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[robert-flhrsei]

Hey guy's , i really have a hard time deciding on if i should take my 12 year old son on a trip of his life !!! we're going to Malaga in Spain from home which is Sosnowiec in Poland. The trip will take about 4,5 day's of goor road time 8 hours per day, 3250 km is the distance. Do you guy's ride with kids ? how old r they ? do u think i should talk him out of the idea ? pls guy's i need your help, he is really looking forward to this trip. The trip on the way back will be by car.What would you do ? he has never been on a longer trip then a fev hours..... ? [smiley=confused5.gif]

[SCRM-R]

I think that a 4 to 5 day trip, with 8 hours or so in the saddle each day would be grueling for most 12 year olds.  My son is grown now and rides his own, but a trip like that might have done more harm than good if I had done the same at 12 years old.  Of course each child is different, but I would think long and hard about this one if it were my child...just my 2 cents worth...

[Fired00d]

Robert,
What is the longest trip on the bike he's been on already? That trip does seem to be long if it's going to be his overnight/long distance trip. I'm inclined to agree w/Scrm-r that if the experience were to go sour it could have a long lasting negative effect on him. You may want to start out an overnighter first then gradually work up to such a long trip. If he still enjoys the ride/experience after a couple of overnighters then maybe it could be increased to a weekend, and build up to a trip of this length.

 [smiley=pumpkin.gif]
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 [smiley=fireman.gif]

[robert-flhrsei]

thank you guy's for the input on this , that is just what i was thinking, but he's bugging with this idea everyday !!! .....

[Ghost Rider]

I don't think there is one simple answer here.  Each kid is different.  My oldest son (now 14) loves to ride and is an excellent passenger.  This trip would have been no problem for him.  My youngest son (now 12) wouldn't make it to the next town.  The boy couldn't sit still if you duct taped him to the seat.

I agree with d00d, you probably need to do some practice runs and make sure he knows what he is getting himself into.

Good Luck,
Ghost

[RJ749]

thank you guy's for the input on this , that is just what i was thinking, but he's bugging with this idea everyday !!! .....

You may try a long day ride, if he's up for it then you may have something to work with.

When I was about that age my dad had me on bikes and I have great memories of it.  

We never went on a long ride that I recall.  I sure would work with him though if he wants to do it, it won't be long before he doesn't even wish to vacation with you, if you know what I mean.

[Twolanerider]

One thing to consider beyond his attitude or stamina to endure or enjoy the ride.  That will be his lack of stamina.  As surprising as it might sound at 12 years old during hour after hour in the saddle at some point the kid will likely go to sleep.  

Whether that will require any kind of rigging or not will depend on everything else on/in/around the bike.  But it's likely enough to happen at some point within repetitive 8 hour riding days that you don't dare not consider the possibility.

[CVOJOE]

Robert,
I'd recommend trying him on maybe an overnighter or weekend trip to see how he takes it. If he's bored, or falls asleep and maybe off   , he probably won't like it. In a few years, he'll be wanting one of his own.

Just my experience with my son.
 [smiley=drink.gif]
Joe

[dereck]

It's all up to him.  Definately try a long 1 day trip in advance so he knows what he's getting into.  You'll know imediately then.

Oh yeah, I take Julia (6 yrs) and Zack (8 yrs) on short trips, 15-miles one way.  Have a bite to eat and return.  They love it.  [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]

Julia almost feel asleep on the way home once.  We had to pull over and talk about it.

[bisounours]

Hello Robert,

I agree with the other opinions.

Look another point of view :
You wrote : The trip will take about 4,5 day's of goor road time 8 hours per day, 3250 km is the distance.
How did you consider this travel as rider ?
Easy or not ?
Personally, I think that it's necessary to be very attentive and it'll be not very easy (without rain). [smiley=oops.gif]
Sure it's a nice ride and great event.  8-)

I think that you are able to share great moments with your son during a week end trip and it's not necessary to travel with him during so long time till Malaga for to build your story.

Good runs!
Jacques

[robert-flhrsei]

ok guy's, i think it's time just to let it go.....i see everyone has some different opinion about  htis, but i think i will ride alone. Jacqes, i have done this trip 2 times already, it's not an easy ride but i do it with no problem....alne i will do it in 3 or 3,5 days.....thanks guy's for the input ...

[Scooterhair]

I take my 5yr old granddaughter for rides all the time. I started with short rides, now we are up too 200 ml day rides. BUT I use a harness. It's like a tandem sky diving harness, but reversed. It was custom sewn with off the shelf nylon strap and hardware. It works great, it takes the worry out of her falling asleep ( it has happened once ) .

Good luck

Scooter

[jeffj]

I know you said let it go however, I have a totally different thought

You leave on your journey and have your wife put him on a flight to say 3/4's the way towards your destination and you ride in on your scooter to that airport and pick him up on your scooter and finish the last quarter of the trip together and he still gets the ride of his life (both airplane and scooter) and you don't have as much worries.

Just a thought  [smiley=nixweiss.gif]


jeffj

[Free]

Robert

I am planning a similar 5 day trip from San Francisco to Whistler with my 10 year old son (summer of 2008). We were going to go this summer but the wife really wanted me to wait one more year until he was 10 years old. I agreed but get to do the Nelson trip instead (not a bad trade-off).  I too worry about all the things that are mentioned above (time in the saddle, boredom, falling asleep etc.). I do plan to have some sort of harness as Twolanerider suggests - i think that is a no brainer. I also plan to keep the riding down to 250 miles per day (thus the reason it will take us 5 days!!) with plenty of stops. We will spend a lot of time stopping and visiting cool places along the West coast and emailing our stories back home at night.  We will also camp- out perhaps 2 out of the 5 nights).  I will also do a couple weekend rides before this trip to see how well he does.

JeffJ - your idea is a great idea and would take the pressure to grind out lots of miles. I hadn't thought about this but it is worth considering.

either way, its comments like these from MJZ that make you want to find a way to make it work:

"I took my son, who is now 19 and off at U of A, on a trip on my 95 Heritage when he was about 9. The bonding and real quality time spent on that trip was better than all the years of t-ball, baseball, soccer, basketball, swim meets, practices and games combined. To this day we still talk about the long weekend we rode to St. Louis on that bike. We did a couple of cardinal games, zoo, six flags, arch and great junk food. A couple of years ago, he was on a state championship traveling soccer team, on the way back from a tournament in Chicago we stopped at Lamberts Restaurant on I-55. We were all sitting at a big table and my son said "hey Dad, remember when I was a kid we rode the bike up to St. Louis? On the way back we stopped here and ate, didn't we?" Then he proceeded to tell all the cocky 17 & 18 year old team mates how great the trip was. I'm telling you it still brings tears to my eyes.  
Anyway Free, having gone down that road words can't express how valuable the experience was. Wouldn't trade it for all the chrome in the world".

Good luck Robert

Free

[Scooterhair]

HERE HERE, I second that.

I will always remember my granddaughter telling me to " Turn up the radio and go fast!! " when I picked her up from school one day this fall.

I have created a monster that calls me all the time, she either wants to go for a ride or ride her four wheeler. Either way, I will always accommodate her, because one day things may change.

Thus the saying:  LIVE TO RIDE    RIDE TO LIVE

Memories like these makes life's little challenges much easier to deal with.


Scooter