Recreational & Family - How have kids impacted your cycling?

I may have missed something, but I don't remember anyone discussing their kids - ages, sex (male/female), do they cycle? do they impact how much, how often you ride. Has your riding changed since kids came along? Etc.

I didn't ride as much when they were little, but of course I do a lot now and try to stay involved in their lives in many ways (like going mountain biking on occasion)

I personally have three children -

Son: Age 25 (out of college and employed - rides Trials and MTB, No road)
Son: Age 20 (in college - rides Trials and MTB and BMX - occassional road - like to class)
Daughter: Age 15 (in high school - occassional tandem with me, MTB)
and of course my spouse: Age is a secret;) - tandem and neighborhood rides on a hybrid with my daughter or me.

Everyone in my family like bikes in general and my youngest son is working part-time in a bike shop as a mechanic. Great kids and think it cool that dad is a hardcore roadie. Now I just have to convince them to get out on the road with me.

Tell us about your families. If you are single, childless or empty-nester that's cool. Maybe tell us about your nieces and nephews, grandkids, friend's kids that you ride with, etc.

Just curious.

No kids, just cats. If it doesn't have fur, I'm not having it! I'd screw a poor kid up! Am 24, have a 5 year old nephew. Lots of nephews/second-third-fourth-whatever baby cousins in Montreal. French Catholics..go figure :)

I have one daughter who is 7 and loves to ride bikes. I bought a Tag-A-Long (similar to a bicycle but is missing the front tire and has a hitch that attaches to my seat post) 2 years ago so I could take her with me on longer rides. This will be the last year that she can use it do to her height so next year we'll be shopping for a tandem.

We also ride together with her on her own bike. Last night we road about 10 miles together utilizing the bike trail and then explored the state hospital grounds that are near our house. We ride together quite a bit and she also rides her bike with me while I'm out running so she can keep up and have fun too.

I'm racing in the Tour de Tamarack in Meadville, PA on Sept. 1st and she'll be racing in the kid's race there as well. I'm not going to push her into hardcore riding whether road or MTB, but at this point it seems like she'll have all the motivation she needs. She had me explain to her how gears work and loves to watch me work on our bikes.

My oldest son is now 13 and able to go mountain biking with me. He would rather do BMX, but at least I'm starting to get him to move to the lighter side with me. When the kiddos were smaller it cut into my riding time quite a bit but the last year or so things have picked up. The state I live in has a cross state road ride every summer. It will be quite a feat to get him to turn into a roadie but that's what I'm working toward next...

We just had first child this last February and it definitely put a kink in my biking habits. I used to be able to just take off when my wife wasn't looking, but now I try to get the biking in whenever I can. So far, the best tactic is to get out of the house before anyone

Now I just need to convince the wifey that the baby is old enough to go in the Burley trailer :)

Originally posted by SoreBum
Now I just need to convince the wifey that the baby is old enough to go in the Burley trailer :)

Congrats on the new addition! Sounds as if a Burley trailer is in the works for you. Make sure you put a helmet on the little one. I saw a guy with an infant in the trailer without a helmet and it scared the heck out of me just thinking about the consequences of not wearing a helmet.

They didn't make trailers when my kids were little so we just used a child seat on the back of my wife's bike. We lived in a small town then and my son loved to ride on the back. He'd get so relaxed that he'd fall asleep and rest this head on my wife's back until they got home. I guess that is what started the whole fascination with bikes in my kids.

BTW Lego Brand and Playmobil make cool little bikes with people with helmets on that fit on the bikes. Fun toys that my kids held onto despite being grown up. Cool to put on the top of the computer:)

Originally posted by SoreBum
We just had first child this last February and it definitely put a kink in my biking habits. I used to be able to just take off when my wife wasn't looking, but now I try to get the biking in whenever I can. So far, the best tactic is to get out of the house before anyone

Now I just need to convince the wifey that the baby is old enough to go in the Burley trailer :)

And to think that I was the only wife called wify.

No kids for us yet. Trying to get in as much biking as we can this year and early next year because I know after that, if all goes well, that I'll have to take some time off. I feel like I'm running out of time way too quickly though!

Kids have had a positive impact on my cycling. Now that they are all grown (my youngest will be 22 next month) I have a lot more money to spend on cycling stuff.
:D :beer: :thumbup:

Kids definetly put a squeeze on the time commitment...my 4 year old son likes tooling along on his bike when we ride around the block...and he always asks me how fast I went when I go the road alone...kinda fun impressing junior while he is still easily impressed! :D

My 1 year old daughter likes the trailer, I think...she sits quietly staring out the front...

My wife is patient enough to let me ride the MTB trails once a week with the guys from the office, but road time is either at 6a Saturday, or before the kids and wife get home...;)

It's the kids that got me cycling, 5 years ago I taught the boy to ride a bike and because I live right by a cycle track decided to buy a cheap bike for myself so that I could ride up and down the track with him.

I jumped on the bike and instantly became as young as my son, We used to go riding on the track for a few miles and in those days a few miles was a long way.

The cheap bike has gone (it didn't last long off-road), but has since been replaced with other bikes and a fanatical devotion to bike riding that I didn't know existed within me.

My son is now ten and I have a daughter aged eight, as a family our favourite ride is to catch a train up the valley and use the local Sustrans route to cycle home traffic free, it's 17 miles and the kids love it.

No kids yet, not human puppys at least. I have my pets. I was going to get a Burley for the dogs but my husband thinks I have lost my mind. I will have to make a tiny helmet for my bearded dragon.......

By the way, what is the age that you can start taking the kids on the bikes (in the trailers, car seat attachments)? I really want kids bad, but my husband says we don't have enough money yet. I was made to be a mommy!!! I can't wait!!!!!

3 kids. 14, 9 and 7. They are so busy in there activities that I get little time to ride this year. My oldest is a hard core softball player and has no interest in riding, my middle daughter has down syndrome and can't ride yet so we have got her an extension and she rides that way and my little one can hardly wait until she can ride with me. That is cool !!! Hubby is kinda getting into biking. The family does support me though. We do go on family outings on the local bike trail. I do like going out on my own though...clears the head.

The baby in the pic is my oldest – it was taken over 7 years ago (before I learned to lower a seat post). About the time I seriously started riding. I now have three – 7, 5, and 14 months. I started taking my oldest offroad when he was 5, and now we ride all over together, plus a lot of tandem riding. When he started riding without training wheels I started riding a unicycle – so that we could learn together. I’m doing similar things with my 5 year old right now. A few times a week I take my baby out in a Rhode Gear baby seat on the back of my single speed and hit the hills – he loves the sceanery and the time with dad, and I get serious training miles in. My off road riding has dwindled to once or twice a week, but I still average over 200 total miles a week – most of which is commuting and extensions to commuting.

Originally posted by Redhed
By the way, what is the age that you can start taking the kids on the bikes (in the trailers, car seat attachments)? I really want kids bad, but my husband says we don't have enough money yet. I was made to be a mommy!!! I can't wait!!!!!

You can take them in a trailer or on a seat when they can comfortably sit up by themselves without tipping over.

Tell your husband that you'll never have enough money for children. You can't think of it as a "bottom-line" financial decision. When we had our first one, we didn't have much, rented an apartment, had one old car, was a school teacher (aka made no money) and we still made it. Despite all the work and toil, it was worth every minute (and dollar that we didn't have).;)

i get up @ 5am weekdays and go out early on days off to be with the family. after doing the rides i need to be complete... i get the 7 year old and 4 year old on bikes to go to the park or do a trail or something and just tool around --

with all their activities (baseball, t-ball, karate, soccer, cub scouts, gymnastics....) and soon homework..... many times they want to shoot hoops or practice baseball in the yard....

i don't lead them too much. i ask 'do you want to go for a bike ride?' it has been so hot here this summer that after being at camp in 90+ and humid weather, their energy levels, while not exhausted are limited.

It was my son that actually got me into cycling to begin with. He's on a local MTB racing team and needed a road bike to train on. When we went to the LBS, I ended up buying a bike for myself, too. At the time, he was 16. We've always had a great relationship and he never minded riding with me, even though he had to wait for me at every turn. He was quick to give me praise and encouragement as my skills and endurance improved, which motivated me even more.

He's 19 now and going into his sophomore year in college. We still enjoy hanging out with each other--we spent a week in Colorado this past spring, just the 2 of us, and had an absolute blast--and I plan on taking advantage of that for as long as it continues (hopefully it won't stop).

I've been a single parent since my son was 2. It was a tough road at times, but I wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China.

Cycling people, both road cyclists and mountain bikers, are perhaps the coolest people in the world. Some of my best times spent with my son have been either riding on the road or at mountain bike races.

No kids here. :D But for some reason everyone in my fam is getting a bike...I can't figure it out.

Originally posted by fubar5
No kids here. :D But for some reason everyone in my fam is getting a bike...I can't figure it out.
Gee Matt do you think it's because you've been a positive role model? ;)

Great news. Just don't leave them in the dust when you all go out riding.

Great idea for a thread!

Biking changes every year with myself and my kids. I have a 6 year old daughter and a three year old son. My son turned 3 in June.

I have definitely had to be more creative at getting my rides in since we started having kids. Getting quality rides in most times is a testimony to my dedication to both riding and to my family. Biking is the only one of my activities that my wife supports 100%, although sometimes she gets a little jealous of the time I spend riding (I had to cut out of this past Saturday's group ride at 50 miles...the time limit set by my wife was up!). As my kids get older it gets easier to get riding time.

My kids love bicycles. We both ride and take care of our bicycles together. Once a week I set up my workstand out in the driveway and we wash our bicycles together. My son has a new Schwinn "Gremlin" and he rides like a fiend. He has already been on two 10+ mile rides with me..training wheels, single speed and all. His big thing now is passing me on our rides. He chuckles with glee as he zips past me. It's fun to see! His sister is driven to tears sometimes on our rides because she doesn't like her brother passing her.

I could talk about this one forever........:D

My boy, now 2 years 4 months did change my cycling. The wife and I would go riding quite a bit and all vacations involved taking the bikes along.

Now, I usually ride in the morning before my wife and son wake-up, and one day during the weekend for a couple of hours. Since having him, I've gotten back into road cycling and of course riding with him around the neighborhood.

The best part is when I get home and my wife and son are in the driveway playing. As soon as I get out of my truck, he runs over to the bike with the baby seat and starts saying "Bik, Bik, Bik".

There is a short off-road trail about 1 mile away that he just loves to go to. We'll do a loop and then he begins, "gen, gen" meaning Again, so we usually do it 3 or 4 times.

I must admit, I miss those all day trips with my wife, but at the same time, I can't wait to start taking my son around the neighborhood on his bike w/training wheels.

L8R

My wife doesn't cycle at all, so cycling has always been a solo activity.

The first child got a relatively late start on the bike: started tricycling at 3, using the trailercycle at 4 and a bit her own bicycle that year (she really was interested in her own set of wheels at 5).

Before she was 4, I cycled for commuting and errands, and rode at night, with the occasional outing on saturday. Quite a change from the "before-kids" period when I cycled mostly on weekends.

After she got the trailercycle, we did lots of cycling on saturdays and during my summer recess, gradually increasing distances every year.

We also got a second child in March 2000, and I found that the bicycle was also a good way to get her out of the house where she could easily feel that "we always take care of the crying baby".

Last March, I added a trailer to my stable, and now tour with both children. We have slowly increased the distance covered, and both kids are really keen on cycling. This Summer, I did a one-week loaded tour with the oldest daughter on her trailercycle (60-100 km/day)... and for most of the 3 other weeks, I rode with the "road train" to various regional outings (typically 50-80 km/day around Montréal). There were days when both kids came to wake me up at 6:00 a.m. and ask me for a bike ride!

So I think I do a bit _less_ mileage than I did before. What I'm missing are the long multi-week tours away from everything. But the kids have to grow before they enjoy bike touring even when it rains hard.

Regards,

Originally posted by mgagnonlv
The first child got a relatively late start on the bike: started tricycling at 3, using the trailercycle at 4 and a bit her own bicycle that year (she really was interested in her own set of wheels at 5).

No problem there. Although I triked when I was a kid, I didn't start two wheeling until I was 16.

Of course I'm not letting that happen with my kids.

Emily is 6 and rides 2 wheels (but needs lots more practice). James is 3 and rides with trainer wheels. (Yes I know the arguments against trainer wheels, but we're working on it.)

I can't wait until both kids are competent enough to do a bit of riding with me.

I often regret not spending more time with my youngest son who is now 27. I was off somewhere bicycling instead. I couldn't get him interested in cycling.

Now my kids are gone and I ride less than when they were young, it's not supposed to work that way. Go figure.

It's good to see so many BF members are including their kids in some way. I wish I had.

My 7 year-old daughter begs to go to the park and ride her bike. "I just feel like riding my bike," she explains.

My 17 year-old stepson doesn't bike, but he goes for his evening run. Exercise is a new thing for him--intelligent lad that he is, he will make the most of it, I'm sure!

Originally posted by Louis
I often regret not spending more time with my youngest son who is now 27. I was off somewhere bicycling instead. I couldn't get him interested in cycling.

Now my kids are gone and I ride less than when they were young, it's not supposed to work that way. Go figure.

It's good to see so many BF members are including their kids in some way. I wish I had.
Louis, don't give up hope! :)

I think that your feelings are an indicator that something new is on the horizon. Go for it--call your son. It's never too late!

:thumbup:

Originally posted by MediaCreations
James is 3 and rides with trainer wheels. (Yes I know the arguments against trainer wheels, but we're working on it.)


When he's ready, take the trainers off and the pedals, too. Let him scoot around using his feet like the old "hobby horses" which were the precursors of the bicycle. Once he learns balance, he'll beg you to put the pedals back on!

Originally posted by LittleBigMan

When he's ready, take the trainers off and the pedals, too. Let him scoot around using his feet like the old "hobby horses" which were the precursors of the bicycle. Once he learns balance, he'll beg you to put the pedals back on!

Yes, I intend to. I used that method with Emily. The moment of realisation that she could balance on a bike was amazing. She was beaming. I look forward to seeing that with James. I think he'll get it even quicker. He generally seems to be more coordinated.

Originally posted by MediaCreations


I used that method with Emily.
Oops! Sorry, of course you must have!


The moment of realisation that she could balance on a bike was amazing. She was beaming. I look forward to seeing that with James. I think he'll get it even quicker. He generally seems to be more coordinated.
:)

Louis' post struck me as well.
I have a 16 year old daughter who's not really into cycling. She has her own interests and "skating"(as in board) is her sport of choice.
She attended last weekend's mtb race with me. I didn't have a particularly good race...but the highlight of the weekend for me was camping with my daughter and having her pre-ride the course with me. It was her first time on her mtb in over a year and i was soooo proud of her. I'm not giving up on her converting to cycling just yet! :)

I hate it when Kids impact my cycling. . .
I mean can't the little buggers watch where they're
going? It really messes things up what with all that
blood and skin and whatnot, and not to mention all
the tears and runny noses.
Then I have to sort out the bike, align handlebars
stem, wheel, and speaking of wheels Don't you just
hate it when you run over a kid and your wheel goes
all out of true and ruins your perfectly good ride?

Marty

I have a 15 month old son who my wife and I bring along in our CTS Double Trailer/Jogging Stroller. (We are hoping for number two next year and were looking ahead). He gets about 150 km a week riding time on top of my "solo" rides. It's amazing how light the bike feels after you shed him and the trailer. I feel like Lance!

He just loves the trailer and as soon as he sees it you have no choice but to take him for a ride because he will fuss until you do. He starts saying "Vrooom, Vrooom" (sounds more like Broom, Broom , but we know what he means). I think we have a biker in the making. We have been taking him since he was about 6 months old, when he could sit upright reasonably well and keep his head up with the helmet on. We prop a pillow beside him still in case he decides to nap on the ride and therefore will have a nice place to lay his head.

Everytime we go to the LBS he immediately heads over to the kids bikes and starts pushing them around. It's funny how they know these things without any prompting. Looks like it is going to be a wonderful life of biking together.

I must admit that I don't get the chance to ride as much as I used to without him but because of him I am a much stronger rider having pulled him along in the trailer. It is such a great workout and you really appreciate the rides you do get to do alone.

If anyone is looking for a trailer I would certainly recommend the CTS line of trailers/strollers. They are extremely well made and smooth as silk on the road. They have singles and doubles and come with attachments for x-country skiing, hiking, and of course the front wheel for the running stroller. My wife and I both participate in triathlons and this stoller covers all the bases except of course the swimming. :)

Here is the website for the Chariot Carriers CTS (Child Transport System) if you are interested in taking a look.

http://www.chariotcarriers.com/html/chariot_advantages/cts_versatility.html

I have a 6y/o girl, when we ride I notice that I pay more attention to the fundamentals of riding. The best one for her is having fun.*:)* She lights up when she makes it up a "hill" and giggles when she goes down a "hill."
It has had an impact on how often I ride and for how long but I commute to work and we schedule things around the house for my long rides.
I have a century ride coming up in September, Francesca is proud of me and tells her friends I would marry my bike if I could. Fortunately, polygamy is illegal, my bike and I will continue w/our affair!

I didn't start riding regularly until after my son was born. I was looking for something I could do with him (so I guess that makes him a possitive influence). Currently he rides on the back of my hybrid with the Topeak Baby Seat, but I just ordered a Burley Solo (which I should be getting on Monday - yay!) for organized rides and errends on my road bike. I'm very excited about it. He enjoys looking around, and talks alot while riding. He's a little over one!

I have 3 daughters 13 yrs and twins 10 yrs... The awesome thing is that they and my wife are all pretty much the same size so any one of them can jump on the tandem without having to adjust the seat height.

We have a 10 week old at home. She will be too young to "ride" with us this summer, but I am already excitedly looking at the trailers and picturing in my mind's eye when we will ride together.

I am particularly excited after the purchase of my new bike last week, a Specialized Sequoia Expert.

This past weekend in the NYC area was actually rather nice. For the first time we took the baby out of the house for the expressed purpose of taking a walk.

We walked over 5 miles, mostly on the boardwalk. Everyone else had spring fever too...many bikes on the boardwalk too.

I kinda regretted not taking the new bike out, but honestly walking my baby was the bigger thrill. :p

There may be a Burley in our future yet!

Rob

I have a tag-a-long for my four year old that he just loves. He can't wait until Thursday and Friday to ride with Daddy. I think I have the only one in town, and it attracts too much attention at times, one time getting some rude commits from a carrige tour director.

He started off in a child seat around 10 months. When he outrgrew that, he went into a trrailer that was his little castle. He now has his own little bike that he is learning to ride on.

I remember the weekly miles I used to log on the road bike. The daily miles. The ride anytime, anywhere days. These days, I have to get my solo riding in during my commute and an occasional off road weekend 2 hour adventure.

Kids change things.

The kids have had an impact on the cycling my wife and I do. First impact - we never, ever had worn a helmet before in our riding. We've been wearing a helmet since 1993 thanks to my first child riding along on the back of my bike in a seat made by Rhode Gear. Thanks to the kids for increasing our awareness of head gear.

Two children have been through the Rhode Gear rear seat. Then they both went through a tag-a-long. Then they both went through a bike with training wheels. Then they both went through a 20" wheeled, 10 speed comfy bike. The oldest graduated to a 24" 15 speed and got a new Trek 4700 for his 10th birthday. The youngest is just about to go from the 20" wheeled bike to a 24" wheeled bike. We now own a tandem where the youngest rides with me on longer family rides where the little 20" wheel bike cannot keep up.

Length and duration of rides changed with children, but the importance of making it a family activity far outweighed the needs to log in miles and miles and miles of solo riding. It takes about 6 or 7 years to work through and build up the distances and speeds to a more satisfying adult ride experience, but we are finally getting there again as the family enjoys riding together. My son also enjoys occasional mountain biking with me (so does my wife).

We will be riding RAGBRAI XXXI this July in Iowa - at our family speed - on two solo bikes and a tandem. Age 45, age 41, age 10 and age 8. (By the way, I'm not the oldest!)

In the end, it changed me from a road bike warrior, to a family cyclist - into a commuter and into a mountain biker and now the addition of being a tandem rider. Maybe someday the impact of children will come full circle and I will be led back to some road bike warrior rides. Who knows? I just go with the flow and try to include the children.

BB

Reading through the posts since my post in this thread has been great.

I took my son, Nate (4 yrs in June), fishing two weeks ago. Out of the blue he asked me "What do you want to be when you grow up, Dad?". I said I didn't know. He said "I want to be a bike racer". Isn't that the cycling father's dream? Nate waits for me to get home every night so we can ride together. Last night I got off my bike from my commute and found Nate in the garage with helmet in hand, ready for me to go with him on a ride. My commute was an hour, my ride with Nate was an hour. The club I usually ride with rode by Nate & I during our ride but I didn't care. I was with my son who wants to be a bike racer (incidentally, that's what I want to be when I grow up, too!).

We have two daughters, six(6) and three(3). Our six year-old has started us all biking(wife and I had not owned a bike since our own childhood - now we all have new bikes).

Each night we take a "family ride" for 3+ miles. The six(6) year old on her 20", and our youngest in a seat on my bike.

Our six(6) year old loves biking, and wants to build her stamina for swimming. She had no fear until she took a wipe-out. Glad she was wearing her helmet(we always do). She had some nasty scratches/bruises on her face, wrist, and leg. But we were over a mile from home, so she had to get back on and ride home. She is now a little more cautious about her speed!!!!

Our youngest loves riding. As soon as I get home, it is "Dad, are we going for a "Family Ride"?"...

My wife and I frequently will take an independent ride for some "peace" and some excercise at an adult pace. I fully expect to be getting up early for a morning ride soon...

Sorry to hear about the wipeout but great that you're all riding.

Welcome to BikeForums. Good to have you join us.

Of course you need to be warned - this cycling thing is addictive. You say you intend to start early morning rides. That's just the beginning.:D

my oldest is five now and has been riding for almost a week. today was the first time she went around the block. she is very cautious and nervous about riding, but she has learned how to literally jump off the bike if things start going bad. the bad part is that she keeps setting her self up for challanges and then trying to bail out at the last minute, hence how she learned to jump (and i mean literally jump) off her bike. i just keep encouraging her and having her laugh it off. i don't think she's ready to do some of the things she is trying, but then again if she thinks she can do it i'm not going to stand in her way.

my little one is two and desperately wants a bike now. she normally rides in a trailer but she says she is too big for it. i KNOW she's not ready for a two wheeler but i think we are going to get her a little one with training wheels.

my wife and i ride BikeE's and really haven't made the time to get out and ride. the nice thing about my oldest learning to ride is that she wants me to ride with her so i get to ride more. i am so proud of raven, seeing her ride for the first time really brought back memories for me...

E...

Originally posted by bikenriden
I bought a Tag-A-Long (similar to a bicycle but is missing the front tire and has a hitch that attaches to my seat post)

I bought the same thing. The very last time we rode with that thing was when she was complaining that I was going too slowly up this huge hill! Shortly after that she got a sweet little Gary Fischer and a chance to ride the hill herself. :D