7-yr old's first commute
09-13-07, 08:12 PM
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7-yr old's first commute
I thought I'd share with everyone my little boy's first commute -
I commute regularly. My little boy (7 yrs old) rides with me on weekends and evenings, occasionally doing as much as 25 miles at a time on his 20" Trek MT60 (2-1/2 hours / 10 mph avg - I can't get over his stamina!!!). He's been telling me for a while that he wanted to ride his bike to school, so yesterday we did it for the first time. My boss was kind enough to let me adjust my schedule and come in to work a little late. We had made a few dry runs, so I knew which route we would take. Up at 6:00, out the door at 7:00, and 50 minutes later we had finished the 8.5 mile ride.
Only had two moments of concern - A couple dogs barked at us (not bad dogs - they didn't even leave their yard), and that was enough to alarm my son and cause him to veer left, out toward the middle of the road. No traffic coming, but it was worrisome. I'm not sure how to impress upon him that the cars approaching from behind are potentially much more dangerous than the dogs on our right. The second moment was the heavy traffic at the school itself. We walked across that road.
He says he's ready to go again tomorrow! This won't be a regular thing, unfortunately. My work schedule won't allow it. But we're going to stay regular with our weekend rides.
I commute regularly. My little boy (7 yrs old) rides with me on weekends and evenings, occasionally doing as much as 25 miles at a time on his 20" Trek MT60 (2-1/2 hours / 10 mph avg - I can't get over his stamina!!!). He's been telling me for a while that he wanted to ride his bike to school, so yesterday we did it for the first time. My boss was kind enough to let me adjust my schedule and come in to work a little late. We had made a few dry runs, so I knew which route we would take. Up at 6:00, out the door at 7:00, and 50 minutes later we had finished the 8.5 mile ride.
Only had two moments of concern - A couple dogs barked at us (not bad dogs - they didn't even leave their yard), and that was enough to alarm my son and cause him to veer left, out toward the middle of the road. No traffic coming, but it was worrisome. I'm not sure how to impress upon him that the cars approaching from behind are potentially much more dangerous than the dogs on our right. The second moment was the heavy traffic at the school itself. We walked across that road.
He says he's ready to go again tomorrow! This won't be a regular thing, unfortunately. My work schedule won't allow it. But we're going to stay regular with our weekend rides.
09-13-07, 08:53 PM
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Congratulations! I love riding with my children too. We go on weekend rides as well and yes they do have incredible stamina. I try to make it fun along the river and we stop for a picnic, then we check out the ducks and other animals and ride on. Usually our rides take a half-day and we take our time and enjoy. I hope my kids will still be riding with "their old man" years from now. I hope you guys ride for many more years together too. I just wish my Wife enjoyed riding.
09-14-07, 04:07 AM
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Quickrelease.tv (the website) has a series about a few kids and some adult supervisors going on a multi day tour involving high daily mileage. Kids really *do* have endurance, but they must be careful about exerting themselves too much - slow and long is fine for them says my doctor (when I asked about this). Pretty cool 
