bryroth

Sunday afternoon was brisk, but also a nice day where I live. So I should have been on my bike. Instead I was in my car traveling down a fairly busy road when I see a man on a Surly Big Dummy. It's an unusual bike, so here's a picture.



On that long flat part in the back he's got two kids riding it like motorcycle passengers, probably both about 4 years old or so. He was headed straight at a part of a lane that was breaking apart to become a right-turn lane, if that makes any sense. Basically, he was in the thick of traffic.

Here is the surprising part, to me at least. Despite the fact that he obviously had two kids on the back of the bike, motorists were still pulling the same crap. They were inches from his back tire until they felt safe enough to pass him, and when they did, they were inches from his elbow.

I was a little concerned for him and a little curious, so I hung WAY back for a little bit to watch.

I realized two things.

1. What I've always assumed was motorists intentionally driving like as*holes is really just lack of driving skills I guess. I don't think anyone would intentionally buzz these two four-year-olds, but there there were doing it.

2. I don't think road cycling is safe enough to take kids out to do. There is nothing else that this guy could have possibly done to follow the law any more than he was. He had his back rack all lit up and they all had helmets on. He was moving pretty fast in the right lane. Despite that, it seemed dangerous with all the Sunday drivers out and all. I'm not judging him, it just made me realize my opinion.

I was curious as to anyone else's opinion on taking kids with you to bike in traffic.

making

I bought my 15 year old son a road bike a couple years ago. I was not as experienced a commuter back then and did not realize how crazy dangerous it is. This year he is starting drivers ed so I might reconsider when he is more aware of the driving laws. Still dangerous though. I dont and would not take my kids in traffic.

chipcom 

I rode with my kids in traffic all the time and I'll do the same with my grandkids once they get a little older. You can't teach them in a vacuum or an ivory tower.

Flatballer

Damn. What a waste of money this was then...

making

I know you are right. I am not risk adverse for myself, I just tend to be for people I am responsible for.

K&K_Dad

I sorta have this problem. i've been pondering taking my kids for rides in the trailer but would have to either a)lug it through a field a 1/4 mile or hit the road for a 1/4 mile of traffic. Unfortunately we have to make choices and the father(?) probably thought he was making an ok choice. You have to look at it this way, whether in a car or a on a bike it's going to be a dangerous situation and yes the car 'will win' but this isn't always true, I know, I've seen bad car wrecks. As for the part about bad driving skills I think that has a lot to do with it along with the fact that people on bikes just don't know the laws. When they are constantly riding on sidewalks car drivers see this and think that's where all bikes should be even though this isn't always the case. It's a two way road. excuse the pun. ok I'm done.

Brandy

Depends on the kid and their comfort level. My 8 year old daughter, yes. Absolutely. She rides main roads with me and I can trust her to follow my lead without fail, so we even make left turns from the left turn lane, etc. My boys...hmmmm...well the ten year old loves riding on the sidewalk, much to my dismay. My six year old loves the bike lane and I'm actually fairly comfortable riding with him in it. I wouldn't trust him to use left turn lanes though, so we cross at crosswalks.

One more thing. I would rather ride, ride, ride as much as possible with my kids on busy roads so I can drill the safety measures into them, than to send them out there to fend for themselves as they get older. Hopefully some of it will stick.

Daytrip

We do, but I sweat it out. It's one thing for me to get hurt/killed, but.....well, you know what I'm saying. I agree with chipcom, however.

This raises an interesting question that occurred to me last night while driving home from work. There's a four-lane state highway designated as an official Bike Route in the rural areas. When this highway gets close to the city, there are many off-ramps to the right, which would make cycling difficult, if you were crazy enough to venture that far on a bike. But the left shoulder obviously doesn't have any. Seems to me it would be a lot safer to switch over to the left shoulder and ride there. You're still traveling with the traffic flow. Would that be considered legal/advisible?

DataJunkie

My son is five. No. Eventually yes.

Flatballer

In some states you're allowed to ride on the left hand side of a one-way street. It seems like it could be the same rule, since it's divided with a median, but I couldn't find any information.

uke

These people do. Amazing what a difference infrastructure can make.









When people feel safe enough to ride with their kids, that's a good thing.

bryroth

^where

uke

Copenhagen, Denmark. : D

https://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen

chipcom 

Yeah, it's hard, but you gotta think of it in the context of our responsibility to prepare them to survive on their own in the real world.

chipcom 

Nice to see uke advocating for riding without helmets.

(BB)

I'd rather have my daughter learn safe habits with me or her mom at the controls. We live in a city neighborhood and have ridden in traffic with her from the beginning.

gsteinb

I've been doing the local hammerhead rides with my son on the tandem since he was 8. He likes to suffer.

BikeIndustryGuy

No, I would not ride with my small children in traffic.

You may have the moral high ground and be correct in your riding, but that doesn't really help if you have two dead kids. You will likely be blamed by cops, motorists, and the press if anything happens.

Wrong country.

chipcom 

Incorrect. Perhaps if you worried more about actually riding safely than about fame and blame, you wouldn't have to be so afraid of the big, bad, dangerous roads.

DataJunkie

How about 4-6 lane 45 mph roads with motorists traveling on average 55mph?
I won't even ride said roads most of the time. Am I a wuss for not dragging my son on it with me?

gsteinb

tough room

BigBlueToe

I used to take my kids out riding all the time. (Now that they're 18 and 20 they laugh at me when I suggest a bike ride!) I trained them thusly: Just going down the road I'd usually ride behind them and keep an eye on what they were doing. This helped me train them how to shift properly, because I could see what their chains were doing (obviously, only one kid at a time.) Whenever there was a traffic situation, particularly on lefthand turns, I'd pull ahead and tell them to, "Stay on my wheel." That meant to follow the leader. They stayed close, covered their brakes, and tried to ride in the same track as I did. Often we'd stop, get off our bikes, and use the crosswalks. We'd hit the buttons to turn on the "Walk" signs on crosswalks with stoplights. There's no sense being in a hurry with kids - safety first.

I've also ridden with groups of 12 and 13 years old. Riding along by the side of the road is usually not bad, although there are often space-case kids who wander into the traffic lanes a bit, or pass each other without checking behind them. Left turns are the worst. Again, getting off and walking across in the crosswalk is the safest

When I was that age my parents let me ride my bike all over town alone. I learned how to avoid cars on my own. I had a healthy terror of cars - especially after I came upon the scene of an accident where a high school bicyclist had been hit (on Friday the 13th, of course.) The firemen had him laying on his back with a wool blanket on top of him. I think he ended up being all right, but his face was hamburger and there was a lot of blood running down the street. (No helmets in those days - probably around 1962.) That image stayed with me to this day, and reinforced my respect for cars and the need to be careful on my bike.

As a parent, I never felt confident that my own kids would learn the same self-protection skills if I let them ride freely all over town. Why do you suppose that is?

AndrewP

I rode with my kids when they were 4 and 6. I kept behind them so I could watch how they were riding and stayed further out from the curb.

chipcom 

naa, you were born a wuss.

rousseau

One more reason to *****ing hate North America.