Street Riding with your children on board

Making the decision to introduce your children to motorcycling is a very complicated choice. DANGER! That is the most common first thought. No matter how much faith you may have in your own abilities, there are many variables that are simply beyond your control, and the question must be addressed: is this in my child's best interest?

I have been hooked on motorcycles since I was a child, but for me the opportunities were limited. I was allowed to ride around in shorts and tee shirts on the back of, and frequently ride by myself, a neighbor's Montgomery Wards mini-bike when I was 10. Looking back at that now I can see some room for tragedy there, but it was a blast and for some reason I will never understand, my mother allowed it. I was allowed to ride other friend's QA50's wearing little more than a denim jacket. I was allowed to get on the back of a HS friend's RD400 and ride off into the night with little more than a helmet and dumb faith.

I introduced my daughter to riding with me when she was 7 years old, and I was very concerned at the time that she have some basic understanding that wonderful as it could be, there were some risks to motorcycling. I could never live with myself if she had nothing more than blind faith and anything  unthinkable happened. Turns out that things went very well, so enough with the heavy, heavy topics.

Here is Joann and me with Nic on the back at age 10

The first ride I took her on was a short trip of a few miles at the end of the season as I was running fuel stabilizer through my tank in preparation for winter storage. We went out and around the lake and were back in 15 minutes. I will always remember her huge smile as I removed her helmet and she exclaimed "It's like riding in a car with your head out the window!"

I began taking my oldest son out for similar trips around the development we lived in at the time, when he was 3. He was too small to ride behind me so I put him in front. Not the safest arrangement but I kept the speed down. This would become a slippery slope.

Then the natural progression (...) was to get him his own bike, but that's another post. I had been wrestling with when, or even if, to begin taking my son out on the street for real rides. Full commitment. He certainly had the interest, but you have to decide.

He was 7, and aware that's when I started taking his older sister out. Then he was 8, and then he was 9. I talked it over with my wife this spring and said I was in favor of taking him out with me now and she concurred with that choice. I got him geared up and we went out for a 30 mile ride.

Colin's first real street ride

I guess it went pretty well. He's never actually thanked me for anything in his whole life before this, and actually meant it, so that was a first. He of course talked excitedly with his Mom of the experience the rest of the day. So now I try and get him out every few weeks as schedules permit and we'll see how it goes. I hope it will be a bond. I hope he will learn responsibility, which he has a great deal from his own dirt riding. I hope most of all that when his time comes to take to the street solo that he is better prepared.

I have unleashed the beast.