Boy Scout cycling merit badge
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Boy Scout cycling merit badge
Once upon a time I was a boy scout I'm 43 years old now anyway there's a cycling merit badge and was curious if anyone here has ever been a counselor for the badge? The requirements are fun to look at too!
#2
Junior Member
Thread Starter
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Ellensburg,WA
Posts: 3,182
Bikes: Schwinn Broadway, Specialized Secteur Sport(crashed) Spec. Roubaix Sport, Spec. Crux
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 179 Post(s)
Liked 170 Times
in
85 Posts
I was not. I served as an adult leader for years, about 10 IIRC. Funny thing is during that time my fitness decreased until near the end of it when I discovered cycling. One troop that I was involved in did the merit badge as a troop in preparation for a several day tour down the Oregon coast. (This was after I left and started anew Troop with another Scouter.)
There are significant challenges to be a MB Counselor. 2 Deep leadership, youth protection training (online), registration as a volunteer adult leader, and Scouts must use buddy system. It's worth the hoops though and the hoops are in place to ensure a safe experience for all involved.
There are significant challenges to be a MB Counselor. 2 Deep leadership, youth protection training (online), registration as a volunteer adult leader, and Scouts must use buddy system. It's worth the hoops though and the hoops are in place to ensure a safe experience for all involved.
__________________
Sir Mark, Knight of Sufferlandria
Sir Mark, Knight of Sufferlandria
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: SoCal
Posts: 2,366
Bikes: Cuevas Custom, Cimmaron, 1988 "Pinalized Rockma", 1984 Trek 510, Moulton custom touring, Raleigh Competition GS, Bridgestone Mb-2 & 3, 1980's Peugeot - US, City, & Canyon Express (6)
Mentioned: 27 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1128 Post(s)
Liked 3,858 Times
in
1,890 Posts
Ride Requirement:
- (b) Avoiding main highways, take two rides of 10 miles each, two rides of 15 miles each, and two rides of 25 miles each. You must make a report of the rides taken. List dates for the routes traveled, and interesting things seen on the ride.
- (c) After completing requirement 2 for the road biking option, do ONE of the following:
- (1) Lay out on a road map a 50-mile trip. Stay away from main highways. Using your map, make this ride in eight hours or less.
- (2) Participate in an organized bike tour of at least 50 miles. Make this ride in eight hours or less. Afterward, use the tour's cue sheet to make a map of the ride.
Likes For SoCaled:
#5
Newbie
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lee County, IA
Posts: 61
Bikes: Trek 5600 Carbon road bike, Giant Anyroad Comax gravel bike, Cruzbike QX100
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 19 Times
in
13 Posts
I was in Boy Scouts, but never got cycling merit badge, but ended up bicycling for over 40 years now.
Likes For polyrhythmia:
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 990
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 511 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 646 Times
in
362 Posts
Ride Requirement:
- (b) Avoiding main highways, take two rides of 10 miles each, two rides of 15 miles each, and two rides of 25 miles each. You must make a report of the rides taken. List dates for the routes traveled, and interesting things seen on the ride.
- (c) After completing requirement 2 for the road biking option, do ONE of the following:
- (1) Lay out on a road map a 50-mile trip. Stay away from main highways. Using your map, make this ride in eight hours or less.
- (2) Participate in an organized bike tour of at least 50 miles. Make this ride in eight hours or less. Afterward, use the tour's cue sheet to make a map of the ride.
#7
Happy With My Bikes
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Oklahoma
Posts: 2,193
Bikes: Hi-Ten bike boomers, a Trek Domane and some projects
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 884 Post(s)
Liked 2,321 Times
in
1,122 Posts
I wasn't a scout, but reading the above, that's what I thought too initially. But then I thought about the heavy, balloon tired, single speed bikes sold in small town hardware stores and such that a lot of boys probably did this with.
__________________
"It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels." -- Heinz Stücke
"It is the unknown around the corner that turns my wheels." -- Heinz Stücke
#8
Pennylane Splitter
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Orange County, California
Posts: 1,885
Bikes: Yes
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1817 Post(s)
Liked 1,463 Times
in
1,004 Posts
Never made it to Boy Scouts as I got kicked out of Cub Scouts for making home-made fireworks and sky-rockets. I guess they didn't appreciate our self-acquired knowledge of chemistry and physics back then.
Likes For skidder:
#9
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Those requirements are light... did you click the link I posted for the full requirements? I think that the requirements are challenging for a novice young teen.
#10
Newbie
Cycling Merit Badge
About 30 years ago I was a Cycling Merit Badge counselor. Over the years I probably had 10 groups get the merit badge. Groups were 6-8 kids to start, with 2-3 dropping out.
At the time only road riding was included, no mountain biking. I did the rides with the kids; early Sunday mornings to avoid traffic. These kids weren’t cyclists so 25-50 mile rides were a challenge. And the bikes were usually cheap Huffy types, not quality road bikes. Bill
At the time only road riding was included, no mountain biking. I did the rides with the kids; early Sunday mornings to avoid traffic. These kids weren’t cyclists so 25-50 mile rides were a challenge. And the bikes were usually cheap Huffy types, not quality road bikes. Bill
Likes For BillRS22:
#11
Senior Member
Likes For 50PlusCycling:
#12
Senior Member
I was in scouts and remember thinking this badge was too challenging. 50 mile rides were a lot when you had a department store mountain bike and wasn't into cycling.
We did do a few cycling trips, but it was mostly downhill rides.
We did do a few cycling trips, but it was mostly downhill rides.
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 3,857
Bikes: Trek Domane SL6 Gen 3, Soma Fog Cutter, Focus Mares AL, Detroit Bikes Sparrow FG, Volae Team, Nimbus MUni
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 901 Post(s)
Liked 2,074 Times
in
1,088 Posts
I led a number of groups earning the badge. I don't recall any scout who started the badge failing to complete. I offered three a week training rides, starting at six miles week one. Most kids did all the training rides, as did many parents.
One stand out was Alex. Riding a good quality BMX bike, he was always right on my back wheel regardless of terrain, when other kids and parents were stringing out behind us.
Another standout was a very overweight kid on a BSO, who's parents waited at the start/finish, smoking up a storm. He completed the badge with an impressive amount of stubbornness.
One stand out was Alex. Riding a good quality BMX bike, he was always right on my back wheel regardless of terrain, when other kids and parents were stringing out behind us.
Another standout was a very overweight kid on a BSO, who's parents waited at the start/finish, smoking up a storm. He completed the badge with an impressive amount of stubbornness.
#14
Perceptual Dullard
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,452
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 934 Post(s)
Liked 1,193 Times
in
512 Posts
I wasn't a counselor, but I got the merit badge. I learned a few things that I use to this day (that's true about many of the merit badges). No adult came with us on our rides: my elder brother had done it a couple of years earlier so I pretty much knew what was entailed. The first few rides were done on a coaster brake balloon tired "paperboy" bike with a two-speed hub; I used my sister's 3-speed for one ride, and I borrowed my brother's 10-speed for the 25 and 50 milers.
#15
Thread derailleur
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Glendora, CA
Posts: 655
Bikes: Croll '94 & Cannondale Supersix '15
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 372 Post(s)
Liked 471 Times
in
270 Posts
The badge surfaced when my Boy Scouts tenure wound down.
Slam dunk badge, if memory serves, but not part of the Star level.
Many difficult ones to earn to attain Star, like first aid, life-saving, and backpacking.
Then we discovered girls, cars, jobs - so long, Scouts!
Slam dunk badge, if memory serves, but not part of the Star level.
Many difficult ones to earn to attain Star, like first aid, life-saving, and backpacking.
Then we discovered girls, cars, jobs - so long, Scouts!
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 22,991
Bikes: old ones
Mentioned: 304 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 26455 Post(s)
Liked 10,415 Times
in
7,231 Posts
.
...I had that merit badge on my sash, but I have no recollection at all about how it was earned. I do remember I had a three speed Dunelt at the time. Strange.
...I had that merit badge on my sash, but I have no recollection at all about how it was earned. I do remember I had a three speed Dunelt at the time. Strange.
#17
TeeOhPea 2tha DeeOhGee
Correct. Eagle Scout here. Was involved supporting some troops as an adult and explored becoming a cycling merit badge councilor. The requirements and distances are a big deal for a kid.
We get so deep into the hobby we forget that even 10 miles is a lot for average people, on average bikes, who don't regularly ride.
I once commented to a work colleague about taking a bike I was considering buying out for a 20 mile test ride. He laughed incredulously at the idea that "20 miles" ( a super long ride in his mind) would be a throw-away test ride to me.
#18
Cantilever believer
Join Date: Nov 2021
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 1,616
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 553 Post(s)
Liked 1,906 Times
in
856 Posts
Before our family left BSA, I was a counselor for two merit badge groups. I was pleased that most of them stayed at it and took an active role in route planning and riding, and encouraged each other, even if from different troops. Most of the boys showed up with old mountain bikes or newer big-box bikes, often in the size that was in stock or the "one they'll grow into", not the size that would fit them at that time.
If my son's experience is typical, then that's not a good sign. Unlike other parents I've known, I never pushed him into cycling or tried to be the "sports dad" that had to have junior follow in his footsteps (or in this case, draft) no matter what. I tried to make rides reasonable and fun since he was little, and in general we had a good time whether on the tandem or separate bikes. However, after completing the 50 miler and achieving the badge about 6 years ago, he's shown little interest in riding or even talking about why he's no longer interested. I think it's because in his mind during the merit badge process cycling changed from something you did to go someplace or for fun to something you endured for "long distances" to check off a box; e.g. it became homework.
I've asked if he wants to do some rides since, but all I get is a short "no". I'm hoping when he goes off to college to finish his degree he rediscovers the advantages of bicycle travel, but I'm not entirely optimistic.
As mentioned above, our family permanently left Scouting several years ago (for reasons unrelated to cycling), so I no longer counsel any merit badges.
__________________
Richard C. Moeur, PE - Phoenix AZ, USA
https://www.richardcmoeur.com/bikestuf.html
Richard C. Moeur, PE - Phoenix AZ, USA
https://www.richardcmoeur.com/bikestuf.html
Likes For RCMoeur:
#19
Palmer
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 8,634
Bikes: Mike Melton custom, Alex Moulton AM, Dahon Curl
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1674 Post(s)
Liked 1,837 Times
in
1,067 Posts
Eagle Scout here.
The embryonic idea for Scouting began when Baden Powel organized the local adolescent boys into the Mafeking Cadet Corp to provide support services during the siege of Mafikeng (1899-1900).
Bicycles being useful in military scouting, cycling was a component of Scouting at the very start.
Text at:
https://onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk/19...ng-boy-scouts/
The usefulness of trained boys on bikes was on the minds of the British public as some Hitler Youth cycletoured southern England in 1937:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...sts-boy-scouts
In the movie A Bridge Too Far, there's a minor subplot involving a Dutch boy cycle-scouting German deployments.
We forget what a large impact Scouting had on society and culture during the 20th Century. Anyway, just for fun, note the handlebars on this 1941 Schwinn:
The embryonic idea for Scouting began when Baden Powel organized the local adolescent boys into the Mafeking Cadet Corp to provide support services during the siege of Mafikeng (1899-1900).
Bicycles being useful in military scouting, cycling was a component of Scouting at the very start.
Text at:
https://onlinebicyclemuseum.co.uk/19...ng-boy-scouts/
The usefulness of trained boys on bikes was on the minds of the British public as some Hitler Youth cycletoured southern England in 1937:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...sts-boy-scouts
In the movie A Bridge Too Far, there's a minor subplot involving a Dutch boy cycle-scouting German deployments.
We forget what a large impact Scouting had on society and culture during the 20th Century. Anyway, just for fun, note the handlebars on this 1941 Schwinn:
Last edited by tcs; 11-28-23 at 02:53 PM.
Likes For tcs:
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Ellensburg,WA
Posts: 3,182
Bikes: Schwinn Broadway, Specialized Secteur Sport(crashed) Spec. Roubaix Sport, Spec. Crux
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 179 Post(s)
Liked 170 Times
in
85 Posts
Keep in mind the joining requirements for Boy Scouts:
Youth can join Scouts BSA if they are at least 10 years old, currently in the fifth grade and register on or after March 1st; OR have earned the Arrow of Light Award and are at least 10 years old, OR are age 11 but have not reached age 18.
Most scouts are at the lower end of the age range. The requirements are age appropriate. However like all scouting merit badge requirements the older scouts have less physical issues meeting them. It may have changed but when I was involved the average age of a scout attaining Eagle was under 15, not that Eagle rank is any sort of an important metric of success of the program.
Youth can join Scouts BSA if they are at least 10 years old, currently in the fifth grade and register on or after March 1st; OR have earned the Arrow of Light Award and are at least 10 years old, OR are age 11 but have not reached age 18.
Most scouts are at the lower end of the age range. The requirements are age appropriate. However like all scouting merit badge requirements the older scouts have less physical issues meeting them. It may have changed but when I was involved the average age of a scout attaining Eagle was under 15, not that Eagle rank is any sort of an important metric of success of the program.
__________________
Sir Mark, Knight of Sufferlandria
Sir Mark, Knight of Sufferlandria
#21
Bikes are okay, I guess.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Posts: 6,938
Bikes: Waterford Paramount Touring, Giant CFM-2, Raleigh Sports 3-speeds in M23 & L23, Schwinn Cimarron oddball build, Marin Palisades Trail dropbar conversion, Nishiki Cresta GT
Mentioned: 69 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2647 Post(s)
Liked 2,446 Times
in
1,557 Posts
Cycling was the first of my merit badges back in the '60s and I recall a combined 50 miles requirement, not a 50-mile ride. My 3-speed Schwinn Corvette did that duty and also helped deliver newspapers.
#22
Newbie
Merit Badge
When I was counselor in the 1980’s, the riding requirements were 6 rides of 25 miles each over a three month period. Then a 50 mile ride to
finish the badge. Bill
finish the badge. Bill
#23
Palmer
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 8,634
Bikes: Mike Melton custom, Alex Moulton AM, Dahon Curl
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1674 Post(s)
Liked 1,837 Times
in
1,067 Posts
From that 1910 Cyclist Scouts Training manual:
Can you imagine in 2023? Much better to have the boys in their rooms, playing first-person shooter video games.
Can you imagine in 2023? Much better to have the boys in their rooms, playing first-person shooter video games.
Last edited by tcs; 11-30-23 at 10:10 AM.
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 3,857
Bikes: Trek Domane SL6 Gen 3, Soma Fog Cutter, Focus Mares AL, Detroit Bikes Sparrow FG, Volae Team, Nimbus MUni
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 901 Post(s)
Liked 2,074 Times
in
1,088 Posts
The 50 mile requirement included planning the ride. I held them to that, helping them choose a route but only helping not doing it. So each kid ride their own 50 miler. That part was fun.
Likes For downtube42:
#25
Let's Ride!
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Triad, NC USA
Posts: 2,569
Bikes: --2010 Jamis 650b1-- 2016 Cervelo R2-- 2018 Salsa Journeyman 650B
Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 327 Post(s)
Liked 37 Times
in
24 Posts
Earned it
one of my favorite merit badges and one I most proud of. I have a few. I was able to earn 2 silver palms and one bronze.
Likes For RidingMatthew: