Two Wheel Blogs

Well, I have 3 sons as of last Thursday. That is a wonderful thing. However, with every additional child, my riding time decreases incrementally. That is not a bad thing...I could ride more, but my priorities changes to make more time for these boys.

Today, my 2 older sons (2 and 4 years old) decided they wanted to ride their bikes while our newborn slept* with mom...can you imagine it; MY kids would be into riding. Well if you know me, it is no surprise.

* he has his days and nights mixed up big time!

I have been riding bikes competitively on and off for the last 24 years. When I first started racing (age 10), I raced BMX sanctioned events (NBL). When I turned 16 my racing days stopped, I still dabbled in BMX freestyle for a few years, until I discovered MTB riding when I was about 22. I did a fair amount of urban MTB/Trials riding and a bit of trail riding. Not until I turned 30 did I start competing again. It was at that time that the road started to appeal to me. I started doing a few road races, and fell in love with Time Trialing. Well, these days I am not much of a racer, although I do some MTB races on a rigid SS for fun once in a while. I got out of racing seriously (not that I was ever that serious) this year because as I said my priorities have really shifted towards the family time.

Wow, I am way off topic here....anyway, I thought a little history would be appropriate to the story about my kids diggin rollin with their dad.

So, I am outside with my kids in front of my house (riding my 29er do-anything bike), and it hits me that I can hone some of my handling skills.

1. My street is concrete sections that are exactly 6'6" wide (separated by expansion joints). So I started turning around in these sections...without lifting a wheel just turn the bars and turn...I got to where I could turn 540 degrees before breaking out of the lines. It may not sound that tough...try it on a 29er. 180 is easy but coming up on 360 you find your front wheel turned at 90 degrees to the top tube and you start sweating. This skill has got to be good for something. My kids enjoyed trying this on their bikes (one is a tricycle, the other is a 16 inch bike with training wheels), they didn’t seem to find it as challenging as I did, but they found it equally fun.

2. Later I started riding wheelies. These are fun and with 2 kids swerving around in front of you the dificulty is sufficiently elevated. Again the boys thought this was really fun, but they were unable to duplicate my efforts.

3. I started to hop up onto curbs that I was riding next to. Then I attempted to ride on the curbs without riding on my neighbors’ lawns, or falling off into the street. This is tougher than you might think also. Guess, this skill might help me stay on the line I choose when I get out on the trail next time.

4. I remember a maneuver I read about once that cops must master in order to get certified as bike cops...its called "splitting the cones". Basically, you approach one or more cones lined up touching each other and try to pass the entire group of cones between your front wheel and rear wheel without knocking them down. One cone is easy, you simply swerve at it and it passes between the cranks and the front wheel...two is more difficult but can be done in a swerve...three or more requires you to turn the front wheel to 90 degrees and hop the rear along as you travel sideways in the direction of the line of cones...sound confused? Here is the article I learned about this from. Well, I don’t have any cones, so I used the plastic baseball bases lying around the street. I got to where I could clear all three bases and home plate...that must be good for something. My kids were in sheer awe. I tell you three is nothing like a cheering crowd to motivate you.

5. Wheelie track stands. Anything over 2 seconds is an eternity.

Now, is that urban trials riding? Heck no! Does it look impressive, or worthy of helmet cams or even photographs? Not a chance. But, it was a chance to spend a little over an hour with my kids doing something THEY suggested. I got a good workout, and a couple kids that might go to bed a little earlier tonight (because they are worn out!).

Getting a workout is something I have not consciously done in about a year. This was actually a great workout. It may not be your typical interval sets, and you are not going to build much leg power doing this stuff, but it will definitely help you develop some handling skills.

Handling skills are what separate you from the squids in a criterium, keep you from leaving your face print on a tree in the woods like the Shroud of Tourin, and (in my case) they allow you to ride with your family and enjoy a beautiful day!

Now, get out and practice some handling skills with your family. Who knows, it may even save you from a crash some day.