Riding with Children - Fun for Everyone!

(cross-posted from Sunny Rides)

Several years ago when I first started cycling, I thought that "bicycling with children," meant that the kids would all be on their own bikes, I would be on mine, and we would have to go as slow (fast?) as the youngest could manage to pedal. Oh, and we would have to stay within two blocks of the house, because kids have a low tolerance for activities lasting longer than ten minutes (at least this is what I remember from the forced marches my dad used to take us on, that, in reality, were only a half-mile). I thought riding with kids would be somewhat... tedious.

This was before I learned about the many possibilities out there for riding bikes with children.

Riding with children: the first year or two
From about five weeks old, I had my baby in a Burley bike trailer. Burley makes an infant snuggler, which they tell you is not intended to be used with the trailer when it is attached to a bike, but only with the unit used as a stroller. Blah blah blah... whatev. Jane and I have been having great bike experiences for months!

Jane at 5 weeks in the Burley trailer with the infant snuggler.

I like this trailer because it's light-weight and has 20-inch tires. Most trailers come in one and two-seater models. If you have two kids, consider whether one will antagonize the other while in the trailer. If they ride from infancy, you will have less issue then if you start when one is three and the other is 12 months. A better option in this case might be: child seat attached to your bike and a trail-a-bike in addition (more about that in a moment).

Helmet note: If your child is in a bike trailer, he may not not need to wear a helmet. Most trailers come with a rollbar and 5-point safety harness. If the child is not protected by the trailer, make sure he is wearing a helmet. Since Jane is protected by the trailer and reclines while in it, she does not wear a helmet in the trailer.

If you do it right, by the time they can express opinions, your kids will let you know it's time to saddle up and go. I opened the garage one morning to ready the bike, leaving the house and side garage doors open. Jane crawled outside the house as I darted back inside to get water. By the time I returned, Jane had crawled to the front of the garage and was waiting for me next to the trailer.

C'mon Mom! Let's go ride!

Riding with children: 12 months - 3 years
Once the child's head is large enough for a helmet (48 cm in circumference) and he can safely sit up and hold his head while wearing a helmet without his neck getting tired, he's usually old enough for the bike child seat.

The bike child seat fits onto a rear rack that is bolted onto your bike. Advantages over the trailer are that a child seat costs significantly less than a trailer, you have better maneuverability, and you are not dragging a 28 lbs trailer in addition to the weight of the child. However, I like being able to give Jane a bottle and let her play with toys as we ride. We can ride when it's cold, because I can cover her with a blanket. Were she in a bike kid seat, bottle and toys would be dropped or thrown long before we reached the first mile marker, and we would have to curtail our activity in really chilly weather.

If you anticipate 45-minute rides in moderate weather, or have two small children who might not do well together in a trailer, a bike kid seat is probably your best option for the younger one. Most bike kid seats have a weight capacity of 40 lbs.


Riding with children 3 - 10 years old
When my little 8-year-old friend Esther was in town from New Mexico and asked me if we could ride bikes, I found her a loaner bike of her own, but even better than that, a friend lent me his Trail-a-bike. A Trail-a-bike allows the adult to be in control, allows the child to rest when she gets tired, and best of all, makes the ride much more predictable, knowing that the child will not get distracted and ride into traffic - she's connected to your bike.


The Trail-a-bike gave Esther and me tremendous freedom! We were able to take water and snacks and ride 3 miles down the bike path to the stables and see the horses. We were able to ride for short stretches on the road in the bike lane without me having to worry about Esther riding into traffic. Suddenly riding with a kid was really fun!


Given the choice of her own bike to ride and riding on the Trail-a-bike, Esther usually chose the Trail-a-bike. She especially liked going really fast down the hills!

Regardless of his age, there's a bike or bike attachment that's right for your child. Start them early, and ride often!

Cycling and an Instant Community

One of the great things about riding a bike is that you have an instant community of people who share your interest for cycling and the outdoors. Regardless of your skill level, you can find people to ride with and learn from if you just look around a bit. Wait, wait! I know what you're saying: But I'm slow/not very good... there's not really anyone for me to ride with.

Au contraire!

When I learned how to mountain bike, I had the good fortune of being about as self-aware as a puppy running in a park. I had no idea that I was going out riding for my first time with a couple of guys who were Cat 1 (Expert level) downhill racers. Even if I had known, it would not have occurred to me that I might be slowing them down, and that they might enjoy their ride more without me tagging along and crashing all the time. They asked me to go riding, so I went.

Good thing I was more excited about mountain biking than worried about what other people were thinking, because the assumption that I would be a damper on their fun would have been completely wrong.

People of different abilities do things together all the time, and the more skilled have just as much fun as the novices. For example, my mom enjoys the outdoors, but is not very athletic. But if she asked me to take her hiking, I would jump at the chance. Not because I could show her how nimble-footed I am, or how much gear I can carry, or how I could make it to the top first. No way. I would enjoy just being with her, doing something challenging together, and I would delight in her triumphs up the hill. We might not even make it up to the top, but that wouldn't be important. The important part is just getting outside with good company.

Similarly, when someone of greater ability than you asks you to go bike riding, it's not because your he is looking for a hammer-fest training ride and wants to see how fast he can drop you. Especially if it's someone who knows he is a better or faster rider than you. Most people enjoy the company, and truly don't mind helping others along or waiting for them.

There will always be people better than you who will be delightful to ride with, as well as others who are miserable to ride with. Don't let your fears about holding people up, or a past bad experience with a particular rider interfere with your getting out on the bike with others. Of course, you should know what you're getting yourself into and be careful not to get in over your head, but also know that when someone asks you to ride, she usually hopes you will come along.

If you are the one doing the asking, tell the more experienced rider that you want to do a relaxed ride, and what duration you'd like the ride to be. If your hammer-head friend turns you down with no encouragement, she may be one of those who only takes long hard rides; don't take it personally. You might ask her if she knows someone you could ride with.

Finally, if you are looking for someone to ride with and simply know no one, here are a few resources:

Women's specific:

• San Diego Team LUNA Chix (click on San Diego on the map)
• South Bay Women on Wheels (WoW) Facebook page

For any cyclist looking for road or mountain riders: Bike Meet-up
Just enter your ZIP code on the right for the list of groups in your area. Or try this one.

Good list of Bike Clubs

If you've tried these places and still can't find a person or a group, contact me. I'll find you someone to ride with or gather a group of people myself. :)

Now go outside and play!

Laura is a member of the San Diego Team LUNA Chix, a group of eight women who organize and lead local bike rides, sports skills and informational clinics, and host charitable events benefiting the Breast Cancer Fund. For information on LUNA Chix bike rides, please see: teamlunachix.com, and click on San Diego.

Friday Night at the Track

So I did my first track race at the velodrome!

Photos courtesy of Mark Bermal (his flickr page)

Note of explanation for Mom and Dad: As the photo indicates, I was not on foot running the 100m like high school track; I was on a special bike designed to be ridden at a velodrome, affectionately called "the track". Believe it or not, grown people regularly gather together after work, get on bikes with no hand-activated brakes, and race each other till we are too tired to continue. We even pay for the privilege of doing so. Only $5 for Velodrome members - what a bargain!

Let me start by saying that till now the thought of track racing scared the buh-jelly beans out of me. Which is kinda surprising since I race exert downhill.

My impression of track racing up till now: groups of highly competitive riders get on fixed-gear bikes with no real brakes and travel at high speeds mere inches from one another just waiting for that ill-timed sneeze, unfortunate fly down the throat, or other unspeakable catastrophe that will send riders into a pile of muscle and bike parts.

It just seemed so wrong on so many levels, and certainly not my cup of tea. Give me a fat-tire bike and a steep, rocky, rutted-out switchback with a run-out of about 2 feet before the edge of a 30-foot cliff any day. At least I can reasonably calculate my chance of survival. On a track, I'm at the mercy of... OK, God, ultimately, and subject to the skill of the least experienced rider out there, who... OK, fine, so it's me.

So what possessed me to go to the track in the first place?

*cue the harp making "long ago" sounds*

It started as an innocent little product knowledge class at Specialized Bicycle Component University back in Dec 2006, and an enthusiastic instructor (Hi, Jon!) who told everyone in the class that their riding would improve dramatically if they rode just ten miles a week on a fixed gear.

Eager to test this theory, and looking for a challenge, I converted my old road bike with semi-horizontal dropouts into a fixed-gear.

The bike when it still had derailleurs.

As it was December, the guys in the bike shop where I worked were eager for something more interesting to do than organize derailleur hangers. No sooner had I expressed my intentions to convert the bike to a fixie than I find it in the bike stand almost stripped of parts. To "fix" a bike that's not broken (ahem), you remove the derailleurs and replace the three front chain rings with a single one. My mechanic and good buddy Steve removed the cassette from the rear wheel and spaced out the hub to allow for a single cog. Finally, a heavy single-speed chain was put on and I was ready to go.

Modifying the paint job, so that I have a "Lemon"

Finished product - commuter fixie ready to rock and roll.

I put a commuter gear on there to start - a 36 x 16 - so that I can climb hills. I ride the bike that way for fun for almost two years, including at Midnight Madness. Because chances to be silly and outrageous should never be passed up lightly, I dress in a modified business suit and cleat-compatible pumps to ride the fixie downtown.

Midnight Madness on the Lemon fixie. Ah, good times!

Then in Aug 2008, I decide to take a class at the velodrome. The instructors, Pam and Lisa, throw me into the "Advanced" class (and I use that term liberally) because I've been riding a fixed gear for two years. I have a great time, and by the grace of God, manage to remember most of the rules of the track and don't hurt myself or anyone else.

I would not have considered track racing, but then last week I got this email from the Velodrome Association talking about a Friday Night Race for Sprinters, Women-only, Juniors, and D-grade. They promise a relaxed atmosphere, little to no pressure, and beginner-friendly races. Intrigued by the idea that I wouldn't be thrown into the track racing deep-end and expected to swim, but can just wade in a little at a time, I make plans to go to the Friday night races.


On Friday, June 5, I show up at the velodrome and see my good friend Kim. Cool! A friendly face! I see other people I know, including one entire family whose teenage son races. The daughter would be racing too, but they don't allow ten-year-olds on the track tonight. Ten-year-olds. Just... wow. It would be so great to see Jane racing at the track when she's ten. Big props to parents Jacqueline and Jeff!

I'm assigned a number, and Tony and Kim help me pin it on my jersey.

Tony pins my number on my jersey.

Warm-up begins and we all line up on the wall, then peel off one by one to follow the motorcycle who will pace us. Women and juniors ride together, and after several laps we suddenly seem to speed up, then slow down. The effect ripples through the group, and by the time I recover, I'm more than two bike lengths away from the guy in front of me.

I fight to catch up, pushing the pedals for all I'm worth. Then I hear a teenage voice behind me, "Take one hard pedal stroke!" Some kid I have never met is coaching me. I smile inwardly and follow his advice pushing hard for one hard turn. I'm still behind and struggling. "Now take two hard strokes," he tells me. I take two hard strokes. He continues to coach me till I start to close in on the rider in front, but I still can't catch up. "Are you out?" he calls to me. Ugh. It is definitely not a good sign when you get dropped in the warm-up. Knowing there's no way I can keep this pace, I concede defeat. "I'm out!" I call, and pull up-track and away from the group. Looking on the bright side, I just learned a pedaling technique for catching someone in front of you. I will not find out till the following week that my chain is too tight and is binding, causing me to work much harder than I should.

After the group warm-up, the racing begins. Juniors first, then the women are called to line up at the wall.

Lined up on the wall. Photo: Mark Bermal

I have no idea what to expect, but I figure I can watch Kim and just do what she does.

Our first race is six laps, with the sprint in the last lap. Before we even get to lap two, I am SPENT trying to stay up with the other girls (that's me in the back in blue). Before the race is over, they will lap me. Sigh.

Women's race Photo: Mark Bermal

After this race I realize several things:
1. This wasn't nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be.
2. It was really kinda fun!
3. There is nothing like getting really smoked in a public place to motivate you to get more serious about your training.

Muscles rebelling and out of breath, I limp back to the staging area, as well as you can limp on a track bike, and rest before the next race. There will be three or four more races before the night is over, with each race category taking turns on the track.

The next race is a three-lap race that we will repeat three times. Knowing I am clearly out-classed, I do the best I can, and then get out of the way. On the third repeat, Kim tells me to stay on her wheel, which I do. On the last lap when we approach the final turn and head into the straightaway, she calls to me, "OK, Laura! Sprint!" "What?!" I call back. "Attack now!" she says. "You want me to pass you?!" I call to her. "YES! Try to pass me!!" she says.

With every ounce of strength I have left, pull to the right of her and push hard to pass her. Involuntarily, my mouth opens and I roar, "RRRRRrrrrrAAAAAAAA!!!" and I push even with her. Startled and surprised, she stands and pounds away, unwilling to yield her lead. We cross the line nostrils flaring as the crowd looks on, not knowing quite how to react to a woman roaring across the finish line, but liking it nonetheless.


All in all, it was a great night of fun, learning, camaraderie, and pain (the good kind). Maybe this track stuff isn't so terrifying after all.