INTRODUCING YOUR CHILDREN TO CYCLING

INTRODUCING YOUR CHILDREN TO CYCLING

Did your child learn to ride a bike? Teach him how to master his mount! Starting, braking, balance, trajectory ... Here are some educational exercises and some practical tips for learning to ride a bike.

Learn to pedal and start cycling

Starting a bike is a complicated exercise for a child! To leave without losing your balance, your child must first learn to place his feet on the pedals without looking. If one of his feet slips, he can easily find his pedals without looking for them.

For the bike start, teach your child to start by positioning the front foot above the level of the crank axle. In this way, he has more strength to make his first pedal turn and gains enough speed to keep his balance. Do not forget the child bike helmet.

You can also offer him some start-up exercises: start it on a slight slope to facilitate learning. When mastering his first pedal laps, get him started on flat and then on a slight climb. His balance, technique and pedaling power are improved.

Balance: an exercise, the run of slowness!

Alone, with you or with a friend, teach your child to move slowly to develop stability. Set a small distance and organize a slow race  : time its performance to increase the challenge!

This exercise is very useful for cycling at low speed, starting or pedestrian zone for example.

Trajectory: your child, only master on board

Help your child ride his bike and master it by offering several exercises, depending on his age and agility:

- Teach him to keep a course . Send a line to your child, telling him to look ahead in front of him. You can then place yourself a few tens of meters, and give him indications with your arms to turn to the left or to the right. It's a good way to make sure it looks away!

- Help him to progress in the handling of his child bike and in the precision of his actions. Prepare a slalom course for your budding cyclist, with studs or ground marks spaced far enough apart to allow him to maneuver without falling. Gradually, bring the studs closer when your child improves. You can also create a variant with a circuit in 8.

- Develop your child's reflexes and teach him to look away. On a parking lot or in a free space of traffic, tell him to repeat your actions from a distance. With your arms, tell him every time you turn, he must follow your instructions and follow your path.

power

If your child keeps his balance bike, pedal and runs with ease, do not forget to explain how to brake for his safety  ! Small reminder: for a powerful and safe braking on the bike, the ideal dosage is 1/3 at the rear and 2/3 at the front. Here are two exercises for your child to learn to slow down effectively and develop reflexes:

- Improve your braking management by drawing a ground mark that your child must respect to stop. Gradually increase his speed of approach ... he will then be able to stop at a crossroads or a fire without difficulty.

- Work responsiveness by moving your child freely on a closed and safe area. At your "TOP", your child must brak and step on the ground. At the next "TOP", he leaves again. This exercise allows him to cope with the dangers inherent in public road traffic.

Important  : for the safety of your child, all these exercises must be practiced out of circulation, on a private parking without vehicles.

Your child can learn the basics of cycling while having fun with these fun exercises  ! By working his reflexes, his trajectories and his balance, your child has confidence in his two-wheelers and learns to circulate safely in urban areas.