Kris Flatlander

Hi all,

So i've gotten into road biking over the last little while and have a good friend who would like to do the same. The only thing is there's his dad in the way. He doesn't want him riding a road bike on highways even though they do motocross and do cross country training on rollerblades along highways. Is there any way to convince him its ok or another way to ride a road bike avoiding highways? Or should he just give up? thanks for all your help.

Phatman

I would generally say that riding on hiways is a bad idea. I generally stick to the 2-lane back roads if at all possible. If I have to merge to get on it, I leave it alone.

enduro

I don't know how things are where you live, but it's definitely illegal to ride on the freeways here (not to mention suicidal!). But there are plenty of bike paths and bike lanes, as well as back roads that don't get much traffic. Basically, be aware of your surroundings and exercise common sense and there's no reason to be worried.

Chucklehead

well, there's a difference between a highway and a freeway...
in alot of cases, there are bike lanes along side highways in southern california. trust me, i ride them all the time. take highway 1 for example...and parts of 101. heck, here in san diego, you're even allowed to ride the freeway through camp pendelton because of the security concerns they have. heh...it's funny how quickly you can cover 8 miles when you're worried about taking an 85mph car in the butt.

but on the subject of the thread, i would say that your friend's dad can't be a very reasonable person if he lets his kid ride MX and not road bicycles. i've always found that i lose more blood with an engine between my legs than without. then again, he may just be concerned about his kid running around in spandex shorts.
maybe you should ride along with them when they're rollerblading one day and show him how a bike takes up less space than a rollerblader.

MichaelW

Most of the stats for bike casualties include young children who don't know any better and dumb adults, people who ride at night without lights, ride against the traffic and generally display suicidal behaviour.
The crash stats for a adult riding a well adjusted bike in a sensible, legal manner are way, way below the average.

mmerner

Do like when I was a kid. 1. Say to Dad that he won't ride on the highways. 2. get the bike 3. ride on highways anyways. ahh the joys of being young.

55/Rad

Dad is fine with blading and moto crossing along the road - because he is there to supervise.

Get Dad out on the bike with you guys for some rides. Demonstrate that you are ready and able to deal with anything that comes with being out on the roads. Start with some lightly used streets and backroads and build his confidence. Ask him to follow in a car or on the motorcycle if he doesn't ride and listen to his advice and tips about road awareness and dealing with traffic. To him, it's like teaching you to drive - and operating the car is the easy part of it.

Involve him and one of 2 things will likely happen. He will get sucked in and join you guys on weekend rides and whatnot (maybe chip in or buy you a better bike?) or you will will gain his confidence and he will eventually allow you to go off on your own.

55/Rad

LordOpie

^ Rad's got a good point about dad being okay with it when he's there. If dad was out of shape, there'd be a problem, but if he does "cross country training on rollerblades", well, come on, that's gotta be harder than riding a bike!

HigherGround

Leraning some basic maintenance will help too. Showing Dad that you can fix a flat tire may help to reassure him that you're ready for the road.