schwinn1959

My granddaughter loves to ride with me but I am very afraid of letting her ride with me on the roads, what should I do, we do ride the neighbor hood which 1.7 miles and around the local lake and back streets after 5 pm.. she keeps saying I want to ride with you.. any suggestions, myself ,I am new still and nervous

Aubergine 

If you are on Facebook, find the Seattle Family Biking group. Lots of good info there, and it's not limited to Seattle people.

I think the thing to start with is to educate yourself in safe riding techniques. Learn how to position yourself in the road, how to control traffic with signals and position, how to be visible with lights and so on. A local bike shop or club may be able to help you there, or check out the League of American Bicyclists.

Once you have learned about safe riding techniques, you will be a lot more comfortable helping your granddaughter ride safely with you. When I rode with my kids (the scamps are adults now and don't wanna ride with their aged parent any more, darn it) I would have them ride in front of me so I could call out to them with information about things to look out for. I also rode in back so I could guard them from cars coming from behind. A mirror was very helpful for this.

hope this helps!

travbikeman

You also have to gauge your granddaughters comfort level while riding the road. Example, I took my 11 year old out on a beginners group road ride that ended up being busier than I had thought it would be. Cars going by us rather fast. After a while he became very uncomfortable and we went up on the sidewalks to ride the rest of the way.

It really depends on how busy the road is, how fast the cars go on it and how safely the child rides.

mstateglfr 

We began riding in streets with our kids this past summer.Our 8yo on her bike and our 4yo attached to a bike with a weehoo.
I have no idea if what we did was good or bad, safe or smart, but it seemed good to us.

• Ride in street on side streets only. Sidewalk for any busy roads or main roads. This allowed for plenty of notice for cars and let our oldest practice how to properly ride around parked cars(don’t wait til the last minute, don’t weave in and out of road when there are a lot of parked cars, etc).
  
• Our oldest led. That way, she got to be the leader(something she likes), she was forced to be aware of what was coming up and around her, and we could be the buffer for any cars that were moving in the same direction as us.
  
• Along the lines of the first point, we stuck to 1 lane 2 way roads only. No 2 lane 2 way streets, even if they werent busy. I cant see her riding in the road on this size of a road for a handful of years. There is just no need and it is simply not safe at her age now and in the relatively near future.

As a suggestion, are there any roads around you with dedicated bike lanes?Riding those for a bit could help with confidence as a way to ease into road riding since the lane is there and not used by cars, yet cars are next to the child.

TrojanHorse

I ride with my 10 yr old (now 12) fairly often. We generally stick to side streets but I find that he's pretty safe. One gadget that really improved my experience with him was a helmet intercom (formerly known as Cardo BK-1 duo)

I found two sets for about 2 hundred apiece (there are 4 of us) but here's one for 300 for 2 units New Cardo BK 1 Duo Bluetooth Communication System | eBay

Anyway, being able to talk to my son and guide him from behind is priceless to me. And he chats up a storm, which makes it more enjoyable for him. He doesn't like me riding right next to him (which is just about where you have to be to converse) so being able to follow him and give him tips is pretty excellent.

Viich

Unless she absolutely doesn't have the skills or takes crazy risks, just go. Don't go on streets you wouldn't ride for fun - I ride on streets on my commute I wouldn't unless I'm on my way someplace. Ride super-defensive, but a 12 year old should absolutely be able to ride on the street safely. When I was 12 I went anywhere, including along the shoulder of the highway. In fact I rode on roads I'd be a little nervous on now, but never even a close call. You probably did as well, or at least some of your friends did.

I rode last summer with my 4 year old (now 5) on a 14" tire bmx bike. Not on main 4 lane streets, but on any street within our neighbourhood. I rode behind him and coached when necessary.

He rides his bike to school every day in the warmer months, about 2.5km each way. My wife rides with him with the 3 year old in a bike trailer, I've ridden with him on the school run a few times. He's incredibly proud to ride his 'wobbly bike' to school and lock it in the bike rack.

Tony Marley

An expensive, but effective, option is to ride a tandem. I began taking my daughters on road rides on our tandem when they were about 3-years old.

atbman

You should be able to find safe cycling classes somewhere on these sites:
Find & Take a Class | League of American Bicyclists
CyclingSavvy - A Program of the American Bicycling Education Association
https://abea.bike/
Education | Florida Bicycle Association
Bicycle Safety Links | Florida Department of Health

CliffordK

Everything depends on what your streets are like.

I've taken my nephew (9) and niece (11) out riding on the roads near Mom's house. We get passed by maybe 5 cars in a 4 mile RT ride. We don't cross any major streets, and don't pass any stop signs. I actually wish there were more "training opportunities". They probably get tired of hearing me tell them to ride to the right. But, they're doing pretty well.

When I was in Gradeschool, many moons ago, I was regularly riding by myself to school, a few miles, I think as early as first grade. My brother would have aged out of the midgets at 12, I think, so by 9 or 10, I had inherited the little green road bike, and it definitely went to school with me quite a few times. I think grades 4-6, we got Thursday afternoons off, and periodically I would ride my bike from Saganaw to Eugene to meet my parents (maybe 20 miles or so) ALONE, including some moderately busy roads. I can't say exactly how old I was, but certainly by age 12, I was quite independent and putting in a few miles on the bike.

MikeRides

The best you can do is teach them about bike and traffic safety. I discussed in length, provided her reflective gear and bright lights, and rode behind my own daughter at age 8, on local rural roads including a stretch of a state highway (55mph speed limit). She handled it well and proved to me she could ride safely on the road, and now at age 10 rides these roads quite a bit, including solo every morning. In fair weather, she rides her bike to school (~6.5 miles, nearly 1/4 of which is on the highway I just mentioned)

supercycle62

It's too bad, my city used to have "bike rodeos" run by volunteers for kids to learn to ride and learn the rules of the road in a non-intimidating area like a large parking lot. That being said when I was 10-12yrs old I rode all over town on my bicycle. We all did and I live in a fairly large city. The best the OP can do is ride with her and make sure she is wearing a helmet and whatever other safety gear if needed. Like other have said, riding behind her in single file and keep an eye out for any hazards would probably be the best idea.

Hardrock23

I taught my son (3yrs old at the time) how to ride on the road in one of our large parks. It offers every sport field, playgrounds, dirt trails, skate park, pool, etc...so its quite large and busy, but has NO side walks anywhere! I chose this place because its pretty much the only long stretch of flat area, the only park that has riding room, and its ofcourse family friendly and has a speed limit of 10mph at the most. I know he was quite young to be on the road, but our area doesnt have too many options for his age and skill level (Hes was afraid of steep hills and thats just how the area is).
He did very well! I rode behind him and coached him along the way when needed. He listened, looked, and focused on his surroundings. I see many young children with their parents doing the same in this park. When he is 5 or 6, ill move him up to the paved paths we have. They are actually more difficult.
I was riding, like many others here, in the streets younger than 12, going any and everywhere i could. We just didnt have that many side walks back then, and no paved paths ofcourse. Even if we had many places off the streets to ride these days, id still have taught him street safety, just incase.

I think in some cities they offer group rides for these things, among other things. Classes also. Id start with a familiar area where youre BOTH comfortable.
I know this was posted awhile ago, so you probably already have gone out with her.

FBinNY 

I can't speak for your local roads, but there are plenty of regional roads that are reasonably safe for a youngster to ride on, especially when accompanied by an adult. Even more so if the adult is an experienced cyclist who can pass along some tidbits of road wisdom.

So, in general, you should be able to expand the horizons.

However,

This is a delicate situation because she's not your child. She's a grandchild, so it's critical that her parents make an informed decision about this. Otherwise the potential for family grief is unacceptably high should even something minor go wrong.

MikeRides

Hmm, no update from the OP... have you tried taking your granddaughter out on the road yet?

fietsbob

Here we Have a lot of paved trails in Fort Stevens State Park, away from all traffic.

but this aint Florida .. (happily so)

Allez3

At 12 I was riding to and from school every day on busy roads. It was 5 miles each way. For the first six months or so I took less traveled back roads through residential neighborhoods to avoid cars. Got lost once, that was awesome. I thought I had remembered a shortcut my dad used to take, but that was a bust once I missed a turn. As I grew more comfortable I moved to the much busier roads. I'd still take the back roads from time to time. The hills were better so it was more of a challenge than the relatively flat parkways that cut through the adjacent hills. After a while I was looking for ways to add distance. I say get the kiddo out there!