This piece is a bit different from my more usual ramblings about my riding. It stars Little Big Daddy, my 4 year old son. Having been out on a days riding with him the other day, I found myself reflecting on how his biking skills have developed, and this having never been near a bike with stabilizers.
Being that parenting is all about indoctrination, it was a given that the boy would spend his formative years outdoors, supporting the Reds and worshipping at the feet of Stevie G and having bikes in his life. So, having been at the outdoors show and watched him have a go on an ‘easy rider’ style bike, we got him a Specialized Hotwalk for his 2nd birthday.
The thinking with these bikes that have no brakes or pedals is that whilst the ability to pedal is developmental – a child just can’t do it until they reach a certain point in their development – the ability to balance can be learnt at any age, and Little Big Daddy certainly proved this – within a few months he was wearing the paint off the chainstays by standing on them to freewheel…
By his 3rd birthday he’d moved onto his first pedal bike, a Giant Animator (having first removed the stabilizers) and the balance skills he’d learnt really helped him master it.
He ended up crashing too much though because the wheels were too small for his cornering style and the bottom bracket was too low, so for his 4th birthday he got a Specialized Hotrock (minus the optional stabilizers). He has mastered this really well, including the rear coaster brake, and has built his skills up on our local bmx ramps, becoming ‘one of da boys’ amongst the local hoody clad bmx urchins.
So, I wanted to push him a bit with some mtb riding as he’s got some stamina, so we hatched a plan to go to the posh new ramps at Reigate Priory then on to Leith hill to session the top part of Summer Lightening.
We spent an hour at the ramps…
then moved on to Leith hill…
So, the upshot of all this, apart from gratuitous parental showboating, is for those of you with small children – don’t even entertain the idea of getting them a bike with stabilizers – all they do is create an obstacle to good riding and a fear of not being able to ride without the, instead get a trainer bike, a bit of encouragement and bring on the next generation of riders…
PS – The most amusing aspect of this story is that I find myself thinking of getting a BMX to keep up – I’ve never ridden one, but can’t be a ‘sit on the sidelines’ dad!
Big Daddy
4 comments
Hummerlicious says:
June 18, 2010 at 9:23 pm (UTC 0)
Great article dude, where’s the skatepark? Tom and I need to visit! Maybe we can do a Sussex-MTB visit ‘en masse’
bobster says:
June 18, 2010 at 10:11 pm (UTC 0)
Great article.
We found scooters improved the balance before returning to the bike without stabilisers and whizzing off.
Love it that you’ve got him on Summer Lightning
bigdaddy says:
June 19, 2010 at 5:21 pm (UTC 0)
The skate park is in Reigate Priory, right in the centre of Reigate. It’s only a year old, and seems pretty good to me (who knows jack about them…) Sam’s also pretty mean on a scooter, but I hate them!
fancyahandjob says:
June 19, 2010 at 6:40 pm (UTC 0)
Awesome, simply awesome