I didn’t get into biking until I was in university. Taking public transit all the time, I saw so many of my friends use biking as a way to get to campus. If I wasn’t taking the bus, I was biking. This was my mode of transportation.
Now with a young child, it was my turn to teach him how to ride a bike. Parenting 101 tip: training wheels are nice, but don’t keep your kid on them too long or they would become reliant on them. Some people even use balance bikes now so they don’t have to worry about this possibility.
Once I started to notice my son not always leaning towards one side when riding his bike, it was time. We actually took one off first and then took the other one off after. Brought him to a park that had a nice long path and held the bike steady with him, moving slowly. When he picked up some speed, we let go. It took a few tries, but he finally got it. Now, we’re riding over 15-km trails and going up mini hills.
If you’re in Ontario, I would suggest the Rail Trails. These are trails that are specifically for biking, which used to be old railway tracks (hence the name). What’s nice about these trails is that there’s less pedestrians and they are relatively flat. Some of them are pretty scenic too.
We tried our first Rail Trail today in Omemee, Ontario. Surprisingly (like it was a sign), there was an Emily Provincial Park very close by and we biked on Emily Street too. Sometimes I wonder if things really are a coincidence.
Check out these Rail Trails if you’re looking for some family-friendly bike routes. Another good one is the one in Cookstown, that we hope to check out soon too. It’s near Centennial Park Beach, so if you’re looking for a mini daytrip, you can do a 20-km bike roundtrip and then relax at the beach before calling it a day.