Ever feel bad?

[nephron]

....for what you construe you have just done to your child?

I've got a 9 y/o boy that's as sweet and solid a human being you can be...just doesn't like the danger thing, and would rather ride his KLX110 on the street while making his social rounds in the neighborhood.

But I've got this 4 y/o daughter that is a total freakin' firecracker. To say she likes to scare herself is an understatement.

Proceeding with caution one day (several months ago), I took the kdx50's throttle position down as far as possible and mounted her up on it in thick, tall grass. I'm standing there in cowboy boots, she pins the throttle and bolts away. :ohmy:

I took off after her with all I had, but 'spun out'. Suddenly, I'm laying on my stomach, watching her blast across the damn road heading toward a two-level wooden fence (the kind with 3 or 4 inch thick horizontal wooden posts running through the the vertical ones) at 20 or so mph. :whoa:

Time stands still. You see yourself putting flowers on a grave. You see yourself being admonished and chastized by all who know you. You see yourself in prison. You see your child dying.

...ever had that feeling?

I couldn't talk about it for weeks. I had nightsweats. I didn't dare tell my own parents, who routinely attempted to physically harm or kill me on a daily basis when I was that age. ;)

Ever been scared like that? And on top of it, realize that it was your own dumb ass that caused the problem?

Thankfully, and consistent with her constitution, she slammed through the fence, breaking through the bottom post, and despite being fencelined by the upper post causing her to do a few reverse 360's in mid air, she (through the crying) asked to be put back on the bike for another go.... :whoa:

Ever had that feeling? I'm still not over it. And frankly, she hasn't remounted the thing because of it.

 

[kmccune]

Well, just wait untill YOU say she can DATE!!!!!! :bang: :bang: :bang:
I'll take broken bones any day.

PS Yup I can feel for ya, but its life they manage to live it With or Without us, so I choose with!

 

[rickyd]

Although im not a parent, I watched my friends son (who i go riding with all the time) go for a nice flip right in front of me.. When i got to him he was crying, saying his Dad was going to kill him fro breaking another bone.. he had broke his collarbone.. Was weird seeing him crash hard, you do feel helpless.. Was a weird feeling calling his parents telling them to meet us at the Hospital, for the second time.. He had broke his other collarbone about a year earlier, that time i barely saw him crash.. A year before that, i get a call from his Mom, "Doug is being taken out on a chopper to Childrens Hospital, i felt helpless.. Either way, I hope you and your Daughter pull through, that is great to hear you were there with your kids, having fun times :cool: :ride:

 

[just_a_rider]

I questioned myself when I got my son a CRF70 and all the gear. He started off just ridding it around the yard doing some cornering as I told him it was the first thing he should learn. He got that down and after a couple of weeks wen't by he surprised me one day. My driveway is sloped on both sides and I guess he seen me jump it so the next thing I know I see him steaming twords it and he cleared the driveway and landed on the other side, a darn good jump. He kept it up and I seen he was getting sloppy and told him that he was tired and that he should rest. The next time I liked to passed out, he hit it and his left hand slipped of the bars and when he landed it wasn't a good sight for a dad that loves his son, It was a ragdoll crash. Afterwards all he could say was why did it do that as he got up and he was alright, What a relief. It took some hard thinking before I let him jump again but I did and he has had some pretty twisted crashes but he wants more, whats a dad to do?

 

[Papakeith]

I've had that feeling.

I took my Brother's son riding. I had one of those Manco Thunderbirds for him to try out. You know the kind. No suspension, questionable brakes at best.

He loved it :)

He was doing real well on it too. Then he started trying a larger downhill. The bike stalled on the way down. Well, he wanted to try the hill again and he certainly wasn't going to let that bike stall a second time.

He got himself set for the downhill again and pinned it. Down he came at break-neck speed.

still pinned

He then bounced/jumped over a smallish burm at the bottom of the hill. I thought for sure he was done for. He actually got a couple of inches off the ground. Not a problem for Justin.

still pinned

He blasted across my field of vision.

still pinned

He rode straight towards a 15 ft mound of dirt with a 3 ft tall ramp built on one side.

He hit the ramp pinned

Justin flew on that Manco Thunderbird. Flew about 5 ft in the air and covered at least 10 ft before he "landed".

The first bounce seperated most of Justin from the thunderbird. Only his arms were still attached. The second bounce Joined them again. The third saw the handle bars swap from lock to lock. Finally he was flung to the ground hard, the bike skidding to a stop.

He lay there motionless as I ran over to him. As thoughts of, "I just killed my brother's son" ran through my head I approached his still form.

Just as I got there he sat up and took in the moment, then got up and said,

"WHOOOPIEEEE!!!! That's the biggest jump I ever did!!!!!

He was fine. But for that brief instant I thought I had surely killed him or at the very least maimed him.

Yeah I know that feeling.

 

[Chili]

Welcome to my world :bang:

 

[ecy063]

Try it yourself

After my sons' first big crash (broken knee) I bought my own bike and decided that if he is going to continue racing I was going to go right out there with him. He was very upset when I first told him my plan. So far it has been great fun for the both of us. I have had to work very hard to get in better shape and Ray has followed suite. I can see why people get addicted to motocross, there is no sport more exciting. I can't say if it is right or wrong but now I feel I am sharing the risk with him and have shed some of the feelings of guilt about letting him risk so much. Also I feel there is much to learn about the sport that you just can't learn on the sidelines.

 

[Patman]

Welcome to my world :bang:

:nod: :nod:

 

[snb73]

I feel your pain, my son has had four black eyes caused by me. The broken collar bone and nose were his doing. My son is 15 now. When he was 8 and I was teaching him, I set up parameters for him to follow. Hopefully an open feild is available.

If she is more adventurous and a free sprit, she might need safe guarding from herself. Just for the time being. You can cut a length of the appropriate diameter pvc pipe to stick in the carburater. Sliding the throttle cable through the pvc, then attaching the cable to the slide. The lenth of the pvc will limit the amount the slide will open. As skill, control, and decision making increase you can shorten the pipe and open the slide more.

If you're handy with electronics, you can make a wireless remote kill switch. This one is easier, you can also get a length of rope and make a pull kill switch, like on atv's. Attaching the cut off switch to the back of the bike. She will learn getting too far away will kill the bike.

We as parents have to remember that when we were children, our curriosity and desire to explore were stronger than our common sense. Now as adults we see our parents were right. Proof every time I call my dad and tell him what his grandson has done. He laughs and says, " payback is a bitch". LOL

You can remind her how much hitting the fence hurt and she should avoid doing that in the future.

You sound like a conserned parent who loves your children and care for their well being. You gave her an opportunity to explore and experience in a controled environment, under your supervision. Accidents happen, that's why they're not called on purposes. I'm gald she is ok. I guarantee she will be back on the bike again. Don't suggest it, let her come to you.

Good luck from a fellow humbled parent, Steve.

 

[gwcrim]

My soon to be 4 yr old son scared the bejeezuz out of me yesterday. He's just now getting interested in riding. We have a throw away 50 with training wheels and he's learning that fast is fun. But he has to learn that stopping is part of the game.

He's one full throttle kid. Everyone tells me I've got my hands full.

Fortunately, he lifted in time. This time..........

 

[nephron]

PK, you just described it, man. You're standing there with your thumb up your ass while time stops and you're watching a child's impending doom.

Crim--it's amazing how kids that age don't know ANYTHING about the brake?????WTF! All those rides on the tank watching me activate the brake and clutch and NOTHING!!! ...balls out, full bore throttle, baby! No stoppin, no nuttin' :whoa:

 

[XRpredator]

Had the same thoughts go through my head one time or another. The one that sticks out was when we were just getting my boy used to riding a two-wheeled, gas powered machine. A buddy had an old Honda Mini-trail he was letting us borrow. The boy managed pretty well on it. Then my wife tried it out . . .

Somehow, the throttle stuck, and instead of applying a brake, she tries to put her feet down. Then she just gets a target fixation on the Tahoe, and heads straight for it. Luckily, she was only going about 1.5 mph.

I think she'll stick to 4 wheels.

 

[gwcrim]

Sometimes I ride the little guy on the KX85 and let him control the throttle. It scares the crap outta me. He twists it open and starts to laugh and laugh....

At 3, who wouldn't? It's like controlling a rocket ship.

Next spring, he gets some serious riding attention. E-room visits are not a good thing.

 

[bsmith]

I've been there to. Oldest daughters 1st time riding. I explain everything as best I can. Tell her if she gets scared let off the throttle and use the brake. Just don't panic.
Well she starts out by opening the gas wide open, almost instant wheelie with instant panic, she screams, lets off the gas and pulls the front brake all the way in, by the time the front tire came down it was locked, when it touched down she did a instant and complete endo, and some how landed on the rear tire that was still spinning!
It was like watching it in slow motion frame by frame. After that my youngest didn't want to try :(

 

[FruDaddy]

I can feel your pain, that's why I tend to leave my wife at the truck when the boy rides. As a parent, I understand and accept the risks involved, teach the boy to push himself but not ride over his head, make sure the bike is safe to ride, and make sure he is wearing the best protection I can provide.

 

[nephron]

hahahaha! So I'm not the only one. What happened to Quintin (my 9 y/o boy) is that he was on the tank of the 500. There was a sand mound double down by the river (all sand down there), and we hit that thing at about 10 or 15 mph to do a soft double. It was about 6 or so feet tall. I'd done it many times before. Some asswipe had come through there with a blade and taken the landing part of the double out with a blade and dug a deep trench in its place so the 4 wheel junkers could jump in and out of the trench. Needless to say, I had nothing to land on, except an upcoming, upsloped face of a trench. I twisted the bike sideways the best I could and tried to nudge him off, but the bike still landed right on top of him. Knocked the wind out of him. He was probably 4. Then I tried, like a dumbass, to start him out on an LEM R2. This is not a beginner bike. Subsequently, he pinned the throttle on a flat section of ground and hit the side of my pickup at about 20. :ohmy: Just as follows---

Then she just gets a target fixation on the Tahoe,

He was luckily close enough to the tail end of the pickup that rather than coming to a dead stop, he ricochete'd off the bumper and flew out into the dirt.

Since then, like I said, he's been afraid of 2 strokes, afraid of anything loud, and especially afraid of riding sand/dirt.

 

[FruDaddy]

Sounds like a PW80 or TTR90 might be in order (if he wants to ride), but there is a good chance that he's not going to have any interest (at least for now). Unfortunately, trauma often sticks with a kid. There's no way to know how long it will last. Look at how many kids fear/avoid things because of bad experiences that they have had as kids.

 

[nephron]

FruDaddy, he loves the KLX110, but still doesn't like the sand/dirt or jumping. Just a streetbike to him--which is alright with me. I don't care.

 

[headshot347]

QUOTE There was a sand mound double down by the river (all sand down there), and we hit that thing at about 10 or 15 mph to do a soft double. It was about 6 or so feet tall. I'd done it many times before. Some asswipe had come through there with a blade and taken the landing part of the double out with a blade and dug a deep trench in its place so the 4 wheel junkers could jump in and out of the trench. Needless to say, I had nothing to land on, except an upcoming, upsloped face of a trench. I twisted the bike sideways the best I could and tried to nudge him off, but the bike still landed right on top of him. Knocked the wind out of him. He was probably 4. QUOTE

i'm not saying its completly your fualt but i've learned the hard way that u should always check enviroment b4 u ride!!


went riding through the woods one time on a short 1/2 mile trail loop that i do just about every day. well i turns out that some frickin guy on an ATV decided to burnout and dug a 2-3 ft hole right in the middle of it well not used to that front tire hit it i fliped over the front and bike flips and back hits a tree. now i have to push my bike back bcus my chain somehow??? snapped


other time just got my bike fixed from that previous incedent well i decide to stay off the trails for a while well without checking the area go flying full speed and hit a jump i've done 1000's of time well i guess some people decided to get drunk and have a party. they cut down a tree and used some trucks or ATVs to drag it out right about where i should land!!! as soon as i land i tried to pop a wheelie over but it was to big and i was goin to fast. bike broken and so is my leg. :bang: :| :yell:


so yeah check where u ride b4 u ride and mabey u won't end up like me

 

[trial_07]

Since my parents seperated when my youngest brother was 5 or so, I taught him how to ride bicycles and motorcycles. At the age of three, it took him one afternoon with me to learn on a bicycle without the two small wheels. At the age of 5, I decided it was time for him to try that pw50. Unfortunately I had lost the screw that locks the throttle so I taught him to release the throttle and apply the brakes. I started running in back of him to hold him, he eventually caught his balance. During 5 minutes or so he would cruise around in the field and had no trouble at all. Then he comes towards me and the garage and pins the thing :whoa: So I shout ''brake! brake! BRAKE! BRAAAAKE!!!!!'' but he sorts of panic because that bike goes fast for a 5 year old and here he comes stiff as a bar holding on to the throttle and the bars. I try to catch him and the bike but in vain, he crashes in the four wheeler in the back of the garage! Ouch! Any my thumb was pretty big also.

Now he is 10 years old and rides my old xr 80 really well. He is really motivated to have a motocross, but my father won't let me sell the pw50 and the xr80 to buy one for him. :yell:

 

[vintxrgr]

since im farly new to rideing you might enjoy my story, when i was 4 all of my friends had bikes and of course it was summer and i wanted one so my loveing parrents take me down to toys R us and we started looking around. well since my parrents are farly old and some what "penny pintchers" they figured out the the bikes that had training wheels were not only more expenceive but would not last me as long so i get the "bacj in my day we did not even have training wheels and look how we turned out speach" and we walked out with a bike i could barly toutch the ground and no training wheels but it was a bargan. after about 2 days i was rideing great popin wheelies ect. so once again when im 13 i find 4 or 5 bikes mostly yzs and kx 125s for around 3000 bucks BUT i found ONE 250 for 2000 with tech 8s donnie elmer supension ect. so of course i end up with the 250. got it home and rode it around the block a few time with my dad following me the 1st couple times so a few hrs later he says i can go by my self as long as i go slow. so after i got around where he could not see me of course i pinned it in 4th, my body went stiff with fear and amazement as the would around me was a blurr, after regained my self partialy still pinned i noteiced that i was comeing to the sharp turn leading around to my house as i start to finnaly let off the gas my 1st instenct beleive it or not was to hit the brake well thats where i did not learn that hitting the front brake is NOT the best thing to do when going in to a sharp turn.i flew off over my handlebars in to my nabors "stunning" as he called it rock garden. after about a week i took it out to cross creek where i exacuted a turn and brake down the back side of a table top. this time i actualy learned something and since then iv been rideing pritty easy :)