Foo - How many miles do you think an average kids cycles annually?

Let's say between the ages of 8 and 12.

over 9000

<50


Why do you ask?

An American kid? Well under a dozen.

One million.

An American kid? Well under a dozen.
Bingo.

Let's say between the ages of 8 and 12.

How many miles do you think the average kid (or ...think average kids) cycles annually?

When I was that old I was on the bike all day, many days just in the neighborhood (3 square miles) and some days out and about(15 miles maybe a few more) so I would say that I easily rode a thousand miles a year. Could be more but I am being conservative.

The AVERAGE is probably scarily close to 0.

If we're talking American kids. I can't speak for Belgium.

my nephew and i ride between 12 and 15 every saturday on the mup. he's seven. he rides hours before we head out then when we get back he's right back out the door riding around the block for hours. the kid is unstoppable, i'm sure when he gets older i'll be getting dropped alot lol!

i just told my sister she's getting a new bike (i'm paying for it) and she's going to start riding with us " and ur gonna like it" hahaha

as a kid that age I probably rode my x-mart bike 3-4 days a week maybe 2/3 of the year.

I probably rode maybe 1/2 mile on those days.

I would say a liberal estimate of my cycling as a kid would have been less than 100 miles a year.

... boy if that is true, those x-mart bikes are crap in the durability area.

I probably walked more miles hitting and retrieving baseballs annually than I did on a bike.

I grew up on 10 acres surround by farmland, and the nearest paved road was 2 miles away. I spent a lot of time in the woods avoiding poison oak and climbing trees

<50


Why do you ask?

My roommate said he rode well over a 2,000 miles when he was in the 4th grade because he rode with his dad who used to cycle. At first, 2,000+ miles for a 9-year-old sounded outrageous, but then I guess that works out to about 5.5 miles a day, which doesn't sound overwhelming.

So it just sparked my interest on how many miles a kid rides annually. I forgot I'm in the U.S., so I guess I would be surprised to hear about any physical activity.

0-30

I sadly will guesstimate less than 50.

It feels like that's all I did at that age, but I would venture I did about about 200 miles a year.

The average chubby kid today, less than 30 miles.

The less the better. Fat, broiled children taste the best.

I would ride about 15 a week when I was that age getting to friends' houses and stuff like that, so probably about 500/year.

I grew up in the suburbs and would ride my bike to school daily; about 3 miles round trip, and during the summer me and my friends basically lived on our bikes. I would say I rode between 2-7 miles daily when I was a kid. I can't speak for the rest of America though.

When I was a kid, it seemed like I did quite a bit of bicycling. But for example, when I was in high school, I rode to school, and rode to work. It was about a mile to school, half a mile to work. So it seemed like I was doing a lot of bicycling, but that's only 3 miles a day, or maybe 600 miles a year. And when I wasn't riding to school, a lot less than that.

One thing I notice with the kids here on my block. They spend a fair bit of time riding around, but they're going 5 mph, too. So by the time I've hit the cranks two strokes, I'm going faster than any of them ever do.

It's a different world for kids now. When I was a kid, I rode everywhere I could - walking didn't get me there fast enough.

Now there's a much greater safety factor. Traffic is far heavier. The only real miles my son (12) gets are when I load his bike up and take him to the rail trail.

Beth

I think I used to ride something like 1-2 miles a day at that age, but only during the warm half of the year, and not every day, so maybe 100 miles a year?

in my densely populated suburban area, it's definitely between 0 & 50 per yr. they majority of the those rotund kids don't even leave the cul-de-sac when they're out playing/riding/whatever. but that's a different topic altogether.

Let's say between the ages of 8 and 12.

How many miles do you think average senior citizens walk in shopping malls annually?

Not enough.

more than PCad. more importantly

http://www.howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com/

more than PCad. more importantly

http://www.howmanyfiveyearoldscouldyoutakeinafight.com/

nice link. they project i would only take out a mere 24 kids.

My youngest son has a Giant Boulder. Early in the season I did some stuff to it, I taught him to lube it up and stuff. I kinda lost track of it. the other day he said he needed a new tire. I got to looking and the front and back are both wore out. I can see him abusing it some, but I have noticed every time I look for him he is out on his bike. I bet he rides 50 miles plus a week.

Let's say between the ages of 8 and 12.


You got dropped by an eight year old on a tricycle didn't you?

another reason not to like kids.

My two older kids (5 and 6.5) probably ride about 800 miles/year right now. Their little brother is a little stubborn to get off the training wheels, so he's probably only getting 100 miles/year or so.

The oldest won his first triathlon age group... winning the bike leg (5 miles) by 2.5 minutes.

One of my neighbor kids can't even ride a bike. He's 7 or 8, still has training wheels.

When I was in seventh or eighth grade, I rode my bike to school almost every day; we'll say four days a week. According to map my ride, the route I took was ~1.5 miles, so 3 miles a day times four days a week = 12 miles per week. ~180 days per school year * .8 (four days a week) * 3 miles per day comes out to 432 miles per year, just riding to school on the MUP.

I also took my bike to friends houses sometimes, so we'll say about 500. Not athlete material, but not exactly sedentary, either.

One of my neighbor kids can't even ride a bike. He's 7 or 8, still has training wheels. I didn't learn how to ride until I was 8 (and then didn't really ride until I was 10 or 11), and I was taught by my Mom who still doesn't know to ride a bike.

I've yet to see a goat on a bike. :p

Children? I'd guess somewhere between 30-50 miles a year.

Children who enjoy their bicycles - probably 500-1000 miles. I remember the day I got an odometer for my 20" wheeled Raleigh Fireball when I was 9 or 10. I went around my uncle's neighborhood until I had it up to 50 miles.

American kids? About 1/1000th of what they used to ride 30 yrs ago.

As a kid, I rode Walmart bikes around with my dad alot. I eventually graduated to Bike Shop Bikes, and then I got a knack for the old ones. I ride 22 miles round trip to high school everyday though.

In Florida, most counties offer transportation when the kid lives over a mile away from the school. So take a mile, multiply by 2 (round trip) and multiply that by the total school days. Add a couple of extra miles per week if the kid has friends in the neighborhood and visits them. If the kid is actually popular, don't add any extra miles, his friends will visit him. Don't add any extra miles if the kid is a looser and has no friends. However, if the kid is EMO and there are ridable EMO Locations nearby, you might need to adjust the math.

I must add that even tho many kids ride to school around here, that's the only cycling they do. I ride a lot and I rarely see any of them other that going to and from school.

over 9000

Correct.

More than BananaTugger.

ZING!

:p

It's a different world for kids now. When I was a kid, I rode everywhere I could - walking didn't get me there fast enough.

Now there's a much greater safety factor. Traffic is far heavier. The only real miles my son (12) gets are when I load his bike up and take him to the rail trail.

Beth

No offense Beth, but that's why not nearly as many kids ride bikes these days: Their parents make excuses, like "it's not safe now".

I grew up in Los Angeles county. Talk about your population density! If you were a kid and wanted to go somewhere, you either rode or walked. For many years my Mom didn't even have a car as she didn't need one. We rode or walked to school (where there was a full rack of bikes), rode to Little League practice, rode on a friend's handlebars to get a tube at the bike shop...you get the picture. I was never hit by a car, never wore a helmet (unless racing BMX) and knew how to work on my own bike, a bike I worked for and paid for with my own money.

Now I live in a rural area where the kids are driven 1/4 mile to the bus stop while the parents sit there in the car, engine running until the kid gets on the bus. If they do have a "toy" bike, flats are a showstopper. They'd rather play DS or text anyway.

A couple of miles per week, so a few hundred annually for my 7 year old. That mileage will go up as he ages.

My then 6-yr old won a contest this past May, he rode ~90 miles that month I think. He won for regularity of riding though not for total distance.

The average kid? Probably less than 50 per year.

My kids? Probably 50 a week, just riding up and down the street in front of our house... :)

I guess it depends. Here in the city, kids ride around the lakes often, 3 miles each trip. I see the same kids a few times a week, so that is about 12 miles a week. 12 usable weeks in a year for the "average family bike rides" means about 144 a year.

In the 'burb here? Probably 20 miles a year.

When I was a kid, though, I had a bike computer, even when I was a tot. I would do MORE than I do now as an adult. I remember riding 1500 in only a few weeks once. And that didn't include borrowing bikes when I was out riding at friend's houses, and we rode even more. Almost ever day during the summer we were gone on bikes from sun-up to sun-down, 7 days a week, constantly rolling and hardly stopping. Obviously that isn't average, but I couldn't have been the ONLY kid like this, eh?

So, overall average? Maybe 100 miles a year...

When I was a kid, though, I had a bike computer, even when I was a tot. I would do MORE than I do now as an adult. I remember riding 1500 in only a few weeks once. And that didn't include borrowing bikes when I was out riding at friend's houses, and we rode even more.

Umm, what? I'm hoping you have a different definition of a few weeks than most people. Either that or you rode 1500 tenths of a mile.

NO WAY you rode 1500 miles in 3 weeks as a kid. As a kid you probably averaged 10 mph. That would be 150 hours on the bike in 3 weeks. Even averaging 15 mph (doubtful) you would be on the bike for 100 hours in 3 weeks.

That's like a full time job.

Umm, what? I'm hoping you have a different definition of a few weeks than most people. Either that or you rode 1500 tenths of a mile.

NO WAY you rode 1500 miles in 3 weeks as a kid. As a kid you probably averaged 10 mph. That would be 150 hours on the bike in 3 weeks. Even averaging 15 mph (doubtful) you would be on the bike for 100 hours in 3 weeks.

That's like a full time job.

What you talkin about, that is pretty fast at my age too.:notamused:

NO WAY you rode 1500 miles in 3 weeks as a kid. As a kid you probably averaged 10 mph. That would be 150 hours on the bike in 3 weeks. Even averaging 15 mph (doubtful) you would be on the bike for 100 hours in 3 weeks.

That's like a full time job.
In 8th grade (when I didn't have a job, and it was summertime) I had a friend who had a g/f in a suburb across the river, 15 miles one way. We would go there 4 or 5 times a week. That is 60-75 miles a week just for that commute. Then we would ride around while we were there. Then at home. Then at friend's of friends houses.

Sun up to sun down. Never stopping except for junk food at gas stations. In the summer there are 12+ hours of daylight. Even at 8 mph, that is 70-80 miles a day. 6 days a week, for 3 weeks. That is 1440 miles.

In 8th grade if we weren't riding to his g/f's house, we would ride from the far northern suburbs (ex-urbs they are called now) to the airport. That is 17 miles one way. We did this all the time, stopping at the mall along the way to eat.

During the school year, I would ride out to his new house a few times a week after school. He was far enough away that we didn't even go to the same junior high and high school. I would ride home at night until my mother put a stop to that.

Then we got cars the year after the next, he moved even farther away, and we stopped. I never found anyone who could ride even close to that much. We went for a ride together after our college years and both died after about 10 miles. :)

I would have him verify all this, but he got married a few years ago and no one from his "old life" has seen him since... :(

Anyway, I get defensive about my biking as a kid because the only people who understood were my parents and a few of my friends.

As a kid, my brother and I easily logged 2,000 miles a year. Nowadays I would safely say less than 50 and in the case of my nieces and nephews, less than 10.
Ernest

Back to an average kid. I bet most dont even ride bikes anymore. Average kid under 12 probably a few miles a year.

No offense Beth, but that's why not nearly as many kids ride bikes these days: Their parents make excuses, like "it's not safe now".

I grew up in Los Angeles county. Talk about your population density! If you were a kid and wanted to go somewhere, you either rode or walked. For many years my Mom didn't even have a car as she didn't need one. We rode or walked to school (where there was a full rack of bikes), rode to Little League practice, rode on a friend's handlebars to get a tube at the bike shop...you get the picture. I was never hit by a car, never wore a helmet (unless racing BMX) and knew how to work on my own bike, a bike I worked for and paid for with my own money.

Now I live in a rural area where the kids are driven 1/4 mile to the bus stop while the parents sit there in the car, engine running until the kid gets on the bus. If they do have a "toy" bike, flats are a showstopper. They'd rather play DS or text anyway.

No offense taken.

I grew up in the 60's/early 70's. We rode everywhere. We didn't really have much else to do but run the neighborhoods. We also slept in cribs painted with lead paint and never used seatbelts.

There are a myriad of reasons why more kids don't ride like we used to. Safety is only one of them. My 12 year old has Asperger's; teaching him a sense of caution is a process. Send him off on his own to troll the town? I don't think so.

Beth

"the answer is almost never the letter 'D'. good luck!"