2 up with son, no going back now...

[Steve]

My father will be 63 this summer, and the plan is to take him out for a couple of rides.

It's never too late.

Last year, I took my mother for her first-ever ride, and it was for her 85th birthday.





When we got to the restaurant, one of my sisters asked her how she liked it.
Her reply? "Do I get the same ride on the way home?"

.

[BentRod]

That is absolutely awesome

[Rocketman]

My son Eric is now 13, and has been riding with me since he was 7. He's a trooper, a great riding partner, and has no issues with a 7-8 hour riding day. Most of his gear (when he was younger) was purchased from the UK from BabyBiker.com. The gear was fairly expensive, but the quality is right up there with my own gear. He now fits into some brands that make women's extra smalls. We're good for about 7-8,000 miles a year, mostly on my BMW. In August, we finally got down South to TN and NC for 9 days and did the Tail of The Dragon 6 times, as well as all the other great roads in the area. Two weeks after returning home, we went up to Vermont for our 5th year in a row for another week. We have plans in 2011 to go to the BMW National Rally in Bloomsburg, PA as well as a week riding the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He has determined at the ripe old age of 13, that he wants to be a motorcycle journalist when he grows up, and has already written articles that have been published regionally by Backroads Magazine, and internationally by BMW Owners News. The kid eats, sleeps and drinks bikes, and is already planning a trip to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska when he's old enough. Its great to have a friend with you when you're covering all those miles, and somebody to share both good and bad experiences along the way; and we've had both. Can't think of anyone else I'd rather have with me. Enjoy your kid while you can, and cherish every mile.

[Rocketman]

Here we are on the Tail of the Dragon in August.



Just break your son in right now, and let him know, "Nobody Rides For Free!"

[Skateguy50]

haha, love the last picture.

I have my kids do the bike wash too and the car

[mcloud]

Yes, nobody rides for free. With 5 kids, they fight for who will be doing the dishes or the laundry .

Here with my 16 yrs old son on our way to meet up with Kochic at a local vintage bike show last summer.

Pic taken from my GF's Jeep.

[Testarossa]

I just discovered this thread today, and wanted to say thanks for posting. It brings a smile to my face. I got my son, who just turned 8, a helmet last year and we have done some 30-45 minute rides. I'm actually paranoid that he'll fall asleep back there. I'm always checking at every stop. Most times he's bopping along, pointing at things, and generally scaring me when he loosens his grip. He always has a good time. Cheers for an excellent thread.

[mcloud]

I have seen couple of moms and dads here riding with their kids using a buddy belt.

http://www.childridingbelt.com

[mf70]

Most of the time we never got out of third gear or went over 25. He was completely relaxed the whole time

That's so important when giving a ride to ANYONE that is unfamiliar with motorcycles. You will vastly underestimate the intensity of the experience.

I had two girlfriends that would never ride with me because of the experiences they had on their first ride with someone else. One kid had been dumped off the back when her "driver" pulled a wheelie. She was uninterested in any more of that. Sigh.

[mighty13d]

That's so important when giving a ride to ANYONE that is unfamiliar with motorcycles. You will vastly underestimate the intensity of the experience.

I had two girlfriends that would never ride with me because of the experiences they had on their first ride with someone else. One kid had been dumped off the back when her "driver" pulled a wheelie. She was uninterested in any more of that. Sigh.

I have had friends not want to ride due to the fact that motorcycles ''are dangerous'' because they have heard of someone who was injured on one because they did not have a lot of experience and were doing a billion miles an hour, at night, on an old, unmaintained motorcycle and deer jumped out in front of them. It's hard to break through that.

I managed to get my sister on one of my motorcycles with me though despite her having that stigma on them. She had a blast. It was nice to finally be able to show her that they aren't monsters that will maim her for even thinking about getting on one. I can only imagine how much fun she would have had if we had actually left town and gotten above 25mph!

The most frequent problem I have with riders is them bumping my helmet with theirs. It doesn't happen often though. Usually only because I have had to emergency stop several times with a passenger and it pays to brace yourself really well because she/he might not see it in time to prevent the big slam! lol

[argonsagas]

Originally Posted by BentRod
My father will be 63 this summer, and the plan is to take him out for a couple of rides.

It's never too late.

Last year, I took my mother for her first-ever ride, and it was for her 85th birthday.





When we got to the restaurant, one of my sisters asked her how she liked it.
Her reply? "Do I get the same ride on the way home?"

.

I was going to say something about being too old at 63, and then saw this.

Her FIRST ride at 85? Why did you wait so long?

[kerrfunk]

Another *bump*

My daughter (8) and I enjoyed her longest ride today, about 35 miles. Also her first time on a highway. We've done 1-5 miles locally a few times over the last two years, and this Spring have notched that up a bit. I have a sissy bar, basically for her, but it's handy for strapping a backpack etc. to.

Today we went to a bike store 15 miles away only to find it was closed on Mondays. Ha. My bad. We took backroads getting there, and 4-lane on the way home. She loved it.

We went to the bike store to look for more gear for her. She has a child helmet (DOT approved) and what she thinks are motorcycle jackets, but they don't have any protection built in, and that's what I'm looking for next. I'll check out babybiker.com, but are there any other suggestions?

I have thought about getting her the armor that she could wear under any ol' jacket... it has chest and back and shoulder and elbow coverage, all connected. Any thoughts?

Here she is just showing off her helmet, playing.


She evaluates every biker she sees, based on their gear: helmet, long sleeves, pants, gloves, boots. She's a keeper! We have started to talk about learning her how to ride when she's old enough.

Oh, I took my mother for her first ride a year or two ago, at the tender age of 67. She was a good sport. Hated it. Here she is: (oh, and I no longer ride with such little gear)

[Allie]

Nice pics Ker! Wow I missed the couple of bumps this thread got, but tis the season again!

[Krunk_Kracker]

I have a 4 year old little girl, and although that is way to young to ride, she shows great enthusiasm when she knows I'm going to go work on the bike. She's ridden around her uncles cul-de-sack on his GSXR (very slow and safe of course) and ever since then she talks about "When I grow up I want a fast "motortytle" that is fast!" makes me smile to think of her saying it

Glad to hear OP, I haven't yet had the joys of an older child, but I know I'll be tickled if my little one decides to take part in my passions and hobbies.

[frijoles-and-beans]

I take both of my younger girls riding. My oldest won't get on. I've asked her a few times. 2 out of 3 ain't bad.