Introducing my daughter to road cycling

[rugby bloke]

My daughter is going to start joining me on the road. She is 13 and as a gymnast and trampolinist is pretty fit and athletic and is also confident cyclist. Up to now all her cycling has been on children's bikes and more recently on a small ladies full sus mtb. Having seen her do a brief test ride on her road bike yesterday she is distinctly wobbly so a few gentle introduction rides will be needed so she can get the hang of the different riding position and thin tyres. As the options from my front door are either up or down a steep hill I think I will be putting the bikes in the car to find somewhere flat for the first couple of rides.

Are there any other tips that you would pass on to introducing a newbie to the joys of road riding ?

 

[S-Express]

Take her along to a local BC go-ride club, where she can lean some handling skills in a safe environment.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Don't worry about falling off at first.

 

[rugby bloke]

Don't worry about falling off at first.

Normally I would completely agree, especially at that age as they are pretty bouncy.

However she is just coming back from a nasty elbow injury - it had be pinned after a dislocation & fracture caused by a trampling accident, so we want to avoid falling off if possible !

 

[HarryTheDog]

I went through the same more with my wife than daughter. My daughter seemed to pick it up straight away ( 14 though) also moving to SPD's at the same time having only previously ridden a shed of a bike ( rigid fork MTB on flats ) to and from the horse stables 0.5 miles away and was racing CX,XC and road within a year. With my wife it was just time on the bike. I found she did not like taking instruction from me and we found her some local cycling group to go out with which mainly consisted of pensioners which boosted her confidence. She has since given up but she became fairly proficient on the bike within a year.
As others have said a BC go-ride group may help, my daughter joined a club ( Lee-Valley youth ) with its own course Hog Hill ( Redbridge cycling centre peoper name) which meant she was cycling with people of her own age on a traffic free circuit. I don't know if your daughter would want to go as far as joining a youth cycling club as there is pressure to race usually.

 

[rugby bloke]

Thanks for the advice. I will look up the details of the local BC go-ride groups. I don't think we would be looking to join a local club at the present time. She already competes for local gymnastic and trampoline clubs so this something where she can relax and also we can spend time together. She also has an ambition of riding an imperial century after seeing her dad drag his sorry backside around the Ride London the for the last couple of years.

 

[Big T]

Drive to somewhere where the roads are quiet and you don't have to cross any main roads, then do a ride from there with a cafe stop half way. Start with whatever distance you think she can cope with. I used to do this with my wife and she would do around 20-25 miles, and we gradually built up her fitness and confidence from there. She progressed very quickly and within a few months she was able to do 50 mile club rides.

 

[biggs682]

@rugby bloke what about a few laps of Emberton Park ?

or a few rides up and down the drive at Castle Ashby ?

you could borrow our Tandem if you think that will help and navigate our local cycle paths

 

[KnackeredBike]

I might be in a minority of one but I would definitely start her at home rather than driving somewhere, because if you drive somewhere you are implying that it is too difficult/dangerous to attempt the hill. If she is athletic I doubt it will be an insurmountable challenge. Presumably the aim is for her to make independent rides to get independence or for pleasure, so you need her to feel confident starting from home when you are there to assist/encourage..

I say this because my parents forbade me from cycling along the road outside my house. As it was aged thirteen I listened to very little of what they said and just pushed the bike round the corner so they couldn't see. But I can imagine I would have cycled far less if I had to walk ten minutes at the start/end of every bike ride. I was the only one of four siblings that ever cycled on the roads at all.

 

[rugby bloke]

I might be in a minority of one but I would definitely start her at home rather than driving somewhere, because if you drive somewhere you are implying that it is too difficult/dangerous to attempt the hill. If she is athletic I doubt it will be an insurmountable challenge. Presumably the aim is for her to make independent rides to get independence or for pleasure, so you need her to feel confident starting from home when you are there to assist/encourage..

You are correct, I want her to be a confident, independent rider. Its just for the first ride to give her a chance to get used to the differences in braking and balance. Hitting 30 on narrow tyres is not the introduction I would want. Once she is away I am sure she will be beating me back up the hill !

 

[rugby bloke]

@rugby bloke what about a few laps of Emberton Park ?

or a few rides up and down the drive at Castle Ashby ?

you could borrow our Tandem if you think that will help and navigate our local cycle paths

I like the idea of Castle Ashby. A nice range of flats and hills to tackle. Plus we can get the dreaded cattle grids out of the way as well ...

 

[Vantage]

Completely agree with @KnackeredBike.

 

[Drago]

I'm not specifically a child trainer, but I do get adults who haven't ridden for years on my courses. Some even pass!

1. Get her riding straight, steady and confidently on the bike off road. Get her used to the controls, until its second nature. You might find a local car park that's unused of a weekend. Pitsford reservoir or Salcey Forest will giver her 7 and 5 mile laps with decent surfaces to get some practice on.

2. Practice on a quiet side street. Get her and yourself to looking, looking, LOOKING regularly in allndirections.

3. Viz up. Whether it works or not I couldn't say, but you play every card in the deck and it gives a drivers insurers one less stick to beat you with if they park their Volvo on your scrotum.

4. Get her initally to ride about 3/4 of a metre out, a bit less than a regular primary. You ride behind, about one bike length between you and her. Keep yourself well out in the lane in a nice strong primary. This way you shield her from the traffic behind.

5. Drum it into her that she obeys your verbal commands without question or hesitation. Have STOP STOP STOP for your safety drill, upon which she gets up to the left, dismounts, and on the path.

6. Do not ride along side her. One mistake and you'll be off. Never ever ride more than your front wheel parallel with the rear of the inside bike when on the road. Watch a peloton crash to see the danger of doing so on a live carriageway.

7. If you have to get off and push keep the bikes between you and the traffic, if possible with the chain side away from you.

Mrs D is blind in one eye and only rides if I can be her safety officer, so i've practice with chaperoning a nervous rider, although she's actually better than she gives herself credit for.

Good luck, and enjoy.

 

[derrick]

If you have something like this up your way, Great place to learn skills and not worry about morons in motors.
http://www.redbridgecyclingcentre.co.uk/

 

[rugby bloke]

A successful shake down ride this evening, as ever with children she picked it up surprisingly quickly. The only issue is the positioning of her left elbow, but that is not surprising. Managed the dreaded Col de Cogenhoe ... albeit blowing a bit by the end.

Thanks for all your advice.