# Riding with kids



## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

Anyone else ride with their kids? My 16 year old son is my favourite riding partner. I don't have a hope of keeping up with him but it sure is fun trying. He rides so smoothly and makes everything look so easy, it is beautiful to watch. He often gives me riding tips, which are much appreciated. He races competitively in DH, XC, and Enduro, does BMX and dirt jumping, and rides road and track bikes. He has also worked as a shop mechanic since he was 14. Yes he is a bike junky and yes I am a proud dad.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

I ride with my 14 year old son but he can't keep up with me, on the trails or on the road. I get a little frustrated at times, I usually ride ahead and then stop and wait for him after awhile. I try to remind myself that it's better than having to take him to the emergency room and I enjoy the time with him and seeing him enjoy my passion. 

I think it is a combination of him not really being the competitive type and just wanting to take it easy and enjoy the ride and me having years of experience on the trails and being a strong rider. He wasn't into riding at all until about a year ago. I got a new bike and he asked if he could have my old one. He only had a 24" bike at that time but had outgrown it. Based on my past experiences riding with him, I told him a full suspension bike wasn't good for just riding around the neighborhood but he wanted to try it so we hit some trails and I was really surprised. In the past, we would ride a very short distance and he'd be ready to go home but this time he rode a decent ways. So he got to keep the bike. 

He also expressed interest in road biking so now he's also taken over my road bike. He rides it while I ride my Gunnar fixed gear. I swapped out the stem for a shorter one but now he's grown and I need to swap back in the longer one. Looks like soon I may be getting my bikes back as he's almost as tall as me now.


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## LadyDi (Apr 17, 2005)

My youngest started riding with me when he was little- he's the only one of my three who is a natural athlete and who developed an appreciation for mtb. There was a time when he fit on my bikes and I could keep up, but now he's 18 and 6'6"- SIX FOOT SIX!!! And fast! He has his own riding buddies and we don't ride together much anymore, but we will today per my request. He is always polite and circles back for me when I lag behind. Soon he will head off to a college on CA's central coast that has an mtb team/club. I look forward to learning some new trails when I drive up to visit.


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## CaptDan (Jun 26, 2013)

Skooks said:


> My 16 year old son is my favourite riding partner...
> He rides so smoothly and makes everything look so easy, *it is beautiful to watch*.
> ...and yes I am a proud dad.


Very well put. :thumbsup:

I love riding with youngsters/newbies as I fancy myself a teacher, but as our children have grown I find myself more often marveling at the amazing reflexes and physicality they effortlessly exhibit.

Great thread topic Skooks.


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## Fuzzle (Mar 31, 2015)

I also have a talented one. He is 11 and rides road, cyclocross and MTB. He can even go down technical single track on his cross bike :eekster:. Gives mom heart attack!!!

My hopes is that he will not give up. Technology can be addictive when they are young and last summer he didn't ride hardly at all. He did do some BMX but broke his thumb. My neighbor use to race and was coaching him.

There are great programs here in Bend where I live and some great coaching too. Adam Craig is going to participate this season. 

It's time for mommy to bribe the little "F". Is that a bad thing


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## CaptDan (Jun 26, 2013)

chazpat said:


> I ride with my 14 year old son but he can't keep up with me...
> I get a little frustrated at times...
> I think it is a combination of him not really being the competitive type and just wanting to take it easy and enjoy the ride and me having years of experience on the trails and being a strong rider...


chazpat, if I may share a little personal experience, as the son of a highly competitive and successful father, I had any competitive nature burned out of me at an early age.

I dearly love my Dad, but I conscientiously chose to not follow the path of his choosing due to seeing some behaviors I felt were at odds with the attributes of true character -- which he had also taught me.
Remember, some of the biggest lessons our children learn from us often happen when we think they are not looking.

Also, part of being competitive is _pushing_, but part of learning is being _led_. This means the teacher needs to exhibit patience, thoughtfulness, and humility -- attributes often at odds with striving towards a goal.

With all respect...


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## slapheadmofo (Jun 9, 2006)

I love riding with my 11 year old son. He's not into trail/XC type riding (says it's for 'old people that sit down too much), so I've learned to play more in his world and when we ride together it's typically BMX/park/DJ type stuff. We also share common ground when it comes to lift serviced DH or shuttle runs though. He did some BMX racing for a few seasons at a young age, but he'd rather just ride than stand around all day in the baking sun waiting for motos and I'm fine with that too. 

Along the lines of what I think CaptDan was getting at - letting kids choose their own path to a larger degree is preferable to trying to force them into your own narrow vision of what riding 'should' be. You can even learn new things along with them, or dust off some old things. Mine has been pulling me back into motorsports to a degree for the past few years now, something I would likely have never got back into if not for him. You can teach and learn at the same time. Makes things more fun for everyone IME.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

I used to until he went to college, started racing at 5 and stopped at 17. During the time he did track, road, xc and dh finishing his racing career in the NICA NY series.

Now we only ride together when he's around.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## CaptDan (Jun 26, 2013)

Fuzzle said:


> ...It's time for mommy to bribe the little "F"...


Mini-Fuzzle? Fuzzle-stuff? Fuzzle-ette? Half-Fuzz? The Fuzzster?


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## Fuzzle (Mar 31, 2015)

CaptDan said:


> Mini-Fuzzle? Fuzzle-stuff? Fuzzle-ette? Half-Fuzz? The Fuzzster?


A curse word...lol. I bad .


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## Fuzzle (Mar 31, 2015)

CaptDan said:


> chazpat, if I may share a little personal experience, as the son of a highly competitive and successful father, I had any competitive nature burned out of me at an early age.
> 
> I dearly love my Dad, but I conscientiously chose to not follow the path of his choosing due to seeing some behaviors I felt were at odds with the attributes of true character -- which he had also taught me.
> Remember, some of the biggest lessons our children learn from us often happen when we think they are not looking.
> ...


You spoke beautifully. I totally agree about pushing. I don't want to push my kid to do something he hates because it's what I want.

He loves to ride. Mostly Cross and Road and does like to compete. My issue is the electric devices are addictive and sitting around can make you tired and lazy. I'm limiting them so he will have to figure out better alternatives. In the summer he always ends up tooling around on his bike when I take them away.

He mostly has issues with the other kids on organized rides. I think it's a good lesson to learn how to get along and tolerate others.

In any event he's always stoked afterward.


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## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

CaptDan said:


> Very well put. :thumbsup:
> 
> I love riding with youngsters/newbies as I fancy myself a teacher, but as our children have grown I find myself more often marveling at the amazing reflexes and physicality they effortlessly exhibit.
> 
> Great thread topic Skooks.


Thanks! I know I am very fortunate and never take a day of riding with my son for granted. The most enjoyable times in my life are when he stops and tells me 'I know you have the skills to ride that, now go back and try again ' . So awesome! I have learned so much from riding together and it is such a wonderful way to stay connected with my teenageR.


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## Fuzzle (Mar 31, 2015)

Yay! Little Fuzzster is in a after school MTB kids group. There's a Van with racks that even picks the kids up at school. It's the best!!! 

He had a great time and his best buddy is in the class.


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## KRob (Jan 13, 2004)

I've really wanted some of my kids to share my passion for riding. I think I pushed a bit too hard on the first two and burned them on the first few rides. So on my last, I took it very easy. Let him ride at his own pace. Stopped to throw rocks in the creek when he wanted, lots of snacks. Whatever made it fun for him.

As he got older he advanced to my old 26" bike with full-suspension and really could be a strong rider but I don't think he ever truly enjoyed it. Despite my best efforts I found myself losing patience with him sometimes when he was dogging it or complaining constantly about "how far" and "why do we have to pedal up this hill" etc.

Sadly as he's turned 16 (now 17) and his interest in cars and girls has increased I'm able to talk him into riding with his old dad much less often.

I'm still trying though. It would give me a lot of satisfaction and joy to see one of my kids really develop a passion for mtb and one day outride me, but if they don't, or just ride with me occasionally on a more social basis, I'll still enjoy that. It's like riding with my wife. She doesn't think I'll have any fun riding with her because our skills and talents are light years apart, but I love riding, period. And I love spending time with her, so it doesn't matter if it's just a casual stroll down a rail trail or bike path along the beach, it's all good.


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## Fuzzle (Mar 31, 2015)

About my 19 year old. From the time he was a tot he never wanted to do anything I signed him up for. All he cared about was cartoons, super heroes and does till they day. I signed him up for nature camp when he was little and he still complains about it to this day. 

He is soooo different from my husband and myself. I just wanted him to have the opportunities I never had and expose him to what's out there. Like all of us here do.

He is very much into his own into his own thing (art, comics, anime and film) and has no ability to discuss anything outside his own interests. I have to adapt to his interest in order to bond. It has been good because I think some of his interests are really cool.

He has a group of very nice friends who are artsy, intellectual and talented. They hang out at the Tea house with their drawing pads and chat. They don't drink or do drugs. 

So there you have it. I know we can't mold our kids to like the things we do. My husband is an artist and I have a artistic back ground so it runs in the family but we were able to mix it up. 

I thought I could influence him a little. Show him the path to the trails, breath in the fresh air and listen to the wind. He likes the indoors better and that's okay.

He is who is is and I love him for that.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

I ride with my 25 year old son (my youngest) and had the pleasure of cracking a rib with him in Moab five weeks ago. It's worth every bit of the pain. He's 39 years younger, 5 inches taller and the same weight as me....it hurts to think about it!


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## Derek200 (Jun 16, 2015)

I have two biological kids (16 yo boy and 15 yo girl) a 17 yo foster son and a 6 year old adopted son. 

When my bio kids were young I over did it as a dad. They totally lost interest. My 16 yo got interested in it again last year and I love riding with him. My daughter just started getting into and is really starting to come into her own physically. So. Now the whole family rides. It's pretty awesome. But.....

It's freaking expensive. I have bought a lot of bikes in the past 8 months. An obscene amount. Haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

Yup, it sure does cost alot of money. Somehow I find it pretty easy to 'justify' (at least to myself) spending money on bike stuff. I've heard it's cheaper than therapy! The kid gets a shop discount so that helps.


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## DiRt DeViL (Dec 24, 2003)

Skooks said:


> Yup, it sure does cost alot of money.


Hear ya, have been 'fixing' my son's bikes have spent a lot more that I guesstimated between a new fork, rotors, bb, pads, chain, rings and saddle, everything that wears out was worned out. Made him aware that this is the last time I put money on his bikes now that he's about to finish college and has a job, from now on bike maintenance is on him.


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## Skooks (Dec 24, 2008)

Yes, I am always struggling to decide how much the kid should pay for his own stuff (this should be its own discussion topic), and most likely over-do it. He does have a job but doesn't make much money. It helps that we are the same size so we can share bikes and equipment. We do all of our own bike repair and we have been working on bikes together since he was old enough to hold a wrench. It's very enjoyable to hit the garage after dinner and just work on bikes. Sure helped him out when he applied for a job at the bike shop. He has been wrenching there for a couple of years. He is probably a better bike mechanic than me now but I still manage to teach him things occasionally when he isn't teaching me.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

CaptDan said:


> chazpat, if I may share a little personal experience, as the son of a highly competitive and successful father, I had any competitive nature burned out of me at an early age.
> 
> I dearly love my Dad, but I conscientiously chose to not follow the path of his choosing due to seeing some behaviors I felt were at odds with the attributes of true character -- which he had also taught me.
> Remember, some of the biggest lessons our children learn from us often happen when we think they are not looking.
> ...


I've been thinking about this. It's not that I want him to actually be competitive, it just seems like he is really slow and I would like to see him push himself some. I don't really consider myself "fast"; I probably pass 3 people for every one that passes me. To me, it seems like there is too much emphasis on "as fast as possible" in mountain biking. I ride short travel bikes and pick my lines rather than just plowing through. I push myself at times on the trail and other times relax, all in the same ride. So for him, I think it is a combination of being afraid of crashing and not being one to push himself (we see this in a lot of areas). He doesn't seem to have that fearlessness so common in kids, especially boys. Nor that incredible energy of youth. As I said, I am thankful I'm not taking him to the emergency room. And as I also mentioned, I'm thrilled to have him along and interested in my passion as that was not the case at all a few years ago.

chaz


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## gerryl (Aug 10, 2014)

I enjoy riding with my sons (13 & 11) and my daughter (10). Happy to report all three enjoy riding as we have opportunities out our backdoor. Mom not so such but I am thinking of upgrading her bike (an old cannondale rush we got used). 

As someone stated earlier, for us it is all about exposure to new and other stuff. We have exposed them to all the other sports we have here; baseball, soccer, xc, swim, skiing and biking. Soccer, xc, skiing and biking have stuck. Skiing and biking is a result of living in the mountains so it is a natural transition from one to the other.

It took me a while to figure out not to push one more run or lets make that extra loop (my wife figured this out much sooner - go figure). We stopped when they wanted too. Now the boys are hooked, and there sister is not too far behind. 

And yes, the boys out ride me and hit harder trails than I care too on my ht. My daughter made great progress last year.....she will probably be my trail riding partner this year. The boys have there pals to ride with most of the time.

Lovin it!

One more note. Only limited interest in working on bikes, but as with other things it is only a matter of time for them to show more interest.


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## CaptDan (Jun 26, 2013)

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to chazpat again. :thumbsup:


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