[QUOTE=Machka;8832294]
Some questions:
1. Do you go for bicycle rides every day now?
2. Where do you go?
3. Is it always the same route or distance, or do you do a bit of exploring out there?
4. Is your mother OK with you cycling locally?
5. Have you done a weekend camping trip yet where you cycle out to a local campground, stay overnight and cycle back?
6. If not, when is your weekend camping trip planned?
7. Is your mother OK with that weekend camping trip?
1) I do not ride everyday right now, because I have school and work. I am done with school at the beginning of June and had the trip planned for the middle of July, so I would have plenty of time to ride centuries back to back days, and that sort of extreme training.
2) I ride all over the place, county roads, city routes...just about anywhere that seems enjoyable to ride in SE Wisconsin.
3) I have like 5 routes that I ride pretty often, they vary in length and destination, some are lakefront rides, some are county roads. There is plenty of exploring that I do, I have done plenty of rides to Milwaukee, and Kettle Moraine (a state park) about 50 miles away.
4) She always is a bit nervous about me getting hit by a car, because last summer 7 cyclists were hit by cars ( 1 survived). Other than being nervous about me getting hit by a car or shot by a thug or something she is fine with it. She is happy that I have found a hobby outdoors and great to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
5/6/7) No, I have not done a weekend camping trip. I had planned to do a weekend or maybe 3 day trip at the end of May. My mom still does not even want me to do a weekend trip, her original reasons were because she was worried about me getting hit by a car or some creep who could be sneaking around campsites and beating people to a pulp. ( Better imagination than I have)
Thank you very much Machka for the huge response, I like that analogy about another childs mother/ neighborhood. I will try to bounce that off of her and get a posotive response, but first I might wait for some other responses. Your suggestion for that ride is great, one of the other things that would sway her decision would be if I was with somebody else. Finding somebody else (hopefully a similar age) who is willing to go for a 1.5 week long bke trip is difficult. The specific ride you reccommended would be difficult for me, this trip would be funded only by what I have earned at work, so an expensive plane ticket would not work for me. The longest trip in WI that I found is about 500 miles.