The Stoking the Fire Thread

In a not so bizarre twist on “The Fire Thread”. This thread is about what we are doing/have done to “stoke the fire” for ourselves and or other riders. In my case stoking the fire is aimed at my two boys tiny itty bitty fire they have for riding bikes. Riding bikes their bikes had become non existent since we moved to NV. Too hot Dad was the constant reply. Soo, I bought some cheapie amazon lights for the whole family. Everyone was reluctant at first and then it changed. We went to a nearby park that had a bike path cut through it. My little one felt the warmth from my stoking the fire first. He realized how much different everything is at night. So much more adventurous different at night, Dad! So now I’ve stoked the fire & it’s starting to spread. He wants to pedal again tonight.

So my question to you all... How do you stoke the fire?

 

Usually with G Pen.

 

Great post. My son, who is is my favorite mountain bike partner, didn’t really like riding bikes until we got him a fixie last year to ride to school. That kind of unlocked his excitement and he got a BMX.

It kind of just happened that he got interested in riding on the mountain. He was looking for cheap bikes and we found him one, and now he’s buying his own Kona with money he earned. Maybe I had nothing to do with it. But maybe the fixie was the gateway.

 

You offer that to your kids to get them to ride???????

 

This is an area where I have failed miserably. We started riding at least once a week after Covid started, but bike paths began reopening. Tried changing it up by driving to new spots. One day she said she really didn't want to go, and it's been like pulling teeth ever since. She actually hasn't ridden her bike in almost 3 months, and has no desire. I guilt tripped her the other day just telling her I really like the binding time with her, and she said she'd go, but it has also been too hot out this way. Hopefully it's just inertia, and once she gets back on the bike it will reignite the fire, but at the moment the fire is covered by a wet blanket.

 

@buggravy that's where I've been a couple of times. First with my now 13 yr old and recently my 8 yr old. The oldest has the natural talent/ability but lacks the desire to put in the efforts(climbing). My youngest is the opposite, he'll work for things. But, he gets spooked easily and doesn't have good confidence. The oldest has ridden trails with me half a dozen times. The last time was 2+ yrs ago. The youngest hasn't been on any "legit" trails, only paths. I told him last night it's even more adventurous and interesting once you get out on the trails. His reply word for word.... "Dad, I've seen videos of you riding. I'm not ready for that, I'll die".

 

ROAD TRIP. As much as I talk smack about the "sameness" of Bend trails, they do have a lot to offer and there's something for everybody....and lots to do OFF the bike. You're riding in the trees, in a totally different environment with no big city lights and if you get lucky and catch a rainstorm like they just had, she'll experience magic PNW dirt. If that occurs and she still isn't excited to ride, it's time to cash out while re-sale prices are high. Good luck.

 

Awesome thread @Redman .
I've nothing to offer here other than Kudos to all of you getting the kids out for some fun!!

 

Night riding is definitely a blast @Redman
In my case it’s the only option during the week and sometimes it’s hard to convince yourself to do that long solo ride. The upside is that as I’m heading up the trail, the hikers and bikers are usually headed back to the cars. Leaving the whole trail to myself as I bomb back to my car
Congrats on changing the perspective and getting the crew excited

 

Ohhhhh, that fire... my mistake...

 

Back when I started mountain biking some 10-15 years ago my kids were excited about it too and would sometimes join me. That didn’t last very long though, for the most part none of them were willing to put in the work of climbing to enjoy a fun downhill. Now they’re all pretty much grown and only my middle child (daughter) is back in the game, although she wants “pretty scenery and easy climbs” in other words, let’s shuttle on a really cool trail. But said “child” will surf for hours on end 2-3 days a week .. it’s just her jam and the work isn’t work for her, it’s all fun.
Your kiddos will find their jam, hopefully it will be biking in some form so you can ride as a fam, but IMO as long as they find a jam of some kind ...it’s all good!
@Redman great thread amigo!

 

That's pretty much my son from the very beginning but he was always game for a road trip. He was also fit and still is and while he's not the type to go the ebike route, his preferred version of mountain biking is lifts or shuttles for copious gnarly DH, hopefully with big jumps, drops, etc...

I know I'm generalizing but as things get more automated in every spectrum of life, we adapt to things getting easier. Whether it's technology like the internet allowing kids to never have to do any "work" to research and write a paper for school or self powered lawn mowers, vacuums or whatever, people are always looking for an easier route. It's human nature. People can make all the excuses they want about ebikes, for the most part they are riding them instead of a regular bike because it's LESS WORK. Actual mountain biking involves work and effort on the climbs and it undoubtedly steers people away from the sport.

Back to the ROAD TRIP though, nothing gets me more excited than an impending trip coming up. I need to research the weather, get the 4-1-1 on trails I may not know about and set up shuttles if needed for a place like Moab. Of course, riding in a new area is the icing on the cake. The part that sucks is coming home and having to ride the same ol' same ol' trails again until the next trip.

 

@mountaingirl sara fully agree with the finding their jam part. I just pray it involves some form of physical activity. Outdoors preferred.

 

I felt a little fire this morning when I went to drop some lumber.

 

Oh totally..I should have mentioned that “jam” in my mind, means an outdoor athletic activity

 

@mountaingirl sara I think with us older folks it goes without saying it means outdoor activity. Our parents didn't let us have a much of a choice. "Go play on the freeway" was seriously one of my Dads responses if I complained about being bored. Kids these days have too many enticing "indoor" things that are easily obtainable with minimal physical effort,

 

We are already at post #16 and we haven't divided into completely polarized camps. What is wrong with you people? This is the internet, aren't we supposed to throw hate and shade at each other?

 

Up yours!!! My daughter used to ride with me but now she's too cool, and college, and etc. It's your fault!!!

 

Agreed, it’s a sad state IMO. Getting out into nature is one of our best teachers , it’s also an incredible form of therapy as most of you all know
I’m hoping this “new world” will toughen up our younger generations, and that they’ll see the urgent need to connect with nature and more importantly God, instead of instilling fear, isolation and stagnation.

 

Is that a euphemism for something ? .....

 

It's the media - or Trump or Q-anon - or ANTIFA or something... It's all a hoax. And a conspiracy. Throw your ballots in the trash. Fake news!

 

Let's hope. I've referenced the documentary, The Social Dilemma, a couple times recently. It's really quite eye opening. Among other things it tracked the correlation between behavioral changes in teenagers and adolescents and the rise of social media and devices. One of the notable behavioral changes is much less willingness or inclination to take risks. My daughter is only 10, so she hasn't had any real social media other than Tik Tok, which we also recently yanked, but she has had an iPad for a couple of years. She was very much the daredevil, even in comparison to other kids in her circle, up until a couple of years ago. There was no traumatic event, but she doesn't want to try anything even remotely dangerous now, and there has been a notable decline in her desire to get outside, despite us trying to ingrain that in her from the start.

 

And here I thought the internet and YouTube had the opposite effect - get the selfie hanging off the cliff, take the video of you jumping off a hotel balcony 80' into a swimming pool, ride your bike on a bridge railing 500' above the river, pet the friendly moose...

 

Yeah, perhaps that pendulum swings the other way after a certain age, particularly for dudes. One thing it mentioned was a decline in 16 year olds getting drivers licenses. Could you imagine not getting your license the exact day you turn 16? Effing kids these days.

 

But the Moose looked so cuddly!

 

My daughter never wants to ride, but when I say "we are going for a mt bike ride" she comes along. Once we are out there, she really enjoys it. But she is never one to say "let's go for a ride." Problem is she is at a stage where she needs the type of singletrack that is interesting with turns and dips and trees, but not very challenging. There are some trails in Whiting like that, and parts of Coyote Run in Aliso, but not much else around here. There's one little loop at Skypark that she enjoys. I am sure she would enjoy Going Green at Snow Summit.

My problem is that I don't drag her out enough.



Don't worry peeps, I have since removed the reflectors. The dork disc remains.

 

Night rides are great at stoking the fire. Something about making it different than during the day. Not to mention more tolerable from a temperature perspective.

good on you @Redman

 

Clever work Redman.

I think I just got lucky with Vince. Ever since he could pedal, he's been enthused. Of course new bike parts, bikes, gear and the goons we constantly rode with had something to do with it also I'm sure.

 

@Grego to some of us fathers with pre-teenagers, in our eyes you hit the freaking lottery! The fact that he's a fuking kick ass stylish rider is icing on the cake!