Taking the kids on trail rides

[mfordy]

I found the Honda kids camps were great for getting the boys started - no trail Nazi's
First time out, I would blast around the beginners loop deciding if they would cope then if all OK, I would lead them around once and then follow for a couple of loops. Repeat the process for progressively harder loops. They soon decide which loop they can cope with and go hard until they run out of fuel/energy - whatever comes first!...

[L Rider]

I found the Honda kids camps were great for getting the boys started - no trail Nazi's
First time out, I would blast around the beginners loop deciding if they would cope then if all OK, I would lead them around once and then follow for a couple of loops. Repeat the process for progressively harder loops. They soon decide which loop they can cope with and go hard until they run out of fuel/energy - whatever comes first!...

Do they ever run outta energy???
I must say though after a days riding its not long before our 2 fall asleep in the car.

[mfordy]

Do they ever run outta energy???
I must say though after a days riding its not long before our 2 fall asleep in the car.

I know my youngest boy has run out of energy when he starts falling off - time to put the bike away to howls of protest "I'm not tired!.."

[scott411]

it would depend on where you are, if you are on a kids club ride with a small loop then i would prob lead the first loop them let him go,

on a bigger loop say at one of out Mr Motorcycle rides i would ride behind him, it is good if you can team up with someone else and have one lead a group, then one follow,

[oldskool]

I remember Tawny's first major trail ride. Mangatangi. Before this she had only had a couple of goes at Sandpit on her dungy old DS80 and had just moved to a reliable XR100. The ladies at the sign in tent said yeah she'd handle the main loop alright, so up we went. At the top of the first big hill it looked like we were on the top of the world and as she looked down the steep decline she burst into tears and said I can't do it Dad. Thus began a long 2 hours of trudging back up and down hills nursing her 100 down the hills and walking back up to get my bike just to repeat it over and over again. I was buggered by the end of it. Them Mangatangi hills are mean, top that off with 700 riders flying by one after the other unrelentlessly all afternoon.
6 months on (and a better bike to ride, but that's another story) and finally she has overcome the fear she developed going down steep hills because of that one bad experience.
Take what you want out of this but it ended up all good. She's as keen as ever to ride and can look back at the episode with an embarrassed smile.

[Reckless]

Same for us old fellas too!

run out of energy when he starts falling off :"

[Taz]

funnily in my experience you can almost always pick the bike these trail nazi's ride.

Damn I have a big bore KTM. Haven't run over any kids for a while though.

[noobi]

lol, I won't mention any names but I like red white and blue but not very partial to orange!

Damn good guess!!! I only just recently had a run in with one a couple of weeks ago at the sandpit

it wasn't dad was it???
there was a guy on a 300 ktm that was having a go at me that weekend too...

i learnt by going first and dad following, so i could work everything out for myself, so dad would know if i fell off or got in trouble, and he could protect me from lunatics. now he goes first cuz i ride too fast apparently, this was 2 years ago.

[clmintie]

The first couple of rides for my girls was on a mates flat paddock to get the used to stopping quickly... We then went to a Waitamata family ride at Muriwai and soon after another Muriwai, but this time a Power ride... Both these organisers have sussed what a "family" ride should be.. The kids /learners tracks are always excellent for the task and I didn't ride at all, just observed them on the short loops ready to help and offer encouragement...

Their first full length trail rides were at Mr Motorcycles and I would follow...

Lately, instead of me following them, they now lead me, a significant change in emphasis.........

And I believe the correct spelling is "sandwitch"

[oldskool]

it wasn't dad was it???
there was a guy on a 300 ktm that was having a go at me that weekend too...

i learnt by going first and dad following, so i could work everything out for myself, so dad would know if i fell off or got in trouble, and he could protect me from lunatics. now he goes first cuz i ride too fast apparently, this was 2 years ago.

nah it wasn't your dad, the dude in question was racing against a mate and thought because of that he had right of way around me on a single track. He thought if he revved his engine enough and shouted at me to get off the (#$@#$) track I would comply. Meanwhile I had been in my own zone taking my time keeping my feet on the pegs going in tune to the ruts and roots in my own space when he rudely interrupts me. So I get rarked, kick off like a jack rabbit which seemed to piss him off even more, me on my little 125. I stop at the next intersection and when he catches up he stops and has a go at me, and then shoots off, so I follow him back to his base and give it back to him which he doesn't like because it's in front of his lady friend who he's trying to impress. What didn't impress me was the way he went about it, I ride my dirt bike in the weekend to be away from tossers like him driving cars on the road.

But back on topic...Yes after my daughter got run over by a KTM I make sure I screen her as much as I can when I hear loud bikes coming up fast behind us.

[jt119]

its really cool coming across you and ya kids and has me cracking up when you stop for a chat to see thay havnt and you got to get moving or be left behind hope i ant ever been a prick going passed

[xen]

its really cool coming across you and ya kids and has me cracking up when you stop for a chat to see thay havnt and you got to get moving or be left behind hope i ant ever been a prick going passed

Yea you're always a prick going past

[KTMDad]

I always follow my son (8) if he picks a bad line it was his call, he's learning fast. As for the speed, he started over riding and had a spill on a MX track -1 broken wrist - 3 Mths on, Hes a better rider not as fast on the first lap of a trail and gets his own pace up as the day progresses. Not super fast out of the box -
Another thing I have started doing is hitting my horn when i want to tell him something, ATM I'm on him to stand more, So when he sit's, I hit the horn and up he gets. I used to sound it when we had riders come up on us to let him know to hold his line and let them pass.
Works well, I just let him know before each ride what the horn will mean.
Hope it helps..

[oldskool]

its really cool coming across you and ya kids and has me cracking up when you stop for a chat to see thay havnt and you got to get moving or be left behind hope i ant ever been a prick going passed

Nah mate, you're one of the good guys!!
...and you ride a Honda

[jt119]

Yea you're always a prick going past

in the hole time ive been riding id never been run over till i followed you lol that port ride i follow my boys around that way i can tell them to stand up or change up or down a gear ther both pretty new to bikes