Kids on Wheels - 10 Tips to Make Bike Riding FUN - AND a Great Giveaway!!

 Last week I started a Kids on Wheels Series with the first story - How to Create your own Junior Biker Gang.  This was the follow-up piece to my popular story on our recently formed Bow Valley Biker Gang.  Today I expand on the topic of group bike rides to offer other fun suggestions for making bike riding fun.  You can get out with friends all you want but some kids will still be less than motivated.  Try some of the tips below though and I guarantee most kids will quickly warm up to the idea of riding.  I mean, who doesn't like to have wheels under them so that they can go faster and further?

And please make sure you read all the way to the bottom for a sweet giveaway from our friends at Specialized Bicycle Components.  

Bike Riding is FUN

Kids on Wheels - 10 Tips to Make Bike Riding FUN

 

One - Puddle Fest!
Find some big bad puddles to ride through and organize a puddle fest biking event with friends

Spring Puddle Fest

Two -  Choose a fun destination
Biking is the same as hiking.  Kids need a destination and a purpose.  Riding for the sake of riding may work for some kids but for others, riding to a playground, a duck pond, a big bridge, or even ice-cream shop just might be the incentive they need. 

 

Playground!

Three -  Go off trail!  
Do some exploring and try out some natural trails for a bit of variety.  Maybe your child just doesn't like pavement.  As a plus, it doesn't hurt as much if they fall.

Junior Mountain Biking

Four -  Have fun with hills
Find a gentle grass hill and let your child have fun practicing his or her gliding down it.  Grab the video camera and play the movie when you get home.  Kids love watching themselves in action!

Riding Hills = Fun

Five - Have fun with natural obstacles
Set up a natural obstacle course using trees,  hills, narrow twisty paths or piles of dirt to add some challenge.

Natural Slalom Course

Great trail with tons of natural bridges and twisty paths

  
Six - Games, games, and more games
Try setting up some races, a game of Follow the Leader, or friendly bike competition.

Bike Tag

Follow the Leader

Seven - Add Play and Nature to the bike ride
Stop to play in the mud, collect sticks, throw rocks in a river, play in a forest - just get off the bikes and let the kids have some time for free play.

Time to Play!

 Eight - Bring Friends
As I always say, bringing a friend is like giving your child a superman cape.  Try it.  It works magic.

Friends for the trail

 
Nine - Make it a family ride
Maybe your child needs to see Mom and Dad on a  bike too.  I bought my first adult bike last spring so that I could be a motivation to my son.  

Dad riding with his 2 year old

Ten -  Know when to stop!  
Bring a Chariot for younger kids when they tire out or even use it to carry their bikes when going up steep hills.  Know when it's time to turn around, and don't push it.  Power marathon bike rides usually end poorly when children get too tired to keep going.

Do I know how to pick a bike trail or what?!

How many Strider bikes can your Chariot carry?

   

The Giveaway

I'm excited to announce that Specialized Bicycle Components  has offered to give away a kids helmet to one of my readers.  The helmet is a Specialized Small Fry and the winner will have a choice on sizing (child or toddler) and color/print, subject to availability.

The winner will be randomly selected by Specialized Bicycle Components among those who comment on this post

I have  been drawn to the company of Specialized  Bicycle Components because like myself, they are passionate about getting kids on bikes and want to be a positive role model in this field.   

"We believe that the bicycle is the best way to provide any child, anywhere, with freedom, independence, health and joy. Together with our partners and riders we’re helping to build a world in which every child has use of a bicycle, skills to operate it confidently, and places to ride it safely."

For information about the Specialized First Gear program and to read about how Specialized is at work in the community please follow the link to visit their website. 

To enter the contest and win a Small Fry helmet for your child please visit the Specialized Bicycle Components website and leave a comment below with the helmet that you would choose.  Anonymous entries will not be counted and I will require an email address with each entry.  If you are not comfortable posting your email address, please email me at koob.tanya@gmail.com - Let me know that you have entered the Specialized contest and that you give me permission to pass your email address on to Specialized Bicycle Components for the drawing of names.  

If you are unable to leave a comment below because you don't have an account to log in with, please email me your comment and I will consider that as an entry.

Contest closes on Tuesday, May 28th at 11pm, mountain standard time.  I will be sending off all names to Specialized on the Wednesday morning.  

The Contest is now CLOSED.  Thank you for entering and a winner will be contacted soon.

To continue this series, please follow this link to 

An Introduction to Bike Hiking

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated by Specialized Bicycle Components for this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions were my own for this story.