Solo long bike rides for 13-yr-old

[single50]

My 13-yr-old wants to do cycling as his sports section for his DOE. I was supportive of this until I realised he intends to go for long rides (25 - 30 miles) entirely alone. I really don't think it is safe for him to ride that far alone, as if he gets into difficulties there is no-one to help him. He cycles two miles to school and back every day and doesn't see how this is different. I have pointed out that is is a) shorter b) a familiar route c) if he doesn't arrive at school they will call me and d) he goes along relatively busy (but slowish) roads with lots of pedestrians and cars, so if he fell off there are lots of people around to help. He thinks I am being over-protective but I feel it would actually be hugely irresponsible to let him to bike rides this long completely on his own. He has fallen off his bike twice in the last year. AIBU?

Can he not join a local cycling or triathlon club. If you explain what he is trying to achieve im sure they will be happy to help.

I used to go on long bike rides when I was 13. There was less traffic then (63 years ago) but also no mobile phones.
Can you give your son freedom to do this and also give him a mobile phone so he can call you if he needs help?

I don’t have much knowledge on bike riding, maybe build up to the longer bike rides? Say 4 miles and average time to achieve this, and he needs to text or call you to say he’s got there and slowly build up to a longer distance. This would build up trust and confidence on both sides.
I don’t know about you, but to AirTag his bike too so you know where he is for safety at all times? I mean 25-30miles is pretty far! I live in London and my parents are an hour or so away and that’s only 16miles. I have a 16 year old and she’s on my “Apple find my” so I know where she is at all times. This was just an agreement we set when I got her an Apple phone when she was 12.

So there are definitely ways to mitigate your safety concerns here.
Big obvious one - he must carry his mobile phone so he can call for help if need be.
2nd complimentary technique - could he log his planned cycle routes in advance + give an ETA home. So if he’s not back when within 20 minutes or so of what he predicted, someone can drive along his route to look for him?

He doesn't need to do 30 miles in one ride, for DoE, he could do 12 miles in one ride to do an hour/week. I'm guessing his bike isn't great. 30 miles on a mediocre bike is not fun.

He will have to build up to it. And a 30 mile bike ride would be 15 miles there and 15 miles back. Use Strava and follow his route

You can get helmets that call for help if you crash, if that is a concern? Or join him, maybe on an e-bike?!

Strava have a safety beacon feature so you can track his whereabouts;

blog.strava.com/beacon/

Will it be a fairly safe route? There's a world of difference between a cycle path which is separated from road traffic and isn't next to water, vs cycling down a 70mph dual carriageway or the side of a steep mountain?

Do both you and he have a smartphone, so you could use something like Strava to track his location?

Is he generally a fairly sensible child?

If the answer to all of those questions is yes, then if I were in your position I think I'd allow it.

If you want extra reassurance maybe you could even arrange to drive to the halfway point and meet him for lunch (at least the first few times)?

Will it in fact count towards his D of E if he is doing it alone with no proof of the achievement? I thought D of E things needed some kind of certificate or supervision to be admissible.

Can he do a vaguely circular route, at a time when someone is around that would be able to help him out? So eg at a radius of 2.5 miles from your house - ie not much further than his trip to school - he could do a circle of about 20 miles (plus the radius, if we are getting all geometrical about it!) That would give him more territory to explore but not at great distance iyswim?

So essentially a 13 year old wants to spend a couple of hours out of the house by himself?

Seems fine to me. Just make sure he takes a phone and spares (and knows, for example, how to fix a puncture) and let him crack on. If he plans his route out sensibly he doesn't actually need to be that far from home at any point. I do long runs of 20 miles or so but at any point am never more than 5 miles from home or so if I go directly.

I think there are ways to mitigate the risks - the biggest of which is cars.

Planning routes, taking phone with tracking and a planned call midway, finding a club, or an adult/friend going with him.

I think it is better to help him achieve it safely rather than block him from doing it?

DOE challenges the person to do something new; something they've probably never done before and instills confidence, ability to plan, and how to handle adversity. In the days of mobile phones, he won't be off radar for a second.

It's a great opportunity to grow.

I've vetoed DS1 doing something similar.
To go more than about 3 miles he has to navigate one of 2 duel carriageways, and a narrow, fast, busy road.
He did run, alone, for his bronze last year. I had no issues with that. It's the route that has made me say no to the biking.
Can he find a safe route (or series of them)?

Definitely get him to plan a route, but some distance training also advisable. If you can find a bike maintenance course locally, that would cover his skill as well!

Whereabouts are you?

He would need it to be tracked on something and someone with relevant knowledge would need to sign it off

Does he want to ride 25 miles every week for 10 weeks or so? Is this for the physical.section? It sounds great to me, except for the obvious safety concerns. Can someone go with him for the first time? Or can he build up, starting with 10 miles? He could be back in 45 mins..

Depends on all kinds of things, not least the proposed route. Where I live there are plenty of 30 mile loops that could be done with no, or only very short spells on main roads and without ever being more than about 5 or 6 miles from home, but I realise that is not the case everywhere.
Has he done Bikeability? If not, and his short ride to school is the only cycling he does then I'd suggest he looks for somewhere where he can do Bikeability level 3 which should equip him with the basic skills he needs. Or failing that, do you have any adult or older teen friends who cycle regularly who can go with him initially at least? 30 miles isn't that far, but if he is only used to a couple of miles in the saddle he is going to need to build up to it. An experienced local cyclist will be able to advise on routes too. Contacting local clubs isn't a bad idea though you may find that some won't take under 18s on club rides without an accompanying adult. There may also be British Cycling Guided Rides in your area, though again, Under 16s need to be accompanied by an adult. Riding with other more experienced cyclists is a great way to learn both skills and good routes.
If he wants to ride alone then obviously he needs to take his phone and I would insist on a tracker of some kind. Also he needs to carry tools and be able to handle simple mechanical issues such as a puncture or a dropped chain.
If there are suitable routes it should be doable but he needs proper preparation and practice.

This. He'd need it to be signed off by an unrelated witness. If he joined a cycle club they would do it for him and he'd not be cycling so far alone.

Thanks everyone. This is all very helpful. I would like to go with him, or get him to do it with others, but he is really keen to do it alone (he's naturally independent). All the suggestions are really helpful, I'm sure we can combine them to work something out.

He could do it on Strava & upload pics, but honestly, on a typical Halfords bike, it will be all suffering.