Go forth and ride, then bring back pics

[east or bust]

There were a couple of jerk-offs telling you PA isn't so bad before you moved there, maybe it was one of them.

Trust me, not planning to hang around any longer than I have to. I've seen a lot of shit, but that was by far the most 'what the fuck am I doing here' moment I've had. It was right next to where the trail butted up against a park, with a kids playground...

I yelled "HAND CHECK" and booked it

[straightlineorbust]

Dude, I guarantee you won't come across people jacking it on trails in Utah. Come join us in mormon land, we've got better biking

[jackattack]

Trust me, not planning to hang around any longer than I have to. I've seen a lot of shit, but that was by far the most 'what the fuck am I doing here' moment I've had. It was right next to where the trail butted up against a park, with a kids playground...

I yelled "HAND CHECK" and booked it

You close to Philly? Or legit Pennsyltucky?

[east or bust]

You close to Philly? Or legit Pennsyltucky?

I'm living in a close suburb to Harrisburg, 5 minutes from downtown so not pennsyltucky per se. Though driving 10 miles in any direction will get you there.

Hooked up with a group from SAMBA (suquehanna area mtb association) today, good group of guys. To be honest there's a decent trail network right off the bike path that is pretty sweet for here. The only problem is it runs directly through the ghetto. The scrubby undergrowth hasn't grown in yet so sight lines are good now, it gets sketchy in the summer when everything is socked in and you're riding by yourself.

[Dantheman]

[ADKmike]

NJ

[criscam]

[Dantheman]

Nice! I want that shirt.

[homemadesalsa]

#noplacefamous on the new whip. Fast and solid.

[mtngirl79]

Had a huck to flat and bunny hop contest at party last night.

[east or bust]

definitely looks like a 'hold my beer' moment

[mtngirl79]

Nope. Everyone did fine but one guy popped his front tire when he landed and goo shot everywhere.

[Dantheman]

[nest]

Jesus Christ- That is awesome. I cant imagine the the stunts he is going to have to pull to get the dopamine flowing when he gets older.

[Touring_Sedan]

Jeebus Day!

[Dantheman]

Jesus Christ- That is awesome. I cant imagine the the stunts he is going to have to pull to get the dopamine flowing when he gets older.

He was beyond stoked. Acts like it's no thing already. I made a little edit from the day.

[wkd-rdr]

[WaistDeepGroomers]

He was beyond stoked. Acts like it's no thing already. I made a little edit from the day.

Damn dude your kids are SHREDDING!

[WaistDeepGroomers]

He was beyond stoked. Acts like it's no thing already. I made a little edit from the day.

Damn dude your kids are SHREDDING!

[Dantheman]

Damn dude your kids are SHREDDING!

Only the green-helmeted hellion is my progeny. The other is a friend that we are unbelievably lucky to have met. Brothers from another mother if there ever was.

[WaistDeepGroomers]

Only the green-helmeted hellion is my progeny. The other is a friend that we are unbelievably lucky to have met. Brothers from another mother if there ever was.

Haha clearly!

[PowTron]

Only the green-helmeted hellion is my progeny. The other is a friend that we are unbelievably lucky to have met. Brothers from another mother if there ever was.

Well done.

Serious question...just repetition and quantity of days to get him up to speed so quick? I know some is natural talent.

My kids are 11 and 8 and ride bikes like scared turtles, on downers, with blindfolds on. I love them to death, but yeeeeaaaah. I suck as a father apparently, haha.

[Sirshredalot]

Well done.

Serious question...just repetition and quantity of days to get him up to speed so quick? I know some is natural talent.

My kids are 11 and 8 and ride bikes like scared turtles, on downers, with blindfolds on. I love them to death, but yeeeeaaaah. I suck as a father apparently, haha.

If you don't mind input from an entirely different parent, I think peers matter a lot. Plus, every kid is different and very few are good cyclists when very young, but they take easier to riding park than trail or XC.

[Dantheman]

All of the above.

Natural talent--For background, he started riding his strider at 20 months and before he was 2 was riding 1 mile round-trips to the park and back with me. By 2.5 he was doing little curb jumps on the strider and doing stuff like this all the time. When he moved up to pedals he was finding little jumps and getting both wheels off the ground within a month or so. He's generally been athletically-inclined pretty much since he could walk, and has always loved to jump off things which I certainly haven't discouraged. For as long as I can remember he's also been really good about getting back out there after a fall. Some kids will take a hard fall and it's game over, but he usually just cries it out then keeps on trucking. As much as I'd love to take the credit, natural talent is probably the biggest factor.

Reps/Days--This is a close second to talent. Talent doesn't get you anywhere if you don't use it. If he wants to ride, I take him, always have, often to the detriment of my own fitness and domestic duties. Screw it though, I figure every day I take him out is one day closer to doing legit rides together. We are very lucky to have lots of kid-friendly bike parks and shuttle-able trails around here. Getting burnt out on one zone doesn't happen. We spend a lot of time at the indoor bike park (http://wasatchbikepark.com/) in the winter. In the summer we ride 3-5x/week, and in the winter we hit Wasatch Indoor 2-3x/week for 2-3 hours. Last summer I also bought some plastic ramps so he can jump in the street whenever we're home (we live on an elbow street so there's no through traffic and lots of space).

Peers--If we hadn't met his buddy in the video two years ago there's no way he would be where he is now, no question. They feed off each other like crazy. His friend is also better than he is which helps push him.

Like Sirshred said, every kid is different. He's riding at the level he is thanks to an incredibly lucky combination of factors beyond our control, supplemented with a considerable commitment of time and money on my part.

If I were you, I'd:

1) Try to get them out as much as possible on stuff that will build a base level of confidence. Practice is the tide that lifts all boats.
2) Try to find some friends of similar skill level to ride with, it really makes a huge difference.
3) Invest in protective gear. At a minimum a fullface helmet, gloves, elbow/forearm pads and knee/shin pads. The more you can reduce the damage inflicted and pain incurred during falls the better. Without a doubt Sam would have lost teeth or worse without a FF. I would even go full upper body armor if possible, TLD makes these in youth sizes and they're awesome: http://www.motosport.com/troy-lee-de...g-sleeve-shirt
4) Get good bikes. Lightweight bikes with quality parts and proper geo go a long, long way. Yes, they're expensive and they'll grow out of them. They still cost much, much less than what you're probably riding and resale on nice kids bikes is stellar. If you buy new you'll get 50-75% of your money back when you sell it. If you get lucky and score something used you'll probably get back 75%+ of what you paid for it. New bikes are also excellent motivators.

[PowTron]

^^^ thanks for all the info.

They both have very nice bikes and that has helped a lot with them riding a lot more.

My known issue is traveling too much for work which is finally subsiding for the off-season. Bike boot camps coming up.

Luckily with the introduction of Ruby Bike park here in Denver last year I now have some better places to take them during the summer months other than on some gnarly simgletrack that scares the shit out of them.

Thanks again!