Advice needed about cycling with young children

[lyndawolff]

Good Afternoon Ladies,

My husband and I have set up our two tandems with child stoker kits. We have a 5 (boy) and 6 (girl) year old. If anyone has experience with young children and cycling I would love some advice. I'm wondering if a pair of quality bike shorts is helpful....They enjoy the bike but I'm not sure how much is too much etc...

[Grog]

I have no personal experience but I'm sure MaillotPois will be able to help!

I have a (male) friend who's been riding a "road train" for a while: he's in the front, his now perhaps 10-yo daughter is in the back of the tandem, and his now 6 or 7 yo is on a third-wheel contraption at the back. It's pretty impressive to see him climb up the local hills. You can get an idea of the experience here: http://mgagnon.net/velo/index.en.html

He describes only two "short" (150 km based on my cursory glances) tours he's done with the girls, but I know he's been out with them on trips for literally thousands of kilometers. I remember hearing that having an interesting destination (like ice cream) was important. I guess building up distance is also important. You can't go 100 km the first day, especially not with the youngest.

I'm sure cool bike clothes "just like mommy" will help, if not physically at least mentally.

Keep us posted! (And show us some pics!)

[shootingstar]

I don't have much experience with this except for riding with children on their bikes by themselves on organized rides about up to 30 kms.

Maybe at least they be wearing comfy clothing with no bulky inseams, scratchy zippers, etc.

THe most impressive story I know is one of my nephews (10 yrs. old). Last summer, he rode 50 kms. on his own bike, with his father in a charity fundraiser ride. I am aware that the route had a few long sweeping hills upwards...but the kid chugged along and didn't stop at all along the way.

Derek, this nephew does play soccer in spring and summer and is a slim boy. I wouldn't call him an athlete. Just ordinary.

On another occasion, I went cycling for 30 kms. with another nephew (14 yrs.) and his sister (16 yrs.), each with their own bikes. Kevin was fooling around on the bike....just always 1-2 kms. ahead of us, stopping and looking back while I geared down for slower riders. Several hills in ride. He wasn't riding any bike often at all. But he was training nearly every day for competitive swimming....40 laps per training morning. His cardio endurance showed on that ride when he flew up a 8% grade hill without panting. I knew he doesn't have such hills in his neighbourhood.

Are the children physically active in other cardio-based sports? It helps them alot if a parent / supportive adults are cycling with them along longer rides and makes the whole experience fun..which I'm sure you do already.

[nancy sv]

I guess you could say I've had a bit of experience here! My husband and I returned back home last June after cycling 9300 miles through 19 US states and 4 Mexican states in 12 months with our (then)9-year-old twins! We will take off again in June this year to ride from Alaska to ARgentina with our (now) 10-year-old boys... You can read about our adventures at www.familyonbikes.org

We have found that for short day rides, the boys don't need anything special. they did eventually discover that cycling shorts were more comfortable for long days in the saddle, but if you aren't doing 8 or 10 hour days, it really doesn't matter.

Mostly - just go and have fun!! Take lots of breaks - that was the part of the trip my boys liked best!

[Zen]

I'm sure cool bike clothes "just like mommy" will help, if not physically at least mentally.

Ii was thinking that too. What kid doesn't want to look like a pro?

[singletrackmind]

Every kid is different but here is what I've learned from my 4 year old son who started tandeming last april. He's now got over a thousand miles on the bike doing 20-50 mile rides 1-2 times a week and 2 or 3 short rides to the park or library or parents as teachers class in between the bigger rides. We do both mountain and road biking- he prefers the road because it's not as bumpy.....though he does have a blast on downhills on dirt.

1) Gloves are good.

2) He gets cold really easy and will usually want his windbreaker and long pants if it's under 85 degrees. I've learned to carry extra layers even when I think there's no possible way he'd want them.

3) Looking forward to something at the end of the ride is a good thing. Sometimes it's a food or treat, sometimes it's extra playground time. And yes, he can easily spend 3 more hours on the playground after a 3 hour ride.

4) Gatorade is good! It means lots of pee stops but he stays hydrated and thinks of gatorade as a bike or hike only treat. I use a camelback strapped onto the stoker handlebar stem. It's much easier for him to handle the tube rather than a bottle.

5) Stopping for a powerbar-like substance that he got to pick out for himself during a ride is a good thing.

6) A ziploc tied to the handlebars with cheerios/raisins/peanuts for anytime munching is a good thing.

7) The usual stoker stuff about communicating turns, slows, stops, extra effort, coasting, shifting, being smooth, bumps, etc.

8) Short rides to his favorite things (like the park) are fun. Other kids always ask him about his bike and he feels cool.

9) He's got an alligator horn and a hamburger bell. It doesn't drive you as crazy as you'd think. He loves to ring back and forth to other people and gets a lot of encouragement from other riders which he also loves.

10) Singing or talking is good. He does lots.

11) If he hasn't been wearing his helmet much (like the start of biking season) his neck gets tired and like the rest of his body has to get used to holding up the weight again.

12) He loves his shorts (more comfortable) and his jersey (everyone tells him he's cool). The gloves, though, are the most important of the three.

13) I have to ask him about his needs specifically because he won't remember to tell me.

14) He knows he's important part of making the tandem go, I remind him often as do other riders.

15) It'll take a little time to get used to both the speed of your spin and the speed of the bike, you may be asked to go slower (or faster!).

16) Remind them when they're tired that they can relax their legs and let you do the work sometimes. You can also ask for help, like on hills. They really can help, but only in small bursts.

17) Keep in mind how much the heat and cold affects your kids and plan/ride/don't ride accordingly.

18) Toe straps help keep his feet on the pedals. He's learned to move his feet/legs out of the way and tell me if they've disengaged, though I usually feel it happening.

19) Sure, it's not always fun for them, but putting enough bits of good into the ride to make the next one worth looking forward to is important.

Well, that's some of what I've learned. If you've got a specific question I'll answer as best I can.

Monarch Crest, CO

Farmdale Reservoir, IL

[nancy sv]

Wow Singletrack!! You had a lot of good suggestions!! It's funny how the gloves are the most important cycling gear for your son - my sons never wore theirs so we sent them back home. They rode the last 8500 miles with no gloves at all. I guess every one's different eh??

[Aquila]

That's one of the coolest bike set ups I've ever seen! Did you design the upper pedal thing yourself, or can you get those?

[maillotpois]

That's one of the coolest bike set ups I've ever seen! Did you design the upper pedal thing yourself, or can you get those?

That's called a "kidback" or "child stoker kit". They're available several places. We got ours here:
http://www.precisiontandems.com/artkidbackinstall.htm

Sheldon Brown wrote a lot about cycling with kids:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tandkids.html

As Geonz said, we've put a lot of miles on our bike with the PP. I don't have much to add, though, coming to the party late (we still don't have power or internet access). I will say the PP is definitely a fair weather rider - too cold or hot or rainy and it's no fun. It' all about being fun.

[singletrackmind]

Yep, what Maillotpois said, child stoker kit. Mine's from Chuck's bikes, not as nice as some of them, but it fit our budget much better and does the job. I got the shortest crank arms they had with his scrawny little legs being so short and all.

Today we went for a ride, 70 degrees and 15+ mph wind. We started out with bike shorts and jersey, biking gloves, fleece sweatpants, long-sleeve shirt, and light jacket. About 8 miles in he was cold and wanted his winter coat on top of everything else. That kept him comfortable for the last 18 miles.
I almost didn't bring the coat but knowing him I tied it onto the camelback. Glad I did.


Nancy, your kids are the coolest. And here I'm hoping to work up to RAGBRAI in the next few years! Have to say, I'm in awe!

[nancy sv]

Thanks Single!! My boys LOVED being on the road!! We were just talking about our upcoming journey and they can't wait to get back out. There's just something about the freedom of hte road that calls all four of us....