Milton Keynes

My 11 yo son is usually willing to go on a ride with me around town, but he tires out after 2 or 3 miles. My 9 yo daughter has decided that bicycling isn't something she's into, and while we did teach her how to ride (she could pedal and balance by herself for short distances) she's still very much a novice and has no desire to go on rides anywhere. I did get my wife a bike and while she likes the bike and wants to get into better shape, she has self-image issues and doesn't want people in town to see her riding. I think if I can get her over that she'll ride with me once in a while. I would love for all four of us to be able to ride together, but at least I think I'm making good memories for my son on our little trips around town. I would love for him to accompany me on 20-30 mile rides some day. I did get him to go up & down a rail trail on a 14 mile ride, and while I was very proud of him for going that distance he was worn out.

Reflector Guy

Ha ha I have an aunt like that! She wouldn't go near a bike because she thinks bikes are only for the "proles". She just about died of embarrassment when I rode to her house and parked my bike on her porch.

Milton Keynes

If only she knew how much some bikes cost these days, she wouldn't think that they're just for the proles.

burritos

Thank you for your kindness.

Thomas15

My son is now 30 but throughout the time from 5th grade to 12th he gave us grief on a galactic scale as he wanted to play video games full time. One thing we insisted that he do in school was play Sax in the band. When he complained and wanted to quit we told him ok but he had to replace music with something of equal value and video games were not equal value. Once in HS all of his friends were in the band so that stopped.

After HS he languished for a few years till we finally convinced him to go to a trade school. He did this but wasn't happy. After trade school he worked as a welder for about 5 years in a local job shop but still wasn't happy. Finally one day he decided to look for a new job and got one, he is working as a welder/fabricator at a large aerospace company, makes good money and is well treated by everyone where he works.

He still spends too much time on video games though. I was talking to him a few days ago and without asking he told me he was going to start riding his bike. We shall see. Overall he turned out great but was trying for many years.

Sometimes you have to bring down the hammer of Thor but you cannot overdo it. Pick your battles.

rydabent

Years ago when my three sons were young I used to bribe them to ride by having them ride to the University dairy store for ice cream. They realized that cycling was fun and later a couple of them even raced some. All three of them now have 2 or more bikes, and are now riding with their sons. Somehow Grandpa just happened to by grandsons bikes too.

Thomas15

I was just thinking. When I was a kid, in 6th grade, I brought home a bad report card. As a form of punishment my parents took my bike away from me. My bike and also I wasn't allowed to go fishing after school either.

Next report card a total turnaround. Very poor to very good in just a few weeks. As I studied and did my homework, all i could think about was riding my bike and trout fishing. Taking my kid's bikes away from them when they were in 6th grade would not have been an incentive. Different attitudes in one generation.

stoogehand

My kids are all 5 or younger. Right now, bikes are magical to them. The oldest likes to pedal around, he can push his pedals about 3.5 miles, but he is nice and docile at afterward! The middle child still likes her balance bike, she hasn't quite mastered her pedaling technique yet. For longer rides, she is happy to ride in a trailer. And the youngest likes to scoot on his trike, or to ride in the bike trailer.

I just hope the magic doesn't wear off on them

redmandarin

I've seen it work well when we invite friends their age along and make it into a little scavenger hunt with a prize at the end, but maybe that's bribing

burritos

I usually give him 10-20 bucks and tell him to go with his friend to where ever he wants and spend it on his friend too. There's a local starbucks, donut shop, and subway that they frequent. My hope is that they expand their search. That usually buys a couple of hours of sunlight and fresh air. Any other preferable non computer activity is a parental hating generating endeavor. Kids not listening to parents I suspect has been happening even before the advent of computers, but I can't be 100% sure.

woodcraft

My son is 45. Wasn't into bikes as a kid but he mtn bikes now.

Beating me up a hill is still to come but will happen eventually & his kids are coming on strong- even the 6 yr old.

SlowJoeCrow

Eating or shopping are powerful incentives. We used to do weekend Gelato and bookstore runs which were a 20 mile round trip, and I've taken my then teenaged son on long rides solely on the promise of a good lunch. The cookies were definitely the reason we got him to do metric century rides. The kids also liked riding around to garage sales.
Nowadays it's only my wife who needs to justify a snack with a ride since our daughter has given up on bicycles due to some sort of teen rebellion