| Author | Message | ||
     Cruisin |
Saturday afternoon was a beautiful day...the sun was shining, the air was crisp, but comfortable. A perfect time to get her on her first motorcycle ride (outside the womb, anyway). So we strap her in, set her up, and away we go. She leaned forward and grabbed the GPS mount to hold onto (since she couldn't reach the handlebars). We rode for about 5 - 10 minutes. When we were done she was still grinning from ear to ear. She didn't want to get off the bike, but unfortunately the po-po don't like non helmeted infants strapped to the rider on public roads. Oh well, soon enough. Here's a pic...  | ||
| Chellem |
Wow, how old is she? My father has been "joking" about taking my little girl on the bike. "We'll just throw her in the tourpak - she'll be fine!" THAT looks like fun. I'm having flashbacks to when I was a little girl. . . | ||
| 12r |
Way to go ! My 9-year old has done a few hundred miles with me this year and we've had some great times. He never asks 'Can we go out in the car ?'  | ||
| Cruisin |
She's just under ten months...we've always sat her on the bikes for fun and she grins from ear to ear. I've got the Special O.P.S. pipe on it and it doesn't faze her a bit. She loves the sound and smiles when it's running. Michelle - it actually was fun. We just went to an empty parking lot and rode figure eights for a bit...nothing too fast - no more than 20 mph. I just want her to get used to it. | ||
| Cruisin |
How old is your little girl Michelle? | ||
| Chellem |
She just turned two! I know I was about two when dad started taking me around, just on the gas tank, I could hold on to the handlebars and pretend I was riding. Funny how clearly I remember it! Dad got me an old helmet and stuck a sponge in the inside to help it fit. Hmm. Probably we wouldn't get away with that kind of stuff anymore. Anyway, now my husband is all like, SEE?! I told you we should get her on the bike! So I guess you'll see a pic of them soon. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I'm pretty sure that at 2 years old, I would have been screaming like a..., well, little baby if I was being ridden around on a motorcycle. I just barely kept it together when I was 5 for my first ride. | ||
| Cruisin |
Okay, I finally got it uploaded - for those who want to take the time to download it, there's a 50 mb video of our "ride" found here: http://www.xb12r.com/clips/jenn.avi | ||
| Mtnchld |
My brother is two and LOVES my bike. He would sit on it for hours if I let him. However he won't sit on it if it's running- go figure?? | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Now that's just down right, gosh darned irresponsible...  good fun... Congrats on the first ride! | ||
| Luvthemtorts |
Cute yes. Irresponsible, most definately. I'm sure I will be the underdog here but when we as adults choose to ride lidless we accept the risk of what can happen. An infant obviously cannot make that choice and in my opinion should not be subjected to the unneccesary risks involved. At such a young age a child is easily startled and downright squirmy to start with. To assume you can control the bike and the child should they decide to get squirrely is a bold presumption indeed. Do you just toss her in the back seat without buckling her in the proper child restraint seat? Children are precious and while they shouldn't be locked away and protected from all the world has to offer, they should also not be placed in situations that are inherently dangerous without proper safety precautions. Just my opinion and you are free to disagree but lets keep it civil. Please no hate emails thank you! | ||
| U4euh |
She is a cutie, bet she'll want one when she is old enough! | ||
| Seth |
That's a great picture! I can't figure out which one of you is the happier! | ||
| Aldaytona |
Best picture I've seen in a long time. My daughter started out with bikes in much the same way. You should see her beam with excitement on days I pick her up after school on a bike. All the other kids standing around waiting for mom to load them into the family mini van have that "damn, why couldn't that be me" look on their face. Way to go. | ||
| Cruisin |
Luv - I understand what you are saying, but a couple things you should know. Vermont requires helmets. Even if they didn't, I would. I've felt (or rather, not felt!) the need firsthand for them. Any child of mine will wear a helmet until they turn 18 whether or not they are required by law to do so. My daughter was brought to an empty parking lot strapped safely in her car seat. The only reason I wasn't wearing my helmet was so my daughter could see me properly, and so I could look down at her without wacking her with the helmet by accident. Although her weight was support by the airbox, she was securely strapped into her carrier pack, so no matter what she did, she wasn't going anywhere. We were in a very controlled environment. When she is old enough to ride on public roads, she'll be more properly attired. I wanted to give her a ride on the bike while she is too young to be scared of it. Then when it comes time for her to ride with me on public roads she'll be comfortable with the sound/feel of the bikes. She'll be less likely to be startled, and probably safer because of it. As DJ said - he was scared at 5 when he went for his first ride. I want my daughter to be comfortable on bikes. So far, she is! | ||
| Dago |
That's awsome! I can't wait to do the same around the block a time or two with mine. IMO TortLover, it's all about picking your moments. I'm willing to bet Cruisin barely went over bicycle speeds. And is that a school I see in the background? It certainly isn't a downtown high rise. My point is that safety is subjective. The simple fact is that some people can just anticipate problems and avoid trouble more effectively than others. It appears that Cruisin falls into this group. And if he doesn't, it's his kid on his bike living his life. It looks to me that those two smiles were worth the .001% chance of a scraped knee or bruised ego. | ||
| Cruisin |
Thanks Dago. Make sure to post pictures when you do! You are correct - the smiles were worth ten times the chance of anything happening. | ||
| Ceejay |
I started out the same way with my daughter, she sits on the tank and we cruised around the lot, she was 3 the first time, been doing it for 3 yrs. now anytime I get home and she's around we go for a cruise around the neighborhood. Laughing, giggling, waving at folks, she loves it. I keep saying I am going to strap the kid seat to the back for my son 1 1/2, but I get the scowl-from the lady of the house, which I am sure everyone can relate | ||
| Tcskeptic |
That is so irresponsible. Everyone knows first rides should be conducted only on *red* XB12Rs  | ||
| Crusty |
I took my daughter on her first ride (up the street and back) when she was 6 months old. Yesterday, she turned 16. There's a Sunset Orange Blast out in the garage waiting for her to take (and pass) the M.S.F. course, which will be as soon as I see her report card with no mark less than a B. Report cards come out in two weeks. I'm looking forward to the day when the whole family can go on vacation on individual bikes. | ||
| Chellem |
Crusty - You're a better man than me. I know IN THEORY that I want my daughter to ride someday (she's only 2 now) but the actual image in my mind of her on a motorcycle by herself scares the crap out of me. I love to ride. I've ridden passenger since I was around her age. But I'm not good at watching my loved ones ride. If I have to bring the car for some reason and my husband is riding, I have to leave 5 minutes behind him so that *I* can be safe. Otherwise I spend the whole trip watching the people around him to make sure they don't hit him. It's much more dangerous for *ME* in the car! And he's a grown up! I know, kids have to grow up someday. I'm just impressed that you've adjusted to that so well. I hope I'm as cool when the time comes. | ||
| Cruisin |
Michelle...get her started early - gives you more chance to get accustomed to the feeling her her riding. I've already planned to get a setup like this for 2007. My daughter will be two and a half when it's warm enough for her to ride it:  | ||
| Hanses25 |
My son Joey has been riding with me for about 8 months now on our pimped out Honda CRF50, for about 2 hours it seems everyday after work. He's 3 now and can actually give me rides on it now. I say this though, I'm not ready to let him loose on it by himself yet, but he can run the throttle and steer pretty well. Like stated above his attention span is short and he's more interested in looking around than straight ahead, most of the time. Here are some pics....    Plus when he's off playing in the dirt somewhere dad gets to learn some pretty cool stuff on it... |
