Originally Posted by BookFinder

All of these -







And especially this one -



Air-conditioning has spoiled a lot of kids. They just don't want to get out side and get hot and dirty during the summer, or cold and wet in the winter.




I'm with you on this. The neighborhood where I live is large for the area (deep south, not many large neighborhoods but lots of open country). There is another such nearby neighborhood that is not as large, but that boast some hellish hills that I can easily get to after crossing a 4-lane. If I cover my flat neighborhood and then venture over to that one I can get a decent workout within 8 to 10 miles.

So for me to rack up true "road miles" (as opposed to leisurely hybrid miles in the hood) I have to get out on the rural highways and roads, which raises the risk factors exponentially. To wit: on the rural 4-lane that basically "cradles" my neighborhood at the north and west quadrant, a good friend was hit on his bike by a pickup truck in broad daylight. High viz jersey, flashing tail light, everything. He spent weeks in ICU and has never fully recovery physically - all because one doofus cager had to check his text messages.

That particular road does not have a wide shoulder, however, an adjoining road does. Even so, no thoughtful bicyclist will ride it more than once out of respect for his or her tires. Seriously, the nails, tacks, bits of glass, and other trash would guarantee a flat a mile.

America's love affair with the automobile and the advent of paved roads has some corollary down-sides that we all see, but very few local and state governments truly acts to accommodate the needs of cyclists. My answer to that is to limit my close to home riding to the neighborhood, and transport my bike to less risky settings in the nearby town where there are several decent paths.

Finally, I agree with livedarklions: as a kid I spent all day on my bike during the summers, but it was with my neighborhood gaggle of guy friends and not my parents.

And we lived in a different world in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The same in-town neighborhoods we worked our way through as older kids and early teens are now risky places to walk or cycle because of demographic changes, and the decline of morality and general decency. I wouldn't let my grandkids ride there for fear of an amber alert being issued and my family being the people trapped in the horror.

It may well be the answer to the challenge is not found in less expensive bikes, more effective marketing, or parents taking up cycling with their kids, but in a return to the traditional moral and community values that once made it safe for a kid to leave sight of the house and his parent's watchful eye.