Ryan Cousineau wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Tom Kunich" <cyclintom@yahoo. com> wrote:
>
>> "Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:rcousine-1E9654.19281609062008@[74.223.185.199.nw.nuvox.net]...
>>> However, the revelation that Jobst is now apparently advocating Randian
>>> Parenting is . . . awesome! In several senses of the word.
>> Jobst has a lot of value to add. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a lot of
>> low value as well. Don't we all?
>
> Tom, I think Jobst is one of the most valuable contributors to this
> group. Here's what I wrote, rather fawningly, on that subject in 2003:
>
>
> However, every time he posts something as silly as he did up-thread, I
> will make fun of it.
I don't know, I think he has a point. If a kid hasn't shown any interest
in bikes by 18, I doubt they'll convert. Of course it may be possible
that the kid goes from a bike-hostile 'burb (not uncommon) to a
bike-centric campus (not common) and has an awakening. I've tried to get
my local advocacy group to get involved in campus bike programs as the
student population here in Boston is huge (and the city is flat), but
there's little interest and student cycling remains rare.
Tinkering with bikes was once a rite of passage, and bikes were a
necessity since parents didn't shuttle kids around so much. That's the
irony in today's childhood, in earlier times we had stay-at-home
parents, but our time was much less structured, and, as such, much less
supervised. We would typically go out all day, and could (and did) range
far and wide. Biking to school was common. Today, by contrast, biking to
school (our elementary) is forbidden for safety reasons -- something I
have to reluctantly agree with, since the harried parents drive like
maniacs around the school (I live on the street).
I tried to raise my kids with some risk. I taught them cycling on
Boston's busiest streets during rush hour (after years of working up to
it). I towed my daughter (from 5 to 9) on a trailer bike fast enough for
her to frequently catch air on rocky single track, fire roads and ski
slopes. When they were old enough (13-14), I let them ride their bikes
into the city on their own. I got the occasional disapproval of their
peer's parents. A lot of it was nerve wracking, it's not an easy thing
to do. Once, when I was sailing alone with my 5 year old son, 2 miles
offshore in a stiff breeze and good chop, practicing man overboard
drills, he asked to jump in and ride the lifeline. I took a huge gulp
and let him do it. Today he is a sailing instructor, he got his formal
training by biking to the sailing center. My daughter can ride single
track in her sleep.
