I bought a cr250 and an xr100. I have been wanting to get my wife and daughter (12 yrs old) into riding for a long time so I finally got myself and them a new bike. I opted for the CR250 and bought them an xr100 to learn on. The trails were closed for repairs, so I havn't had a chance to ride the CR yet, which is driving me crazy, I need to break it in. I did find a place to teach the girls since the xr is so quiet and we could get away with it not far from home.
So for the last few weeks I have been talking and talking about riding while I was bike shopping. I tried to get them familiar with different parts, functions and characteristics of bikes. Then on Saturday I finally brought the bikes home.
We found a place to ride the xr and I cranked it up and warmed it for them. Then I had my daughter sit with me and putted around a few minutes and had her watch my hands, feet, etc. Then it was her turn, I stood next to her as she pulled in the clutch and kicked it into first gear. (My heart was racing! I guess hers was too) She let the clutch nice and smooth, but with a little jerk at the end. But she didn't stall it! She cruised in first gear, then pulled in the clutch and stopped. We did this a few times with me walking next to her. Then she learned how to upshift. Now I'm running faster next to her. Within no time at all she was up in third (i'm sprinting at this point). Then off she goes all by herself. I was proud. She slowed down, stopped, put it back in first and then turned around and came back. We putted around for a few hours practicing clutch control, shifting and then breaking, stopping, and then back to first gear to start all over. At one point I had to make her slow down, she was getting into fifth gear already. She loved the speed ;) (I was glad) but I had to play the safety-first card. We did the same stuff on Sunday and she was much more comfortable on the bike and I made her learn to kickstart it by herself. She's a little clumsy with that, but manages to get it going. Her shifting improved overnight too. I couldn't believe she was riding! I had been waiting for this day a long time.
My wife also rode that day. She didn't really need much help after all the talking I have done lately. She jumped on and took off. She's pretty comfortable on it already. I need to hurry and get them to some rougher terrain and trails so they can see that theres alot more to it than riding down a smooth dirt road. They are looking forward to learning more and want to see some tracks and trails ASAP. My wife is already thinking about a bigger bike. The xr is a little small, but we needed something that my daughter would fit on and I didn't want to buy them each a bike right off the bat, just in case one of them didn't like it. I am quite impressed with them! They made me proud. The xr was perfect too. I cannot wait to get my new CR cranked up.
So for the last few weeks I have been talking and talking about riding while I was bike shopping. I tried to get them familiar with different parts, functions and characteristics of bikes. Then on Saturday I finally brought the bikes home.
We found a place to ride the xr and I cranked it up and warmed it for them. Then I had my daughter sit with me and putted around a few minutes and had her watch my hands, feet, etc. Then it was her turn, I stood next to her as she pulled in the clutch and kicked it into first gear. (My heart was racing! I guess hers was too) She let the clutch nice and smooth, but with a little jerk at the end. But she didn't stall it! She cruised in first gear, then pulled in the clutch and stopped. We did this a few times with me walking next to her. Then she learned how to upshift. Now I'm running faster next to her. Within no time at all she was up in third (i'm sprinting at this point). Then off she goes all by herself. I was proud. She slowed down, stopped, put it back in first and then turned around and came back. We putted around for a few hours practicing clutch control, shifting and then breaking, stopping, and then back to first gear to start all over. At one point I had to make her slow down, she was getting into fifth gear already. She loved the speed ;) (I was glad) but I had to play the safety-first card. We did the same stuff on Sunday and she was much more comfortable on the bike and I made her learn to kickstart it by herself. She's a little clumsy with that, but manages to get it going. Her shifting improved overnight too. I couldn't believe she was riding! I had been waiting for this day a long time.
My wife also rode that day. She didn't really need much help after all the talking I have done lately. She jumped on and took off. She's pretty comfortable on it already. I need to hurry and get them to some rougher terrain and trails so they can see that theres alot more to it than riding down a smooth dirt road. They are looking forward to learning more and want to see some tracks and trails ASAP. My wife is already thinking about a bigger bike. The xr is a little small, but we needed something that my daughter would fit on and I didn't want to buy them each a bike right off the bat, just in case one of them didn't like it. I am quite impressed with them! They made me proud. The xr was perfect too. I cannot wait to get my new CR cranked up.
