Parents not letting me cycle

[brumby33]

No go... They're saying that riding a drop bar road bike is more dangerous than riding a flat bar commuter, somehow. Even though my school is on North Rocks Rd (Carlingford High School) and I cycle there & back daily with moderate traffic and narrow lanes on my old commuter/low quality mtb and yet, they don't seemed to be bothered at all. LOGIC

Hang -on pysun, you stated that you ride to and from High School and with moderate traffic on a low quality MTB, yet they won't allow you to ride elsewhere, but you are allowed to comute everyday to school? how many kms commute...and they allow you to do this...so it seems that they are setting some boundaries but allowing you to ride to school....so what is this other bike they lock up? Is that a racer with drop bar? maybe you can get it converted to a flat bar and use that to and from school?
If you're allowed to ride to school, maybe you'll have to persevere with that for a while...at least you 're getting some riding in.

cheers

brumby33

[pysun]

how many kms commute

The commute's only about 2.5km each way: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/-33.767 ... 764472!3e1(not my exact address in the link, of course)

so what is this other bike they lock up? Is that a racer with drop bar? maybe you can get it converted to a flat bar and use that to and from school?

That wouldn't benefit me, it's only 2.5km. Also, that also costs quite a bit of money (new bar, shifters, brake levers)

If you're allowed to ride to school, maybe you'll have to persevere with that for a while...at least you 're getting some riding in.

Probably.

[pysun]

UPDATE:
Despite negotiation with my parents, the situation hasn't improved so it will probably take longer.

[CKinnard]

UPDATE:
Despite negotiation with my parents, the situation hasn't improved so it will probably take longer.

In the meantime, do something more productiive that blows your parents away
- start an edibles vege patch
- learn how to cook a few good recipes that your parents will love
- learn how to service a bicycle and troubleshoot issues.
- do a carpentry or metal work course and build something. Most young gens these days don't get skilled up manually.
- do an external course on how government, the finance industry, credit, work. Most people of all ages don't know how credit is created and what checks there are to prevent excessive amounts inflating asset prices. This stuff is generally not taught well or at all in schools.
- learn where govt gets money from and what it spends more of it on.
- learn bookkeeping skills and how to do a tax return.
- learn about public companies and how to value them...learn abotu the share market.
- if you were my kid I'd want you to start a business before leaving school, and have a $20,000 of savings by end of Year 12. Could be local neighborhood lawn mowing and gardening, washing cars. It's what I did at your age. My parents wouldn't let me ride either.

All this stuff is more critical to your future than education's focus on climate change and diversity
or on how well you understand smart phones and computers.

[uart]

Hi pysun. It's curious that you're allowed to ride your flat bar commuter to school, but not allowed to ride your racing bike.

It could be a number of factors, including just expedience, but I also wonder if deep down your parents are concerned about the animosity that a lot of drivers have towards road cyclists on racing bikes.

This topic often causes arguments here, because the "roadies" get the feeling that everyone is blaming them for the hatred towards cyclists. I don't think that is the least bit fair, but read the comments section of just about any cyclist hater media story and you know that it is true.

So long as you are just a school kid riding an old MTB to school you will not generally get any motorist anger, but put on some lycra and ride a racing bike and sadly it's a whole new ball game of hatred from motorists. Not all of them of course, but enough to make things sometimes nasty.

PS. To the predictable number of people here that don't like this message - don't shoot the messenger.

[g-boaf]

So long as you are just a school kid riding an old MTB to school you will not generally get any motorist anger, but put on some lycra and ride a racing bike and sadly it's a whole new ball game of hatred from motorists. Not all of them of course, but enough to make things sometimes nasty.

PS. To the predictable number of people here that don't like this message - don't shoot the messenger.

What sorts that out is more people riding bikes. Surprisingly, given I'm not living in one of those trendy inner-city areas, there are actually a lot of people riding, of all types. Even kids on road-bikes out on training rides.

I commute every day on the bike and don't get many troubles. About half of my ride is on the road.

[brumby33]

pysun,

I kind of wonder why they gave you or allowed you to have that type of bike in the first place, sounds odd to me.

If you can't ride it, theres no point having it....may as well sell it because by the time you are old enough to ride it, it might be too small for you by then, most kids your age have growth spurts around 13-15 so your bike will have another fit.

So what i'm about to suggest, maybe sell the road bike and get yourself a decent MTB, to replace the one you're riding now...would they perhaps allow you to join a MTB club?
If this is no good...then i'm fresh out of suggestions and you might just have to forget about it...seems pointless having a roadbike locked up that you're not allowed to ride...seems like some kind of punishment....like having a carrot that you can only nibble at sometimes, then it's taken away out out of reach.....that is cruel

[pysun]

I commute every day on the bike and don't get many troubles. About half of my ride is on the road.

Yeah, my parents are sort of obsessed about "bicycle infrastructure" and, my local council is planning to paint on-road cycle lanes on the local streets around my house, I guess that will ease their nerves a bit (though the City of Parramatta Bike Plan is said to be completed before 2038, I don't think "before 2038" will be very soon).

[g-boaf]

I commute every day on the bike and don't get many troubles. About half of my ride is on the road.

Yeah, my parents are sort of obsessed about "bicycle infrastructure" and, my local council is planning to paint on-road cycle lanes on the local streets around my house, I guess that will ease their nerves a bit (though the City of Parramatta Bike Plan is said to be completed before 2038, I don't think "before 2038" will be very soon).

I'm wary of those painted bicycle lanes - all too often cars park in them and you just have to take the car lane anyway. Not like I'm holding up the cars much anyway at those points.

[pysun]

So long as you are just a school kid riding an old MTB to school you will not generally get any motorist anger, but put on some lycra and ride a racing bike and sadly it's a whole new ball game of hatred from motorists. Not all of them of course, but enough to make things sometimes nasty.

PS. To the predictable number of people here that don't like this message - don't shoot the messenger.

This message isn't intended to offend any type of road users.

You don't even need to wear lycra at all to cause motorists anger. In my experience, they attack and hate on cyclists when the cyclist(s) look "professional" (I encounter close passes tailgating drivers daily on my way to school riding my rusty bigW bike just because I wear bright yellow reflective helmet and gloves). I guess riding is more about how you behave towards motorists rather than what your gear is.

*JUST MY PERSONAL COURTESY TOWARDS DRIVERS*: When drivers are hesitant about passing you even though the road ahead is CLEAR and it is COMPLETELY SAFE to overtake, I usually wave my arm towards the middle of the road (swing right arm diagonally and wave hand in the direction of travel) as a 'You can cross centre lanes and pass me (legal in NSW)' signal, they usually understand my intention and give me good clearance. I also use this gesture when I'm afraid of drivers passing too closely and it usually works.

[pysun]

I have just talked to my parents again. Apparantly they're still not assured after 6 months (since last August) and I might just as well wait for another couple of months and find something else intresting to do during this time.

Also, I have been trying to make new connections with people at school (I have just turned 13 last December and have just started year 7) but unfortunately, only 1 other person excluding me at my school rides a bike and although he does ride, his interest is BMX and we couldn't really be friends.

[trailgumby]

BMX is a great way to develop bike handling skills. Just sayin'

Do you think they'd allow you to be adopted out? My youngest is getting married in May and we may have a vacancy

[pysun]

It isn't going well. My dad is thinking of signing me up for the Australian Maths Competition. I don't even enjoy these activities (not that hate learning about maths in my spare time but, I just don't like attending these activities).

Also, it's sort of ironic how they'd think it's fine for me to ride on multi-lane roads with moderate traffic on an old bike bigW bike with a worn chain and rusted cogs and tyre treads that are completely worn out (my route to the local library from school) and yet, they think it's not ok for me to ride a relaxed road bike in good working condition (much better braking performance and cornering abilities relative to the bigW bike) on quiet local roads at 6am.

[borat]

it just hit me. are you Asian by any chance?

if so, you'll never be doing what you really want in life anyway lol

[NASHIE]

It isn't going well. My dad is thinking of signing me up for the Australian Maths Competition. I don't even enjoy these activities (not that hate learning about maths in my spare time but, I just don't like attending these activities).

All my kids have done it. Just runs through school, wouldn't get to worried about it.

[pysun]

it just hit me. are you Asian by any chance?

if so, you'll never be doing what you really want in life anyway lol

Haha, I have mentioned that earlier already and unfortunately, yes.

But then I guess the only way is to persist and just deny things that you don't like (Basically the only way to beat Asian parents is time and persistence). I have already refused to attend basketball lessons and the maths competition.

[g-boaf]

It isn't going well. My dad is thinking of signing me up for the Australian Maths Competition. I don't even enjoy these activities (not that hate learning about maths in my spare time but, I just don't like attending these activities).

Also, it's sort of ironic how they'd think it's fine for me to ride on multi-lane roads with moderate traffic on an old bike bigW bike with a worn chain and rusted cogs and tyre treads that are completely worn out (my route to the local library from school) and yet, they think it's not ok for me to ride a relaxed road bike in good working condition (much better braking performance and cornering abilities relative to the bigW bike) on quiet local roads at 6am.

I guess the bike situation might be to deter you from riding completely. Maybe they think you’ll hate it enough to give it away.

And anyway, basketball is full of excellent role models like Dennis Rodman (a friend of the North Korean dictator).

I don’t have anything else to suggest.

[pysun]

I guess the bike situation might be to deter you from riding completely. Maybe they think you’ll hate it enough to give it away.

That's probably how they think. I'll just persist until they give up on preventing me from riding.

Meanwhile tho, I should find other interesting things to do.

[NASHIE]

As a 13yr old you have good parents letting you stay up posting on forums at 11:30pm ?

[mikesbytes]

As a 13yr old you have good parents letting you stay up posting on forums at 11:30pm ?

They probably don't know how to disconnect the internet, they think he is studying

In Asian culture education is really important as there is a huge difference in life between being an educated adult and a less educated adult.

pysun, do you suspect that your parents don't want you to cycle as it would take time away from studying?

[brumby33]

Hehehe one thing for sure, Pysun has certainly got good value out of this thread....5 pages ain't too shabby

[Bunged Knee]

pysun, do you suspect that your parents don't want you to cycle as it would take time away from studying?

If it is so, then tell them that you will be studying to become a bike doctor to pursue your cycling passions.

So you can ride long distances to find out what medical ,err, mechanical problems to fix/repair bikes.

[g-boaf]

Hehehe one thing for sure, Pysun has certainly got good value out of this thread....5 pages ain't too shabby

Are we saying pysun is another forum member posting under a different account?

[brumby33]

Hehehe one thing for sure, Pysun has certainly got good value out of this thread....5 pages ain't too shabby

Are we saying pysun is another forum member posting under a different account?

no...you're saying that

[pysun]

Hehehe one thing for sure, Pysun has certainly got good value out of this thread....5 pages ain't too shabby

Are we saying pysun is another forum member posting under a different account?

No