Recreational & Family - Gotta brag a little...

This past weekend, my daughter and I did a local "family fun ride". There were various options in terms of distance, and I gave her carte-blanche on when we would turn around. She opted for the whole thing, 17 miles. She did the navigating (spotting the arrows painted on the bike trails), and did a fair amount of sightseeing on the way. She has learned to downshift before a hill, post over bumps, and to call "passing on your left". She ate fruit at the rest stops (even though there were cookies and "junk"), and reminded me to "drink before you're thirsty".

Not too bad for a 7 year old! :)

Kotts

You and your daughter ROCK! I can't wait until mine are old enough to do that. We're getting there! Congrats on the great ride!

The first time your kids beat you at something is a real milestone--not necessarily happy in every way, but something you'll always remember. My son was diagnosed with leukemia when he was 2, and did three years of scary chemotherapy. He's 26 now and doing fine, but when he was 13 we went for a tough mountain bike ride near Reno, a 3000-foot climb, five miles of rolling hills and then another 3000 vertical in seven more miles. I was worried about him, very solicitous, making sure he drank water and we took it easy. About two-thirds of the way up the second mountain he said, "Dad, can I go ahead? I'll meet you at the top" and he rode away. I felt like an old man, but it was one of the happiest days of my life.

You guys must both be awesome parents! Congrats to you both on having some very cool kids!

That's one smart daughter you've got there. And tough, too. 17 miles is a long way for a 7 yr. old or even someone a lot older.

OP: Awesome, you're making cyclists proud there thumbs up all around.

Velo Dog: Your story got me close to the lump-in-throat stage for a second there, kickass story and heartmelting as a parent, no doubt - I can't wait! :D

Great job.

My 7 year old is much the same. She has only recently gotten the shifting down but we are doing a 12 miler down here in a few weeks with one of my 4 year old boys on the trailercycle. So far her longest ride is 13 miles and medium climbing. I am hoping to get her one of the Trek kid roadbikes next year.
So far I am finding she enjoys 10 - 12 mile rides but much longer and she gets a sore but and tired. I expect as the weather cools though the mileage might go up (assuming we can stop at 2 gas stations instead of one as those are her favorite part of the rides).

Great riding stories guys. Kotts, love to hear she is learning the ropes at her age.

And Velo.... Man I tell ya, I was getting a lump in my throat over your story too! wow you must be proud and happy with how your sons life has turned out.

I took my boy on his longest ride to date Yesterday. He just turned 6 and we rode about 12-14 miles. I live between two towns that are connected with a 7 mile bike trail. We went down the trail to the town that I will soon be moving to. It was a perfect day and little did I know the small town was having thier homecoming parade. It started 5 minutes after we got there and my boy was thrilled to say the least. They started throwing candy and he was in heaven. It was our best trip yet. I brought a backpack with water bottles and a couple snacks. I have him riding a bike that is slightly to big for him but I modified it a bit to fit him. Just turned the stem around to get the bars close enough. Well heres a pic.
Great to hear inspiring stories from you guys... Keep them coming..

I took my boy on his longest ride to date Yesterday. He just turned 6 and we rode about 12-14 miles. Well heres a pic.

What a great picture and I love reading these stories about your kids out riding bikes with y'all. Keep up the fun times!