Can a 16yo bike by himself?
 

Thought I posted before, apparently not...

So my little brother wanted to go from Orange County to San Diego by himself. He is 16. My mom said no, that she called the police and they told her it is illegal for him to bike by himself. I searched this and found nothing of the sort, he will not be out past curfew so I don't see him violating any laws. Opinions, comments, concerns, advice?

Other thing: he got a helmet ticket a while ago to the tune of $200. It got waived by a judge because it was his first offense. However, according to CA V C 21212 (e) the fine cannot be more than $25. How is a $200 ticket legal?

Sounds like the child restraint law here. The ticket is $160 or so but when you prove you have the device that remedies the situation(like a booster seat), they toss it. 16 should not be illegal per-se unless the route involves restricted highways or the like. Depending on road savy it may be wise to not go it solo, but an actual legal matter seems like someone was loading the opinion.

He looked it up on Google Maps, it is about 90 miles and there are no highways. I'll let him and my mom know.

What do you mean by child restraint law? He was biking by himself without a helmet, there are no booster seats for a bike lol.

Cops seem to like to make up laws when it comes to at least two things--bicycles, and minors out in public by themselves. There have been ridiculous examples of parents being charged of child endangerment for innocuous things. Some cop might take it upon himself to prove that a 16 year old taking a trip like this is in serious danger.

I wouldn't think that it would be impossible, and depending on the 16-year old, they could be perfectly capable of handling this. But it's just something to keep in mind.

If he follows the Amtrak Century route, he will be near Metrolink and Coaster train stations throughout his ride. If something happens, he can always catch a train home or to his final destination.

I don't see why a 16-year-old wouldn't be able to bike by himself if he had the route planned out and had backup plans and carried a cell phone.

My kid went to Ecuador by herself at 16.

Most of us drive at 16 let alone bike, lol. She should be happy hes not begging for the car keys.

Yes I am 14 and did 2500 miles all on my own last year. You can drive at 16, why can't you bike?

Lol that's what I said. Robby you are 14, you aren't getting kicked off for age limits lol ;)

I don't see a problem with him biking.

That is assuming he is physically capable of making the trip in one day.

Finding a place to overnight can be a nightmare at 16.

Is he a fairly independent kid already? Does he know what to do if he gets in trouble? Can he fix his bike in case of a breakdown or know how to get it fixed? What about a buddy? It might be more fun for him if he shares the experience with a friend. The fact that he wants to do it at all, rather than sitting drooling in front of a computer game makes me inclined to say "Hell, yeah. Go for it! Don't take candy (or drugs or sex) from strangers, and call if you get into trouble." 90 miles? Pffft. Do it.

What about this little guy? https://www.pinkbike.com/video/147106/

Heck, get the whole family involved!

Help plan the route that's the easiest from a terrain standpoint. Maybe Mom, Dad or you and your bro can drive the route together;
a "recon", if you will, before the big one. That way everyone will have a good idea of where he's riding, and know what to expect.
Make it an event, a spectacle, a big 'to do'! Video it and post it on YT!

And, just to be on the safe side; a document written by Mom and Dad giving your little bro permission to undertake his ride, so if
the local po po's get suspicious the letter and a link to above mentioned video showing the entire family's participation will
hopefully cool their heels.

I dunno... personally, I think it's an awesome idea and if it's a dream of his, then stifling it is the worst thing to do.

There's worse things he could be engaging in or be influenced to do at 16.

Alan :thumb:

If you check out another post that is me sorry for the confusion, didn't know if the moderators would boot me for being underage. My mom is not the most active person, so probably not on the bike ride. I am a relatively new bicyclist so I don't really know anybody to bike with. Most of my friends are like "dude, go home and study."

But my mom's main concern is biking alone so I do need to find somebody. I have relatives living in SD so I am thinking about heading down there, spending the night, then heading back up in time for school. Plus a relative (my mom's cousin's sister in law's husband) is an avid biker down in San Diego.

At the risk of invoking clichés....

You've got yer whole life ahead of you, kid. Plenty of time to bike to San Diego and beyond when you're 18. Spend a little time doing 30-40 mile rides in your area, get used to cycling, hit some hills. I'm sure there are plenty of places to do lots of cycling right where you are.

Heyho, the Land of the Free :(

My friends and I rode distances like that a number of times from ages 15 to 17. Of course, in the seventies we also hitchhiked to travel such routes and no one would think of letting their kids do that now. As far as finding a place to camp, we'd just stealth camp where we saw an out of the way place. No reason a 16 year old can't handle a trip like that.

unless he's been pampered his whole life....

You can drive at 16, with a permit, with parent/guardian supervision. :)

Wasn't there a kid who sailed solo around the world at 16?

at 16 I was riding wherever I wanted. I don't really think they have changed anything that would make it illegal, although there are curfews in some locations that might be a concern

When I was 14 or 15 (can't remember exactly) I rode from Brea to Huntington Beach on the Santa Ana river trail. It was about 6 0miles. By the end of it I was totally spent. So...my take is...

Make sure you can do shorter distances before you bite off more than you can chew. This will also prove to Mom that you know what your doing. Then go for it.

seems like a question that only the family involved should deal with.

If the mom thinks it's ok, then this is a non-issue....

Robi

Yup. If he's in reasonable shape there's no reason that he can't physically make the trip. The rest comes down to maturity, independence, and parental attitudes. No way of knowing that on a forum.

If it was my kid, I guess my default position would be to let 'em at it, unless I could think of a compelling reason not to.

Not my kid though.

Cops are not the ones to ask when it comes to legal matters, it's just easier and safer for them to say no.

There's absolutely no problem, I'm 16 and bike by myself all the time! I cross highways and sometimes ride on them carefully for a about 1/2 a km or so. Absolutely no problem.

Oh and +1

Man, I've been using my bike to get around town since I was 12. I think my parents couldn't WAIT until I could do that, so they wouldn't have to drive me anywhere.

Of course, that was back in the dark ages, before helmet laws or curfews.

As for a 90 mile ride - I'm an adult and I don't know that I'd do that ride alone. If it were 100% on marked trails with lots of other traffic, maybe, but from OC to SD is a little convoluted, I wouldn't want to be caught somewhere in need of assistance without a companion.

If he's a responsible kid I don't think the age is a factor. But I personally wouldn't recommend anyone to do that kind of trip solo, certainly not if it's their first time.

As much as I'm a big supporter of law enforcement, if an officer told your mom that it is "illegal" for a 16-year-old to ride 90 miles solo I believe he is full of it (personal opinion as I am not a legal expert). 16-year-olds can drive coast to coast, take a train or bus cross country, or even take international flights without a guardian present. If mom said "no" she could have him picked up as a runaway but unless there is some whacked law where you live, a 90-mile cycle ride with parental consent should be no different than a 90-mile car trip. Maturity varies wildly among 16-year-olds (the same could be said for 40-year-olds) so it would really be up to the parent to decide if their teen is ready to handle such a venture.

I don't know your younger brother, but saying that a sixteen year old can't go on a long ride by himself seems absolutely nuts. In suburban Maryland, I was riding a lot by myself at a younger age, although I'd never taken a ride that was as long as the one he's proposing. My dad was riding double-centuries when he was a teen-ager, although they were organized rides.
If he's fit, mature, and savvy enough, let him go for it.

LOL I rode my bike whereever I wanted as a kid, now mine ask for rides to town that is like 1.5 miles away ... ugh