Here in South Dakota you can get your learner's permit at age 14. You have to have it at least six months (three months if you take a Driver's Education class) and then you can get a restricted license that allows you to drive between 6 AM and 11 PM, or to/from any school activities outside those hours. At age 16 you can receive your full unrestricted license.

The law was written for extreme rural areas of our state where it's beneficial for kids to be able to drive at a younger age to help out on the farms/ranches and when they commute 30-40 miles to school. Most kids out on the farms start driving in the fields between ages 10-12, so by the time they hit the road they've been behind the wheel for quite a while. However, here in the city where I live I see little need for a 14 year old to have a license (although plenty of parents let their kids do it, mostly for the parent's convenience.) We had told our son that he had to wait until he was 16 to get his license.

We did relent a little. His golf team season was starting up four months before his 16th birthday. The last three years my wife and I juggled our schedules around to figure out how to get him to/from the golf course every day. Often he'd be a little late because he'd have to wait for us. This year we decided that if he got his license 4 months before his 16th birthday that would probably be close enough, and that would allow him to get himself to the tournaments and practice on time plus we'd only spend half the gas.

Earlier this spring he got his learner's permit. I spent a lot of time practicing with him, and pretty much had him drive any time we went anywhere. Last month he took Driver's Education class (which he claims was a waste because we'd spent so much time practicing prior to the class starting.) When he got his license he passed the test with a score of 96%.

He drove a couple times on his own yesterday. No incidents (not that I expected any.) Mom survived, but she's really, really having a hard time with the reality that her child is growing up. I think the next hurdle will be our first big snow storm when he drives for the first time in those conditions. Right now she's stating that he won't be allowed to drive in the snow and that we'll have to take him on those days. He's stating that she's being unreasonable and that he is driving on those days. That first blizzard will be a fun day in our house.

ditto!

Wow, 14 is pretty young. But I guess it all depends on the "maturity" of your teenager. My son is only 5 so I have some time yet. But visions of good times to come, I'm sure. I used to go to an empty parking lot to do some controlled skids in the winter. Maybe you can do that with your son when the time comes. Also good snow tires will help. Having said that, I haven't got the second set of wheels for snow tires for my car. I usually eek by with decent all season tires since it doesn't usually snow as much in NJ in the winter. I would guess that SD would have more snow.

Just got back from visiting the parents in Georgia last week. So I took the last week off from the bike. I rode in from home yesterday and enjoyed the nice low temps in the morning. In the afternoon, it went up to 87F or so. I was slower as expected and stopped at a drugstore for some gatorade and a payday bar. That's my usually plan when its gets hot and I start to drag a bit on the way home. Today will be a little warmer going up to 90F or so. I did a park and ride to give myself a break (and wuss out with a shorter ride in the heat). ;)

Last night, I encountered a salmon (wrong way) rider, and they are common here. There's no etiquette for dealing with them, so I went right and held a steady path. He went left (to my right) and did the same. So we ended up braking to a halt right in front of each other. He said "sorry," and I said, "yyyyeeeeeaaaaahhhh" really slowly because I couldn't think of anything else quickly, but I think he got the point.

Today is warmer than yesterday, so I took the weight and wind drag hit and took panniers instead of backpack. I used a lot of witch hazel on myself after arriving at work.

Face-plant biking home last night, descending a ramp off a trail to a main drag, slowed to turn right onto street, just went down hard on my face. Apparently 'slightly displaced sinus fracture' is the result. I am basically fine. Taking today off. Tomorrow was not going to be a bike day. Hopefully back on 2 wheels for Thursday.

Was able to help a fellow commuter last night. Right when I got home from work and had hung up my bike and helmet I got a phone call. A friend of mine was stranded. She had a health issue a couple of weeks ago where she passed out unexpectedly. She's undergoing tests, but until they nail down the reason for the passing out the doctor has expressly forbidden her from driving a car. She lives on a farm about six miles north of the city limits.

Her husband was out of town. She had a doctor's appointment and needed some groceries but was unable to drive, so she hooked up a trailer to her bike and headed to town. In the last four years or so she has ridden a fair amount recreationally so she figured it would be no big deal even though hasn't ridden a whole lot yet this year.

For the six miles into town she was struggling hard and only able to maintain about 5 mph. At first she thought her struggles were a combination of the 93 degree heat, the heavy trailer carrying a cooler full of ice (for the groceries) and being out of shape. After her doctor's appointment she came out and looked at the bike and realized that one of the pads on the rear brake was engaged and wouldn't release.

Not having any tools with her, or the knowledge of how to fix it, she called me. I loaded up my repair stand and tools in my truck and drove about three miles to where she was sitting under a tree. I pulled the rear brakes apart and discovered that somehow the index pin that holds the tension spring on one side had come out of its hole, so the spring pressure from the other arm was pulling the pad onto the rim. Got her all fixed up and the brakes adjusted in about 10 minutes.

She took a spin around the parking lot and declared the bike ten times easier to ride. We then re-attached her trailer and she went on her way to the grocery store. She texted later that evening that she had completed her errands and made it home without further incident at 9:15 PM. Even the eggs she had bought remained intact.

You, sir, are a bike hero. :thumb:

I was pretty tired this morning but had planned to bike commute on a new TuTh weekly schedule, in order to save some energy for longer ride(s) on the weekend. It was cool, overcast, and the air felt thick. Of course, I also felt like I was riding into a horrible headwind, so no PRs for me.

It was hot and I was dripping profusely by the time I was halfway home on my 10 mile commute. I actually took it easy the rest of the way as there is also an air quality alert for the city and at 63 maybe I'm getting to where I need to pay attention to these things, even if I always just want to go all out.

Had a nice ride home yesterday despite the high humidity. Love the newly repaved MUP. The fact a good mile of it is in the shade is a help.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...12cb1ded4c.jpg

Recently paved makes for a nice smooth ride.https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c78744627e.jpg

Quite a few people out on the trail, been seeing more people riding to and from work lately. This bridge over a busy road is nice, used to be a ground level crossing. Also there is a bike shop on the left side if I ever needed to stop. There is another one about a mile up the path so two very accessible bike shops if needed.

I wondered about this too. Using the online tool, an estimate showed my insurance will more than triple if we put my son on our newer Honda Odyssey. Seems like a used car and cheaper insurance may be better. But I probably won't be able to get away with doing that as he will inevitably need to drive the van at some point.

A nice ride in this morning. I took a slightly longer way out my neighborhood which put me at the top of a long descent for the first mile. Somehow that helped my overall average a bit. So between that and me seeing my overall average getting over 17mph, I started pushing some to maintain that. I ended up with a 17.4 average. Much faster than normal, especially for my morning ride. Both rides to and from work yesterday averaged 15.1mph.

Thanks to mid week holiday last week, I have not used my car for office commute in almost two weeks!

Yikes. Hope you get well soon and jump back in the saddle.

It gets crazier - having his own vehicle he can still drive your van and be covered, and the insurance goes up some, but nowhere near as much . In fact, whether or not he is listed as a driver, the fact that my son lives in the same household and has a drivers license drives the premium up. It may vary between states and insurance companies, but I couldn't find any better than I already had.

If he hadn't bought his on vehicle (yay) I would have purchased something, anything with tags, registered it for him and parked it in the lot.

Got up an hour and a half early because a friend put on a "bicycle commuter breakfast" at 6:15 AM this morning. His idea was that experienced commuters could be there and answer questions for people who are looking to get into bicycle commuting.

Eight of us showed up. We were all bicycle commuters. But it was a fun time anyway.

One of the guys there just finished a 2,750 mile mountain bikepacking race from Canada to Mexico down the continental divide, so it was fun to hear stories from that experience. He finished in 16 days, 3 hours and wound up coming in 3rd. He's giving a full presentation on his experience tomorrow night: Don't Poke The Bear

Hey, I recognize that Monon Trail! Not really cooler this morning but much less humid. I celebrated by taking the long way to work which took me by a messy wreck on a main drag. It's hard not to smile as I cruise by all the stopped cars!

I only am on the Monon for about a mile and a-half. I get on around 116th and jump off right at the new Sun King. Love the trail and am anxious to see what the new development will look like. Most of my ride is along some of the other MUPs to get East and West.

Cool! I get on at 90th street and take it to the cultural trail downtown. Glad to see another Indy-area commuter!

It's about 80°F, and it's funny how I don't notice it's hot while I'm on the bike. Well, it's not super hot, so that's part of it. I stopped when I got to work, and then I noticed I was sweaty. But I'm perfectly comfortable. So far, the summer hasn't been painfully hot here. I had strong headwinds this morning, but I guess I don't mind them as much in the heat as I do in the cold.

There sure are a lot of people on bikes on the bike path these days.

I was number 931 coming over the Manhattan Bridge this morning. And number 42xx going home last night, It was a non-stop stream of bikes on the bridge as I was going across this morning,

A bit of overcast last night and this morning kept the temperature up a bit, but the humidity was like a slap in the face. (With a wet fish...) I wonder if the 30% chance of precipitation will pay out this afternoon.

Otherwise, traffic was pretty light, and the ride was good.

Is there a counter like they have in Copenhagen? This is the first I'm hearing of it.

Boy, it's been a while since I last rode my bike to work. Finally ran out of excuses today and rode. Nice and uneventful, but I was a bit breathless at the tops of the hills.

I did have the opportunity recently to spend a week in and around Amsterdam. I've been there before, but it was nice to go back and see what real cycling infrastructure looks like. I didn't ride in Amsterdam much, but I did a mini tour south of Amsterdam, and yeah, I think the whole country is pretty bicycle-friendly.

It was another pleasant uneventful commute this am. I was not able to ride yesterday due to life's little upheavals. Thank-goodness it isn't more than it is.

It must take some pretty serious calculating and planning for a wasp to connect with a leg that is pedaling a bicycle at about 15 miles per hour. He probably called it a Sting Operation. Unfortunately he did not live to tell the other wasp agents about it.

Plenty warm and humid this morning. I'm ready for the weekend. These 5 day work weeks are just crazy!
[MENTION=13059]zacster[/MENTION] - ditto [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] - they have a counter? How would that even work? Tires over a sensor that divides by two. Would a unicycle or tricycle throw it off?