Bomccorkle
11-01-11, 11:31 AM
Any ideas? ? He just really likes riding I the there but is beginning to get a bit heavy.
Recreational & Family - how to encourage my 4 year old out of the trailer and onto his bike....
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sggoodri
11-01-11, 12:30 PM
See if you can borrow a trail-a-bike from a friend who has one. That will convey the thrill of being upright in the wind, pedaling at speed.
pwdeegan
11-01-11, 01:01 PM
peer pressure? (sometimes it can be good-useful.) if he is with other kids riding their own bicycles (and at his relative skill level, i.e., new to it all) then will he also want to ride? sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't; but it does normalize it even if he chooses to not do it just yet.
ebartom
11-01-11, 02:03 PM
Maybe get some fun decorations for the bike, or to combine this suggestion with pwdeegan's, host a bike parade (http://flickr.com/gp/fletzet/R4J460). Invite other kids to come over, with their wheels of choice, decorate bikes with balloons, streamers, etc, and then bike together to an ice cream parlor or coffee shop (for hot chocolate and pastries) or to a playground.
More durable decorations include baskets, streamers, those spoke bead things (eg http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Bicycle-Spoke-Beads-Set/dp/B000AO9Q92), lights, bells, horns, etc.
My guess is that you'll be more successful if you wait til spring. In the fall and winter I wouldn't blame him for preferring to be cocooned in the trailer, depending on exactly what kind of weather is going on. Any success you have now may be short-lived, as the weather gets worse.
Also, get him a nice bike. The specialized hotrocks are really light, and much more comfortable to ride than a clunkier bike. If you're lucky, you can get one very reasonably used.
More durable decorations include baskets, streamers, those spoke bead things (eg http://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-Bicycle-Spoke-Beads-Set/dp/B000AO9Q92), lights, bells, horns, etc.
My guess is that you'll be more successful if you wait til spring. In the fall and winter I wouldn't blame him for preferring to be cocooned in the trailer, depending on exactly what kind of weather is going on. Any success you have now may be short-lived, as the weather gets worse.
Also, get him a nice bike. The specialized hotrocks are really light, and much more comfortable to ride than a clunkier bike. If you're lucky, you can get one very reasonably used.
pwdeegan
11-01-11, 05:22 PM
+1
so true! who doesn't love a bike parade?! especially one that ends in a delicious treat.
also, my 3-year old tires easily; i put her bike on the back of the trailer so that we can ride to fun places, then she can ride when we get there, and then we can ride home again with her resting in the trailer. it's the best of all worlds!
so true! who doesn't love a bike parade?! especially one that ends in a delicious treat.
also, my 3-year old tires easily; i put her bike on the back of the trailer so that we can ride to fun places, then she can ride when we get there, and then we can ride home again with her resting in the trailer. it's the best of all worlds!
Bomccorkle
11-02-11, 07:22 AM
How do ya get that bike on the trailer?? Just stick the front wheel in the "trunk"?? He just has a walmart cheapie now but Saturday is birthday tine and he has a new trek 16" waiting on him......
pwdeegan
11-04-11, 01:23 PM
i don't have a picture of me towing the bicycle, but via the link below you can see us riding alongside together with the trailer in tow. the back of the trailer has handles for pushing, so i just bungee the bike there when she's inside. in fact, you can just make out the thin red bungee cord if you zoom in on the photo.
http://eugenedailynews.com/2011/09/19/a-sunday-in-the-streets/
http://eugenedailynews.com/2011/09/19/a-sunday-in-the-streets/
Bomccorkle
11-07-11, 06:29 AM
Ahhh brilliant. My trek trailer looks to he about the same setup.
Velo Dog
01-03-12, 05:49 PM
Can I dissent here? Four is pretty young...one of my kids learned at that age, but the other didn't get it until he was almost 8. Make it fun, not a task at which he has to succeed, and hope for the best, but what do you lose by waiting a year or two?
FWIW, when my late-learner had just barely turned 13, we did a hilly century at his request, so just because a kid can't ride at 4 doesn't mean he never will.
FWIW, when my late-learner had just barely turned 13, we did a hilly century at his request, so just because a kid can't ride at 4 doesn't mean he never will.