Uh, it's been a while since I've done any serious riding. I've been busy camping with my family, teaching my boys how to fish and shoot, doin' a little farwood cuttin', blah, blah, blah.
I went out with my 7 & 4 (he'll be 5 in June) year old boys this afternoon to take them on their first ride in the dirt.
They both had a blast, and I don't recall any complaining on the entire ride. We parked at the West parking lot at Santa Rosa Plateau, and did the western side 3.25 mile loop.
That is awesome royta! I'm a father of two boys as well, 4 and 1.5. My 4 yr old is still on training wheels but is ready to go without them in a month. I can't wait to take my boys out on the trail too. Glad to see it all went well! :thumbsup:
I'm currently working on getting my 4 year old son off of training wheels, it's been hard, any suggestions? I dream of the day that I could do what you just did.
Anyway, I was admiring those pictures, thinking that the area you we're riding looks really cool, when I saw that you we're riding the Plateau.
I take my son riding there on a Trail-A-Bike towed behind my singlespeed every so often.
I just wish that the otherside of the Plateau was open to bikes, that would be one of the best riding locations in SoCal if it were. Sylvan Meadows has some nice trails, but is very limited. It looks like they are cutting some new trails to La Cresta though.:thumbsup:
I'm currently working on getting my 4 year old son off of training wheels, it's been hard, any suggestions? I dream of the day that I could do what you just did.
Anyway, I was admiring those pictures, thinking that the area you we're riding looks really cool, when I saw that you we're riding the Plateau.
I take my son riding there on a Trail-A-Bike towed behind my singlespeed every so often.
I just wish that the otherside of the Plateau was open to bikes, that would be one of the best riding locations in SoCal if it were. Sullivan Meadows has some nice trails, but is very limited. It looks like they are cutting some new trails to La Cresta though.:thumbsup:
We didn't go up Shivela. Are the new trails up there? It also looks like they reopened Manzanita, but we didn't explore it. I just wanted to stay in the open flat areas, so my kids would have fun, and I could keep a close eye on them. No need to feed the lions out there.
Well, I like to think my four year old is a step ahead of other kids. He's very athletic and extremely coordinated for a kid. He's very daring, which concerns me at times. I bought the blue bike for my 7 year old for his 5th birthday. He just wasn't real interested in taking the training wheels off. He doesn't like to be pushed, psychologically, either. I knew he could do it, but he didn't want to get hurt, or didn't want to fail, or whatever. Even with his friends riding bikes, he still didn't want to do it. It was kind of frustrating for me. It was actually my 4 year old riding without training wheels that prompted the 7 year old to not get left behind. They've both been riding for three to four months now.
Well, I like to think my four year old is a step ahead of other kids. He's very athletic and extremely coordinated for a kid. He's very daring, which concerns me at times. I bought the blue bike for my 7 year old for his 5th birthday. He just wasn't real interested in taking the training wheels off. He doesn't like to be pushed, psychologically, either. I knew he could do it, but he didn't want to get hurt, or didn't want to fail, or whatever. Even with his friends riding bikes, he still didn't want to do it. It was kind of frustrating for me. It was actually my 4 year old riding without training wheels that prompted the 7 year old to not get left behind. They've both been riding for three to four months now.
Cool Pics. As far as getting my boys to ride, I had a very similar experience. The 7 year old didn't want to fall, etc and stopped riding after he broke his training wheels. DH refused to put new training wheels on and all it took was younger brother riding for him to get out and do it. It took 1/2 hour and now they are riding fiends.
That's awesome man. My five year old loves to ride, and my 2.5 year old is just learning herself. I love riding with the kids. Glad to see others creating the next generation of riders as well.
I'm currently working on getting my 4 year old son off of training wheels, it's been hard, any suggestions? I dream of the day that I could do what you just did.
I stumbled on this method for getting kids off T/W's. It happened when an ex-girlfriend asked me to help her with her very reluctant 7 year old who was scared of falling, etc.
I kept mom and dad at bay, then got him to ride towards me while I ran backwards, all the while telling him to "look at me, look at me, don't look down, look at me, pedal pedal pedal"
I held his handle bars for a little while, then let go. He was up and riding in about 15 minutes.
I thought it was a fluke until one day after a ride I saw a dad trying to get his daughter off the wheels in El Moro parking lot. I watched him getting really frustrated while she was on the verge of tears. I struck up a conversation, then asked if I could try. He said sure, give it a shot. Again, running backwards while holding her bars and saying "look at me, don't look down,don't look down, pedal, pedal". I tripped and fell on my ass as she rode by laughing. Dad was very thankful and we both got a kick out of watching her ride in circles with a big ol' smile on her face.
Then, tried it with the neighbor. Same technique, same results. After dad had been trying for 2 solid weekends, I got his son pedaling in 10 minutes!
So give it a shot. Maybe enlist a neighbor or bud to do the 'training' while you stand by for moral support. Also, slight up hill is good; downhill bad (work on brakes after he gets on 2 wheels).Just beware, running backwards is hell on the low back and knees!
BTW, the ex-gf's son is about 10 now and racing BMX.
Thanks for the tip, I'll try that today and I will let you know how it worked.
My son Shane, he's almost there, he has excellent coordination for his age, he knows all the functions of the bike, pedal, steering and braking. Its his confidence level that is lacking. I have been running along the side of him holding him up, I let go a few times just for a second or two, but if he even gets close to falling, he wants to give up.
I've wanted to try a method I saw in Bicycling magazine. They suggested to find a shallow, graasy slope, maybe 100' long. You are to remove the pedals, so their feet will be unobstucted when they put their feet down. The kid is to ride down the hill, using their legs as outriggers. Once they get that wired, you put the pedals back on, and try it with pedals.
I tried this once, but he got really mad that I took the pedals off, it was'nt worth having him get upset over it. Again, I'll try your method.
We didn't go up Shivela. Are the new trails up there? It also looks like they reopened Manzanita, but we didn't explore it. I just wanted to stay in the open flat areas, so my kids would have fun, and I could keep a close eye on them. No need to feed the lions out there.
Well, I like to think my four year old is a step ahead of other kids. He's very athletic and extremely coordinated for a kid. He's very daring, which concerns me at times. I bought the blue bike for my 7 year old for his 5th birthday. He just wasn't real interested in taking the training wheels off. He doesn't like to be pushed, psychologically, either. I knew he could do it, but he didn't want to get hurt, or didn't want to fail, or whatever. Even with his friends riding bikes, he still didn't want to do it. It was kind of frustrating for me. It was actually my 4 year old riding without training wheels that prompted the 7 year old to not get left behind. They've both been riding for three to four months now.
Same here. I have three boys 10, 6 and 2. My oldest did not have interest in his bike until he was about 7. However my 5 year old was riding w/o training wheels at 3, and jumping off curbs / ramps at 4. At 5 he was launching a little 50cc motorcycle (pic). He just turned 6 two weeks ago and I take him and his older bro on long M-bike rides (10 miles). He can shift the gears with no problem
Now my two year old is "trumping" my middle boy. Riding a bike (with training wheels) and a razor scooter.
It is funny on how the kids push each other. My middle boy was getting a ton of attention from neighbors, friends and family. Then my oldest boy started to "step it up" LOL.
My advise on riding without training wheels is simple. Make sure they know how to pedal and get confidence with steering / breaking etc. Have them ride every day! Make sure there are other kids around that they can watch. The when they are ready bend the training wheels up so they get more of a feeling of riding on two wheels. After awhile take the training wheels off!
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