Tips and advice on cycling with 6 year old daughter

[gigantosaurusisreallyenormous]

I've taken the plunge and bought myself a bike (previously been borrowing my mums). I want to be able to cycle the kids to school/ nursery.

I have bought a child seat for youngest which the bike shop will fit for me (he's 2) - so my first step is to get confident with the child seat first.
After that I want to be able to take my daughter on the roads. We've cycled on roads together before, but normally with her dad there too and her in the middle. And I'm feeling slightly apprehensive about being able to do this properly.

She is currently a confident cyclist and goes cycling on the roads with her grandad every week and is great- so I think it's more me that I want tips for. I assume she is best in front of me?

The school is literally up the road, but there is a big crossroads junction that is always very busy. I assume we're not supposed to cycle on the pavement at all.

Hints/tips things I should get etc very welcome. Thank you

She can cycle on the pavement as she's under 16. If you cycle alongside you can watch her and keep her safe. That's how I've brought mine through to road cycling.

You can both cycle on the pavement actually... it’s just that under 10’s are below the age of criminal responsibility. It’d be a special type of arsehole copper that stopped a mother and child cycling on a pavement to avoid a busy junction!!

Given she’s already a competent road cyclist by the sound of it... you could get something like a followme tandem. It’s not actually a tandem but a very clever towing device - child can be towed, or it can be folded/ hooked away on adult bike to allow child to cycle alone. I wouldn’t want to undo the good work already done, so a particular junction is viewed as a no go - they need to learn to tackle them safely and not fear them. Likewise they need to learn to ride safely in busy traffic abd not be fearful of it, but confidence and an assertive visible road position. I’d either pick an alternative route to avoid it (also a good skill to learn/ teach) or use my Followme Tandem to hook them up for that section of the journey. That way you’re in control of their road position, acceleration and pace and they are learning from you how to deal with such obstacles.

Followme Tandems are ace! I use it for my 4 y/o. He can ride independently and I hook him up when he’s tired. It means we can go on much longer adventures together. I’m going to take him touring soon. They’ll accommodate bikes up to and including a 20” wheel.

Also handy for hills where they haven’t quite developed the strength and endurance. I picked mine up for a good price secondhand on eBay. Definitely an invaluable gadget for regular cyclists/ cycling families. Also the best most sturdy type on the market - I spent hoursresearching. I’d initially thought a WeeRide or Trail Gator would fit the Bill, but was really put off with some of the blogs I’d read about safety issues/ instability descending.

Just to add that there's no shame in hopping off at the junction and pushing your bikes across at the crossing (assuming there is one.) I still do this myself at a couple of places that I ride as it's both safer, and often quicker than trying to negotiate the junction.

Make sure you work out and practice a way to safely and quickly jump off your bike and lay it down with your younger child in the seat, for if you need to go and help your daughter in a hurry (if she falls off or has a crash, for example).

Great tips thank you very much!
@beela that is an excellent point I hadn't thought of thank you!! The bike has a stand but I was advised not to use it to take weight with child on the back- so I will definitely practice this. I bought a bike with a lower bar as I wanted to be able to plant my feet on the ground either sides and I have short legs ha.

It's such a short journey to school- I don't have anywhere near the same apprehension of cycling to my parents for example which is 2 miles away. It's just that junction. However my husband had a good suggestion of going slightly out of way to come at the junction from the left. So instead of having to turn right on the junction- we would just cycle straight over.

@noodlmcdoodl thanks for this I am definitely going to look into this- think will come in useful for when the littlest starts cycling too.

I constantly talked at mine about her road position and how to watch for other traffic. I found pavement cycling more dangerous as it was harder to see cars emerging from driveways.

I think your husband's point about approaching the junction from a different angle is a good one. You can indeed always turn into a pedestrian at any point if you get worried.

My DD cycled her own bike to and from school since she was five. I would cycle behind her and slightly offset so that any cars would have to overtake both of us. Get a cheap speedometer (Aldi/Lidl) and you'd be amazed how much mileage she'll clock up. It's a great way to get around.

I cycle with a 6yo but he goes on the pavement and is very well trained to slow down/stop for pedestrians especially if older or pushing buggies and say "excuse me" and "thank you" when passing them. His older sister is 9 and she goes on the road in front of me. I found this page really helpful: www.cyclinguk.org/article/cycling-guide/cycling-road-children