Young riders (6yrs)

[UK Bike Forum Member]

Youor rights would stand in this sort of context........................................

Barrulus - 'Hi MrFarmer, can my lad ride on your land'

Farmer - 'no, f*ck off'

Barrulus - 'thak you very muchly'

That about sums your rights up.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           hate to say but what fuzz says here is spot on

Although it could go the other way............ But most farmers are wankers!! 

[UK Bike Forum Member]

Just be careful with the byways & dunes cause the police now have an off road section

Please let me introduce you to Bill & Ben the Off road Police men:thumbsup

[UK Bike Forum Member]

Thanks,
I have dropped LARA an email asking them, but I am not sure they are geared to assisting the general public, I will feedback if they get back to me.
I was now thinking what about beaches?
I have been to beaches on the gower a good number of times and seen quad tracks but never actually seen a quad on the beach...
Also the estuary has great mudflats at low tide, though I am not sure this would be a great place to ride anyways...

[UK Bike Forum Member]

Just as an FYI, this is what I got back from LARA.

"Greetings Barrie,

Sorry to say, but you will be in trouble if you take any unregistered motor on any beach without the owner's permission - and Her Majesty owns most. Commons - much the same rules, although they are usually locally owned.

It is a Road Traffic Act offence to drive there, and all the RTA laws regarding insurance, number plates, licences, etc, apply.

If you are there with a youngster, then you will get the prosecutions and points.


Regards


Alan Kind"

[UK Bike Forum Member]

No mention of where you can go then eh!

Thats the problem nowadays, everyone says 'you cant do that' but then dont suggest an alternative!

[UK Bike Forum Member]

yup :(

I have asked though...

"Oh well, dirt tracks and friendly farmers it is then.
Is there anywhere where you can legally take a small boy to ride that is not commiting a road traffic offence?
Things like ROW rambling routes perhaps? (or will the RTA kick in there too?) "

Lets see if he comes back with anything useful, I will keep it posted.

[UK Bike Forum Member]

Ok, nothing useful.

"> >Thanks Alan,
> >
> > Oh well, dirt tracks and friendly farmers it is then.
'Dirt tracks' - just as likely to get you fined as the beach and commons.

> > Is there anywhere where you can legally take a small boy to ride that is not commiting a road traffic offence?
Not really. Proper 'practice tracks' sometimes have laps set out for youngsters on 50s.

> > Things like ROW rambling routes perhaps? (or will the RTA kick in there too?)
They will indeed kick in."


So looks like we will always have to beg for somewhere to ride, that sucks.

[UK Bike Forum Member]

hi there,my sons been riding since hes been 4 1/2,started him on a quad,i used to sit on it with him holding the bars and helping him to steer,he soon got the hang of it,then when he was six he wanted a 2 wheeler(like daddy gor!) so i got him a beta 50 auto trial bike,tock three bloody days solid in the rain over christmas to get him to master it!.The reason was that when he was on his quad,when he came to a stop all was well,now on 2 wheels its a bloody different game,now when he wants to stop he had to remember to put his foot down, and every bloody time hed just collaqpse over in a heap!! its the fittest i had ever been since i was playing rugby i can bloody tell you,running aroung trying to get to him before he fell over all the time,ha ha
going back to your  question i would try to make some enquiries with some local farmers and try and find out if any of them had bikes,youll be surprised how many will have.Go and ask them saying some thing like,just getting my son into riding and was wondering if you would allow me to use that bottombit of land that is overgrown down there for him to get used to changing gears etc,offer to pay,or if your in luck get him a bottle of wine or something each time you use it.I used to do it to a local farmer near me every time we went up there,we would take a flask,sarnies make a picnic,we would both be up there for the day.Iused to play follow the leader with him taking it in turns every now and them and gradually get him to challenge his self over a different terrains,this was fun for him and his confidence grew very quickly,you have to always have the fun element in it for them to progress,above all plenty of patience,we all have good and bad days,kids do to,but if things are not going right on a bike with them just stop,let them have a short break by having a long tea break or even a look around the woods pointing out various sounds,machinery etc,just try to keep them intrested,if this dont work,just give it a miss that day and when they want to have another go believe me it wont be long just have another go.Stick with it mate hoppe you have a great time togeather,its proberly the best bonding a father and son could possibly have togeather,it certainly was for me!!!.ALL the best.

[UK Bike Forum Member]

Thanks for that :)

I got his bike three weeks ago. I got a little SkyTeam ST50-2, a two stroke axle driven single gear automatic 50cc off roader.

So far I have not managed to find a sympathetic farmer (including those that come to my birthday parties and whose kids play with mine!

So at the minute he is riding around my garden in circles!

I am thinking about putting a few obstacles in the garden so he can ride every day because if it were up to him he would ride ALL day EVERY day.

You're right about the breaks, I find he cannot ride more than 20 minutes before his hands get too tired to turn the throttle. This just makes him drive slowly so for now I tell him the bike is tired and we need to let it have a rest, though it is nothing for him to get on another 4 times in the day.

I have been given co-ordinates of a place out on the marshes where we can go apparently, but I am still teachin him how to emergency stop, how to fall and what to do when he is scared.

Too right this is a great bonding experience. I love it, every second of it. Best "toy" I ever bought. Expensive hobby over the years I am sure, as the bikes get bigger and the kit more expensive, but hey, it is quality time :)