... my dad used to just toss us out the door and we would go. We'd bike over to friends' houses, ride any kind of trails we could find, head to the park for pick-up games of baseball, mooch lunch from friends' moms. I don't think my parents had any idea where we went. Of course, we'd have to be home by the time the street lights came on, or dinner, whichever came first.

And then Winnie and Paul would come over... and my older brother Wayne would beat me up, and then my older sister... she'd come home with some guy. Dad would freak out and scream at her, while mom just looked all sad and angry at the same time. Those were wonder years...


Sheesh... maybe I didn't ever get out of the house.