Little Monkey See, Little Monkey Do

I think many of us fall into a trap when teaching our kids to ride. We naturally "protect", rather than teach by example, our children. I have been introducing my kids, who are 7 and 10, to road riding on relatively quiet streets for a while. Last weekend, however, I thought I should walk my talk and try them on some busier (although of course not crazy) roads.

My kids were invigorated and excited by the experience. In short, I think it made them feel powerful. Empowerment is at the heart of successful road riding. You have to ditch your preconceived notions about your inferior position on the road, and stake a claim to your safety. For grownups, this is often very difficult. It is even harder when you know it's not just you, it's your most cherished people. Rationally, I know my kids will be more safe riding on the street as they grow up. Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to stay rational when it comes to your children. I myself still don't assert my road rights as well as I should, although I think I do pretty well. I often see parents riding with their kids on the sidewalk, or having the kids ride on the sidewalk while they ride on the street. I have been learning as I go with this... my kids rode on the sidewalk too until I was sure they had sufficient control of their bikes to hold a nice steady line and work their brakes well.

I took one other leap last weekend; I rode at the front. In the past, I would tail the children, riding further into the lane than they did to make sure cars gave them a wide berth. As we set out on busier roads, however, it dawned on me that if they were to assume the correct lane position, in order to make a left turn or in approaching a 4-way stop, the single easiest way to show them where to be was to say, "ride where I ride". No shouted instructions, no complex concepts. Just "ride where I ride". Sometimes, as we approached a new road situation, I would pull our little group over and explain how the moves ahead were going to happen, and what to do if the situation changed between when I got there and when they did. It scared the hell out of me, and made them just mildly nervous and excited. It worked. I plan to do more of this sort of thing as the summer progresses; I hope my heart can take it, because I am more convinced than ever of its value to their enjoyment of bikes and their overall safety.

Being in front of the children demonstrated to them all kinds of things that would have taken years to convey by talking at them, and the more I do it, the more they will see safe behaviours as normal riding.

Like I said, I'm making this stuff up as I go. If you have good ideas or specialized knowledge of teaching road cycling to children, I would welcome your comments even more than I usually do.

Lead By Example,

R A N T W I C K

Bicycle Abuse

In a recent post I figured out that I am incapable of being annoyed by bike-related things. Once again I have proven to myself that my theories and thinking are completely flawed, because the day after I wrote that stuff, I found this:

I am not completely certain why this video bothers me, but my annoyance upon viewing it was beyond all proportion. People do all kinds of silly things with bikes... why would this get me all worked up? The title calls this stuff "Unbelievable", but sadly it is completely believable that a few people would get together to fashion something that doesn't appear to work very well, and test it using a bike and a person that don't fit each other at all. The guy can barely control the bike thanks to concentrating on keeping a cigarette butt clenched between his lips.

Does this video bug you too? Or should I just mellow out? Let me know.

Thanks for reading,

R A N T W I C K

Bike Racks On Buses

London Transit has installed bike racks on some of its buses, available on only a few routes for now. As someone who happily rides in heavy traffic and in virtually any weather condition, I don't know when or if I would ever use one. Perhaps in the case of a serious mechanical failure (which is pretty unlikely on my fixed gear) I could use a bus to get my bike home. It could also come in handy if I went out and had a few too many beers to ride... although I don't take my bike if I know I'll be drinking.

I was tempted to post another poll on this topic, but I don't want to limit ideas to what I can dream up. I'm curious what, if any, experience anyone reading this may have had with them. If you would like to leave a comment, I would appreciate it.

Thanks In Advance,

R A N T W I C K

Onions, Heavy Rain and Traffic Snarls - What Could Be Better?

Last week, I had a super ride home. I always enjoy my rides, but this was extra good, because the weather and the traffic were really bad. Allow me to explain. Shortly before the end of my work day, thunder rolled and the skies opened up. A really nice woman in my office came by just as I was getting off the phone with my wife. She looked out the window and said, "so is your wife picking you up?" I said, "no way! I didn't build up my bike with full fenders only to miss out on a really good rain!" She noticed a bag of onions I had bought as part of a fundraiser (yes, onions) and said, "but how are you going to get those home?" I told her they would fit in one of my panniers, so all was well. Then, in her most motherly and caring voice, she said, "but you'll get wet onions!" I gave her a look, at which point she realized what she had said, turned, and walked away shaking her head. I started my ride in a great mood.

Now, I had promised my wife I could be home by 5, because she had an appointment and I needed to be home with the kids so she could make it. I had 25 minutes to make it home, which was fine because my shortest route takes about 20. It was raining hard, but warm. My bike was performing perfectly with its fenders, mud flap and truly waterproof panniers. I was pretty happy.

When I got onto the streets, I found that for some reason beyond the usual construction the traffic was horrible... which was great! In the videos that follow, you will hear my mental soundtrack as I rolled along. If my mental soundtrack sounds terribly corny or campy, it is because I have spent months re-training my brain to only use royalty-free music that won't get blocked or removed by video sharing web sites. Yes, I have given up playing good mind music for the sole purpose of creating honest online video. Pity me, because I really like good music.

Passing right by frustrating, time-wasting traffic jams is one of bicycle commuting's greatest pleasures... I was elated. North/South traffic was at a crawl on every major street. Here's the lineup heading South on Wellington at Grey St:

And on Carfrae, where I myself turned south, even more fun!

You know that van that I think was trying to pinch me? No word of a lie, as I snuck past him, my rear tire pinged a small stone off his hubcap as though my bike was ticked off too and had found a way to express itself. Never have so many small things come together to make riding in traffic so much fun.

I don't know how many cars I left behind on this particular ride. I do know that had I been in one, getting home by 5 as promised would have been utterly impossible. Most days, I can't quite keep up with cars. On that day, however, not only did being on a bike pay off in all the usual ways, but it got me home with one minute to spare. And, in case you were wondering, my Vidalias stayed perfectly dry.

Try it; You'll Like It.

R A N T W I C K