Nearly ten - when?

Sillyoldtwit

Hi ladies, male interloper here from the Cycling Training Forum.
My daughter will be 10 on Aug 1. She likes riding her bike, especially attempting to burn off her old man. What sort of encouragement should I be giving her, if any? Or should I just let her do her thing until she's older?
Thanks. Tyson

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Eden

What do you think she might enjoy? Is she competitive? Would a kiddie crit appeal to her (do they have them where you live? or a kids velodrome program?), or would that make it less fun. How about light touring (I probably started doing this with my mom when I was about 11 or 12) or going for distance goals. Would a century on a tandem with her dad end in tears or smiles?

I'd treat it like any other sport if I were you. Don't push so hard she ends up hating it, but encourage her into the parts she likes. She's old enough to be involved in something like a kids soccer league, so I'd think that if she likes to ride she's old enough to be a little more serious about cycling too - if she wants to.

Ask her if she'd be interested in a kids cycling team (if you have any?). If she just wants to ride with her dad that's OK too. In the end it really should come down to what she wants and every kid is unique, but I think she's probably old enough to start making those decisions.

Sillyoldtwit

Thanks very much for your reply Eden, however, my concern is that perhaps she's too young to do any serious training which might inflict some permanent damage on her young body. Perhaps I'm being overly protective. Tyson

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Eden

Yeah, I wouldn't put a kid that age on any kind of strict training regime (in any sport) for physical and psychological reasons (the current 12yo junior national champ here does not formally train, but she sure kicks butt), but letting her do as much as she wants to shouldn't hurt her. There are younger kids who ride 100 mile charity rides out here and a juniors 10-12 racing category. Cycling should be fairly benign since it isn't an impact sport - really it's probably less hard on a kid's body than soccer or gymnastics....

For racing in the states there are gear restrictions, to encourage developing a good spin and so that kids don't hurt their still growing muscles and joints, but that's about all the precaution that the racing community feels need to be made.

There is only one gear for all 18 and under racers who are racing in road races. That ratio is 7.93 meters (26’). That would be equivalent to a 52x14. 52x14 is only an example, the distance at roll out is what's important. There are no gear restrictions for cyclo-cross racing though.

If you are racing track your gear restriction is as follows (this table is taken from USA Cycling ):

17-18: Unrestricted

15-16: 6.78 meters (22'3") (48x15)

13-14: 6.36 meters (20'10.5") (48x16)

10-12: 6.00 meters (19’8”) (48x17)

Why Are There Gear Restrictions?

There are several reasons for gear restrictions for junior racers. The most important may be to avoid injury. Pulled muscles or ligament can be caused when a young person works too hard too fast. Their muscles are not yet fully developed and a pulled muscle can take him or her out of racing for weeks, or more.

Learning to race with good cadence will teach the junior racer and his or her muscles to race better. A higher cadence makes it easier to accelerate. Junior racers need to become comfortable with racing at a higher cadence before they move on to other gear ratios. It is better for their muscle development and will make competition easier later.

Sillyoldtwit

Wow, thanks for that comprehensive reply Eden. That makes it a lot easier for me to guide her - assuming she wants to be guided of course. She's a lot like me - stubborn and strong willed as hell. I shall file your post away in my cycling folder for reference purposes. Thanks again. I enjoyed my stay here but it's back to the "Killing me" thread and self inflicted torture on the CompuTrainer. Tyson

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