Teenagers cycling to school

sasta le

Prob wouldn’t let them myself

RobertFoster

LeChienMefiant wrote: »

Is this a thing? I'd be interested.

You could start with Cyclecraft.

grazer

sasta le wrote: »

Prob wouldn’t let them myself

I’ve been so reluctant for safety reasons, but still feel it’s a good thing and as parents we need to let teenagers get out there and test themselves.

(Drowned rat #1 has just arrived home!)

_Brian

07Lapierre wrote: »

Nothings impossible.

No, it is.
Some stretches of road as they are are impossible for a slight 11yo to cycle while carrying a heavy school bag of books. 2.5km of the 7 she would have to cycle alone.

The idea that no road is impossible for children to cycle safely is a stupid one.

grazer

And drowned rat #2 is safely home.
Both still singing the praises of cycling (even in a deluge) and cutting half an hour off their bus & walk journey.

RebelButtMunch

two sets of lights, in case one runs out of power.

eeeee

grazer wrote: »

And drowned rat #2 is safely home.
Both still singing the praises of cycling (even in a deluge) and cutting half an hour off their bus & walk journey.

:pac: :pac:
Excellent!
Delighted for you and them. If they made it through this evening they'll make it though anything.
They don't need our advice!

Now to work up the gumption to swim/cycle home myself. Forgot my paddle boat attachment this morning :pac:

magicbastarder

_Brian wrote: »

The idea that no road is impossible for children to cycle safely is a stupid one.

my niece goes to mountsackville, beside the phoenix park.
in order to cycle there, she'd have to cycle on tower road, or through the phoenix park, and during the winter, that would include either option in the dark.
it's a simple example of there not being a safe option for her.

07Lapierre

_Brian wrote: »

No, it is.
Some stretches of road as they are are impossible for a slight 11yo to cycle while carrying a heavy school bag of books. 2.5km of the 7 she would have to cycle alone.

The idea that no road is impossible for children to cycle safely is a stupid one.

Fair enough, point taken.

Would a Cycle Bus like the one they run in Galway work on your roads?
If your kids were escorted by Experienced/Adult cyclists be an option?

https://galwaycyclebus.weebly.com/

SusieBlue

Forbid them from using earphones to listen to music/podcasts while cycling, they need as few distractions as possible and full use of their hearing. Gives me the shivers when I see cyclists with them in, its so dangerous.

grazer

SusieBlue wrote: »

Forbid them from using earphones to listen to music/podcasts while cycling, they need as few distractions as possible and full use of their hearing. Gives me the shivers when I see cyclists with them in, its so dangerous.

Yes that’s a disaster as far as i’m Concerned. I need to hear cars when i’m Cycling. Told the kids they need all senses alert when cycling and earphones / buds are not an option. They nod in agreement but I hope they mean it !!

cdaly_

Peteer wrote: »

I'd agree, get them permanent fitted lights and use them for all journeys day and night as good practice. Some suggestions:

https://www.bumm.de/en/products/akku-scheinwerfer/parent/163/produkt/163.html

http://en.bumm.de/products/battery-rear-lights/secula-permanent.html

Better still, dynamo wheel and lights. Permanently powered, no flat batteries and you'll kit out the bike with super lighting for €150 or less.

Shai

grazer wrote: »

Yes that’s a disaster as far as i’m Concerned. I need to hear cars when i’m Cycling. Told the kids they need all senses alert when cycling and earphones / buds are not an option. They nod in agreement but I hope they mean it !!

Perhaps introduce them to bone-conducting headphones if you're worried they might use earphones. I use them all the time on long rides. Allows me to hear traffic and chat to people while also listening to music and podcasts.

grazer

Ah lads, you’re getting carried away with bone conducting earphones, €150 dynamo sets, etc. They’re a pair of kids cycling to school. Until they can fund their own fancy gizmos, it’ll be a pair of €10 silicon lights, hi viz & helmet!

sasta le

Cyclists using headphones is crazy

eeeee

sasta le wrote: »

Cyclists using headphones is crazy

Mod Note: There is a megathread on Headphone use. This thread is about teens cycling to school. Any further headphone discussion can head over to the dedicated thread:
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057448720

OEP

Just trust them! (Which you have evidently)

Teenagers are well able to cycle on the roads. I cycle in Dublin too and am aware it can be dangerous, but if you think about it logically (statistically), the number of accidents is very, very small. Trust that you have taught them well, we tend to molly coddle our children these days, they need to be able to do things like this on their own - that's life!

De Bhál

grazer wrote: »

Ah lads, you’re getting carried away with bone conducting earphones, €150 dynamo sets, etc. They’re a pair of kids cycling to school. Until they can fund their own fancy gizmos, it’ll be a pair of €10 silicon lights, hi viz & helmet!

Don't get cheap lights. A good back light is essential.
Trying to get kids to remember to look after them would be the problem I suppose

ted1

grazer wrote: »

Ah lads, you’re getting carried away with bone conducting earphones, €150 dynamo sets, etc. They’re a pair of kids cycling to school. Until they can fund their own fancy gizmos, it’ll be a pair of €10 silicon lights, hi viz & helmet!

I’d put a value greater than 10 euro on my kids life’s.

The benefits of Dynamos are really good. No fear if battery running out, always on, great quality light

grazer

ted1 wrote: »

I’d put a value greater than 10 euro on my kids life’s.

The benefits of Dynamos are really good. No fear if battery running out, always on, great quality light

I agree with your second sentence but your first sentence is ridiculous! Cheaper (and effective) lights on a bike do not equate to how somebody values their kids’ lives. Given that I’m hunting down a lost school jacket and a lost sailing bag at the minute, there’s a degree of pragmatism required when it comes to kids & gear.

ted1

grazer wrote: »

I agree with your second sentence but your first sentence is ridiculous! Cheaper (and effective) lights on a bike do not equate to how somebody values their kids’ lives. Given that I’m hunting down a lost school jacket and a lost sailing bag at the minute, there’s a degree of pragmatism required when it comes to kids & gear.

Maybe I’ll change when the kids get older. The oldest is only 10.

PhilOssophy

Fair play to you OP - I want my kids to cycle in years to come, I just can't help fear that they'll just become accustomed to the monkey see monkey do attitude of Dublin cyclists. I hope I can teach them to ignore what others do on the road.
Drill into them the importance of obeying the rules of the road, taking their time while cycling, etc.
Out of curiosity, is there a reason they can't cycle together? Strength and safety in numbers.

LeChienMefiant

SusieBlue wrote: »

Forbid them from using earphones to listen to music/podcasts while cycling, they need as few distractions as possible and full use of their hearing. Gives me the shivers when I see cyclists with them in, its so dangerous.

Personally I don't even wear sunglasses (not a problem today) due to a perception that it makes it easier for motorists to dehumanise me if they can't see my eyes.

magicbastarder wrote: »

my niece goes to mountsackville, beside the phoenix park.
in order to cycle there, she'd have to cycle on tower road, or through the phoenix park, and during the winter, that would include either option in the dark.
it's a simple example of there not being a safe option for her.

That's perfectly reasonable but also teribly sad. It seems like walking/cycling are just not an (safe) option to that school.

magicbastarder

yeah, you can see by the width of the car here that there's not much spare room on the road - and it's a busy road at rush hour, one of the three roads motorists use to get from D15 in and out of the city centre:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3610754,-6.3611124,3a,75y,351.65h,81.94t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5opt0r0yzek-XeF2eBcpjQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

grazer

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Fair play to you OP - I want my kids to cycle in years to come, I just can't help fear that they'll just become accustomed to the monkey see monkey do attitude of Dublin cyclists. I hope I can teach them to ignore what others do on the road.
Drill into them the importance of obeying the rules of the road, taking their time while cycling, etc.
Out of curiosity, is there a reason they can't cycle together? Strength and safety in numbers.

I’ve been kind of prepping them over the past year or two, when driving them in the car - “see that cyclist who is in all black with no lights/ broke the lights / didn’t stick arm out to show me he’s turning, see how dangerous that is because ...”
They’re brother & sister - that’s why they’re not particularly interested in cycling together :-) They’re cycling to same school but take different routes - she picks up her friend on the way to cycle with her.

They’ll be grand I hope. He cycled today. She demurred!

grazer

magicbastarder wrote: »

yeah, you can see by the width of the car here that there's not much spare room on the road - and it's a busy road at rush hour, one of the three roads motorists use to get from D15 in and out of the city centre:

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3610754,-6.3611124,3a,75y,351.65h,81.94t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5opt0r0yzek-XeF2eBcpjQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

God, no room for bikes there

Roadtoad

My kids (between 28 and 18) always know that there's a new Aldi/Lidl/Halfords lamp set at home if they misplace their own.
I've convinced them all that lights are 100% important. I've had less success about helmets.
(presently there's a good set in Aldi)

07Lapierre

grazer wrote: »

God, no room for bikes there

Depends on how you look at it. When i look at that road i see a road with plenty of room for bikes and no room for cars!

grazer

grazer wrote: »

God, no room for bikes there

Pan the camera around 180 degrees

That guy/girl is riding closer to the kerb than I would along there.

plodder

I wouldn't like cycling those roads myself near that school, but ..

"through the Phoenix park" ...

I've never cycled in it, but is it really not safe for kids, or is there just no access from the park?