Father-Son Riding

In November I purchased a Dakar for my 17 year old son to use so he could ride with me. Christmas present. Yeah, I spoil my kid. He's a great kid though with a good head on his shoulders.

Here is a video of his first lessons at the school in Issaquah over Christmas break. And a couple of shots of a ride around Puget Sound. The weather hasn't been very conducive for riding, especially a new rider.

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Hopefully, after taking the Motorcycle Safety class, he will be riding with his 'ol man this summer

Maybe even a trip up to the interior of British Columbia.


Kind of curious on knowing how many of you folks ride with with your kids. My son and I have done alot of adventure trekking together in the north. This will add another dimension to our adventures I'm sure.

Enjoy.

Very cool, enjoy and be safe!

Will you adopt me?

My youngest and I rode to Alaska on my Versys. He was 13 so he was in charge of taking pictures and I handled the navigation. Hopefully someday he will be on his own bike and figure out that I may not be cool anymore but that is ok when you have helmet on.

Cool that you rode there together.

Yeah, dad, isn't as cool anymore. However, I think as time goes on, this will change. I believe kids always come full circle. I may not be ever be cool like I was, but hopefully will discover that dad isn't too bad of a guy to hang out with every now and then.

When my son was about 16 and a half he expressed interest in getting his m/c endorsement. I had never pushed the idea at all, preferring to let it come to him naturally if was going to happen at all. This was in January of the year, and I fought to suppress by excitement, just saying that it sounded great, and let's wait a couple of months for it to warm up a bit. But what I was really doing was waiting for him to bring it up again, which he did sometime around May or June.

After discussing it with The Mother Unit (30th anniversary this year, thank god a very pragmatic woman), I signed him up for an MSF class. Unfortunately, the first available wasn't until November! After a few weeks, I picked up a KLR 250 for him to learn the basics on. We live on a few acres, with plenty of pasture and a long gravel driveway for practice. I essentially wanted him to get ahead of the basic braking, clutching, etc., that they would go over in the class. It apparently worked well, as he smoked the writing and riding parts equally. He was particularly proud that he did so well while a couple "30 something" guys failed to pass.

When he graduated from high school I bought him a used KLR 650, as we were planning a 5 or 6 day trip around the northwest after graduation. He was doing so well on the 250, I knew the 650 wouldn't be too much of a jump (hey, it's a single AND a KLR, right? ), and I also knew it would be a far better ride for that trip. You can check out the report from it if you're interested:

http://www.stromtrooper.com/northwest/43586-magruder-corridor-beyond.html

He headed off to college in Bellingham that fall with the 650. He's such a great guy, I still terribly miss him not being around all the time. The following summer we spent 6 days touring around Vancouver Island:

Sean and Dad on Vancouver Island - ADVrider

He's graduating on time this June. We are planning to leave a week later for Alaska. The plan is for a 3 week tour, but hinges somewhat on his potential job offers. I keep reminding him that start dates are always negotiable. His bike is at home for now, with me doing heavy maintenance and prep.

I generally prefer to ride solo, but there are a few people I have found to be good riding partners. There is only one that I would drop anything for the opportunity to ride with, however. Love that boy.

This is a great topic. I sold my sport-tourer when my son was about six months old, because I felt that the risks I inevitably take on a bike were just too selfish. It was a terrible decision and I regretted it immediately. I decided to get back into dirt riding so I could at least remove one of the danger variables (other drivers.) I may not get to ride every day now, but when I do ride it is a religious experience.

The question of "if" and "when" to get my little guy into bikes is on my mind a lot. Curious to hear what others think. My wife is not really into motorcycles aside from the occasional cruise on the back of my airhead, and she is not keen on our son ever riding one. My thought is this: the earlier he learns the skills, the safer he will be as a rider. However, if he ever got hurt (who doesn't, at some point), I would have a seriously guilty conscience. Seems like most dads wait for the kid to express a strong interest, but my little guy is already showing that!



Dear CPS: in the first photo, I did not actually ride with him in the backpack!

He has that "oh shit" look like I get when i get back on the ducati in the spring. :eek1

Do you have some vetter bags to go with the fairing?

I've been riding with my dad since i was 17 or 18 and I am 37 now.

I convinced him to get a dirt bike last year. Now he is selling is on road bike to pick up a klr. I expect some crazy shenanigans soon.

Nice work guys, good to see some positive energy in this place.

Both my kids ride spark plug bikes but before they did, they received (and still receive) a lot of 2 wheel skill and fitness building on mountain bikes. The rule at our household is you have to ride your mountain or road bike for double the hours that you ride your spark plug bike. It's a great motivator to keep them off the electronics and whatnot

I was lucky enough to have both parents, aunts, uncles etc start me out riding trails with them when I was around 5.
I in turn did the same thing with my 3 kids.Started them all out around 5 years old.
My youngest son became the youngest racer to date to race the 24 hr at Goldendale and now leaves me in the dust. I cant tell you how proud I am off all of them. Its true that a family that rides together stays together.
Now they are all grown and I have discouraged my sons about getting into street bikes.
This will change, I just know how I was at a young age and quite frankly I'm very lucky to still be among you all.
Now if I can talk them into getting an ADV Bike rather than an R1 that might be another story.

Sweet! I like that philosophy a lot, especially since I am also a cyclist. Pedal bike training is fantastic for the dirt bike! Plus you get two-for-one sports that you can enjoy with the sprout.

Cyclops, congrats on your son's racing, I bet he rips. I totally understand about the street bikes; I've been riding since high school as well and I've survived some incredibly stupid "hey guys watch this!" moments. To get the call that my kid had stacked it up on the freeway would kill me (and if it didn't, my wife certainly would.)

Thanks for the advice and guidance.

I raised both my boys on dirt bikes starting at age 4. We would ride almost every weekend. Guys we met on the trails were always amazed to see me with my 9,12 yo boys 20+ miles from the truck.
As the boys became teenagers their speed picked up and it was a race between the three of us. We rode exclusively single track and had lots of fun. We would talk about the days ride and laugh all the way home in the truck. When we would pull in the driveway I would say " don't tell your mother where we rode today" The youngest would always spill the beans.

Like some of you; they grow up and begin their own lives. I kept their dirt bikes and once a year I Guilt them into a weekend ride.

Ride with your kids when you can.

If I ever have a child, he or she will not ride a motorcycle, let alone drive any automobile.

My Dad started me out at age five riding the maze of dirt forest roads behind our house. We have also spent a lot of time riding the desert of south eastern Oregon and northern Nevada. We still get to ride together a bit. I started my Daughter out at age three and got to spend many hours roaming the Woods and Deserts. She also put in a ton of miles co-piloting my various Airheads.

My 16 yr old and I ride the Mohave desert (SoCal) all winter long. Now that Im making the move to ADV riding its a real challenge to keep up with him. Im on a DR650 and he rides a YZ250. Hope to move him to ADV riding soon.
I want to ride the Cont. Divide and would love to take him with me.

I have great memories of riding with my Dad as well, in the Methow Valley of Central Washington where I grew up. I would ride my RM80 while he rode his Honda CB450 "Hawk." He could trail ride the heck out of that bike, an original ADVer! I'm loving these stories, keep 'em coming! I see a PW50 in my near future....

My youngest girl is 3. I get ask about once a week, or anytime I come home on my bike. When am I going to get her a pink moto? My son is 10. He finally rode on the back of mine after some coaxing. Slow down SLOW DOWN for about the first 100 feet then laughing and this is fun! Now I can't keep him off the 4 wheeler. I need a bigger bike budget. Looking up for riding partners.

I'll never forget the day we came home with this.



Then this



And even as much as you love them you have to get the camera first.




Kal can now sit on the seat and touch his toes to the ground, I'm looking forward to spring.





Give them a big hug and kiss, you never know what the future will bring.

Summer before last my son and rode (KTM 640 and KTM 950SE) up to Bench Lake on the back side of Mt. Adams and camped for several days. He was 18 and had just graduated from high school. We had ridden a lot of off-road in the past, but there were many, many memories from this trip.

Dan

Ok, my confession... I grew up riding with my dad. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was 15 (damn cancer)

My second bike... My first bike was a Honda QA 50 when I was 5.

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Look at those pants!!! Love the 70's.


Yep, I stated racing BMX and motorbikes before all the fancy gear and sponsors.



Here is some pics from the 70s of my dad and one of his 80 plus bikes he owned during his short life.
http://rubikonadventures.blogspot.com/2011/01/life-ont-eh-edge-my-second-bike.html?m=0

I sure miss my dad.