Push Bike

Was reminded of this by a mention of training wheels in the helmet
thread that's currently becoming a mess, I made it through less than
1/4 before quitting.

Anyway, I saw a kid using a push bike yesterday in the garage behind
mine @ the motorcycle races. Kid was very young, I am not a good age
estimator for children but guessing 2 or 3. He clearly didn't have
the hang of it yet, his dad (a racer I know, great guy) and his older
brother (4 maybe? not much older than the younger) were teaching him
how to ride it. He wasn't getting too far at once, I got the
impression it was his first time on it. Still, it really looked like
a great way to teach a kid to ride. Get the balance thing figured out
first, then move on to the pedaling. There was no bike his size with
pedals anywhere in site.

It was really cool to see. When I have kids, that's how they'll
learn. The older brother, still very young, was doing very well on a
2 wheeler, slaloming around trash barrels and whatever other obstacles
he could find in the garage. The whole scene made me happy.

That'll be all.

Tom Sherman °_° wrote:
wrote:
Was reminded of this by a mention of training wheels in the helmet
thread that's currently becoming a mess, I made it through less than
1/4 before quitting.

Anyway, I saw a kid using a push bike yesterday in the garage behind
mine @ the motorcycle races. Kid was very young, I am not a good age
estimator for children but guessing 2 or 3. He clearly didn't have
the hang of it yet, his dad (a racer I know, great guy) and his older
brother (4 maybe? not much older than the younger) were teaching him
how to ride it. He wasn't getting too far at once, I got the
impression it was his first time on it. Still, it really looked like
a great way to teach a kid to ride. Get the balance thing figured out
first, then move on to the pedaling. There was no bike his size with
pedals anywhere in site.

It was really cool to see. When I have kids, that's how they'll
learn. The older brother, still very young, was doing very well on a
2 wheeler, slaloming around trash barrels and whatever other obstacles
he could find in the garage. The whole scene made me happy.

That'll be all.

I saw a small child size all wooden push bike when I was at Yellow
Jersey last week - maybe AMuzi [1] can provide more details.

[1] A gdanielsism.

The experts[1] recommend removing pedals and, with a low
seat position, coast on slightly sloped grass until balance.
Then proceed to pedals and on to pavement.

Although everyone in bicycle shops is familiar with
'grandparent syndrome', a glitzy two wheeler is not
appropriate to two year olds. They just do not have the
brain power for it yet, tricycles being enough of a
challenge until about 5 years.

Bicycle-like thingies[2] with no drive train are a good
intermediate toy for not-ready children and range from
German handmade wooden models right down to plastic Chinese
versions.

Most 5 to 6 year olds are ready, developmentally speaking,
to ride. We suggest pedals off and a one-on-one session at a
park or on a lawn with small slope. Lack of audience helps
speed this along. It's a painless version of the
push-the-kid-and-hope pavement plants[3] we did back in the
unenlightened century.

[1] I knew a guy who taught adults to ride in Central Park
using this method. For a good steady cash income no less.

[2] 'pushbike' has more than one meaning, at lesat here in
Harley country. Suggestions welcome.

[3]But hey we learned to ride
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

A. Muzi wrote:
[...]
Bicycle-like thingies[2] with no drive train are a good intermediate toy
for not-ready children and range from German handmade wooden models [...]

Like the one in your shop?


[2] 'pushbike' has more than one meaning, at lesat here in Harley
country. Suggestions welcome.

Draisienne.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.

On Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:31:31 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

Tom Sherman °_° wrote:
wrote:
Was reminded of this by a mention of training wheels in the helmet
thread that's currently becoming a mess, I made it through less than
1/4 before quitting.

Anyway, I saw a kid using a push bike yesterday in the garage behind
mine @ the motorcycle races. Kid was very young, I am not a good age
estimator for children but guessing 2 or 3. He clearly didn't have
the hang of it yet, his dad (a racer I know, great guy) and his older
brother (4 maybe? not much older than the younger) were teaching him
how to ride it. He wasn't getting too far at once, I got the
impression it was his first time on it. Still, it really looked like
a great way to teach a kid to ride. Get the balance thing figured out
first, then move on to the pedaling. There was no bike his size with
pedals anywhere in site.

It was really cool to see. When I have kids, that's how they'll
learn. The older brother, still very young, was doing very well on a
2 wheeler, slaloming around trash barrels and whatever other obstacles
he could find in the garage. The whole scene made me happy.

That'll be all.

I saw a small child size all wooden push bike when I was at Yellow
Jersey last week - maybe AMuzi [1] can provide more details.

[1] A gdanielsism.

The experts[1] recommend removing pedals and, with a low
seat position, coast on slightly sloped grass until balance.
Then proceed to pedals and on to pavement.

Although everyone in bicycle shops is familiar with
'grandparent syndrome', a glitzy two wheeler is not
appropriate to two year olds. They just do not have the
brain power for it yet, tricycles being enough of a
challenge until about 5 years.

Bicycle-like thingies[2] with no drive train are a good
intermediate toy for not-ready children and range from
German handmade wooden models right down to plastic Chinese
versions.

Most 5 to 6 year olds are ready, developmentally speaking,
to ride. We suggest pedals off and a one-on-one session at a
park or on a lawn with small slope. Lack of audience helps
speed this along. It's a painless version of the
push-the-kid-and-hope pavement plants[3] we did back in the
unenlightened century.

[1] I knew a guy who taught adults to ride in Central Park
using this method. For a good steady cash income no less.

[2] 'pushbike' has more than one meaning, at lesat here in
Harley country. Suggestions welcome.

[3]But hey we learned to ride

And all without helmets!?!

On 17 June, 04:58, RonSonic wrote:

And all without helmets!?!
I'm glad I didn't know about helmets, might have put me off, elbow
grazes were bad enough. Knees hurt as well when they got red and
wet. Lemonade that followed was real nice. Then I fell (again)
asleep. I know I used to fall asleep when 'riding' my tricycle, I
think I did it with my first bicycle. Perhaps 4 years is a bit young
for this reason.

On Jun 16, 5:31*pm, AMuzi wrote:
Tom Sherman °_° wrote:
wrote:
Was reminded of this by a mention of training wheels in the helmet
thread that's currently becoming a mess, I made it through less than
1/4 before quitting.

Anyway, I saw a kid using a push bike yesterday in the garage behind
mine @ the motorcycle races. *Kid was very young, I am not a good age
estimator for children but guessing 2 or 3. *He clearly didn't have
the hang of it yet, his dad (a racer I know, great guy) and his older
brother (4 maybe? *not much older than the younger) were teaching him
how to ride it. *He wasn't getting too far at once, I got the
impression it was his first time on it. *Still, it really looked like
a great way to teach a kid to ride. *Get the balance thing figured out
first, then move on to the pedaling. *There was no bike his size with
pedals anywhere in site.

It was really cool to see. *When I have kids, that's how they'll
learn. *The older brother, still very young, was doing very well on a
2 wheeler, slaloming around trash barrels and whatever other obstacles
he could find in the garage. *The whole scene made me happy.

That'll be all.

I saw a small child size all wooden push bike when I was at Yellow
Jersey last week - maybe AMuzi [1] can provide more details.

[1] A gdanielsism.

The experts[1] recommend removing pedals and, with a low
seat position, coast on slightly sloped grass until balance.
* Then proceed to pedals and on to pavement.

That's basically how I taught our daughter to ride, but I skip the
grass and do it all on the nice smooth pavement of a deserted parking
lot (e.g. corporate on weekends or a church during the week). The
short coasting between steps using this method is much more effective
on smooth pavement than on a grassy surface with its higher rolling
resistance and generally far more bumps. If the seat is lowered
sufficiently then there is hardly any risk of falling during the
learning process, so there's no advantage to starting on grass. And
the bumps encountered on even a smooth lawn would make falling far
more likely.

Once the child is developmentally ready (at about 5 years) this method
should have them riding around within an hour or two.

Although everyone in bicycle shops is familiar with
'grandparent syndrome', a glitzy two wheeler is not
appropriate to two year olds. They just do not have the
brain power for it yet, tricycles being enough of a
challenge until about 5 years.

Bicycle-like thingies[2] with no drive train are a good
intermediate toy for not-ready children and range from
German handmade wooden models right down to plastic Chinese
versions.

Most 5 to 6 year olds are ready, developmentally speaking,
to ride. We suggest pedals off and a one-on-one session at a
park or on a lawn with small slope. Lack of audience helps
speed this along. It's a painless version of the
push-the-kid-and-hope pavement plants[3] we did back in the
unenlightened century.

[1] I knew a guy who taught adults to ride in Central Park
using this method. For a good steady cash income no less.

[2] 'pushbike' has more than one meaning, at lesat here in
Harley country. Suggestions welcome.

[3]But hey we learned to ride
--
Andrew Muzi
* www.yellowjersey.org/
* Open every day since 1 April, 1971