Took My Grand Daughter For Her 1st Ride

[Spooky#1]

My 7 year old grand kid went for her first ride last Tuesday. I bought her a good quality, full coverage helmet and a harness to bind us together and then went. I still feel some trepidation about taking her at all but feel that as long as I carefully select the times and places to ride the risk can be reduced significantly. I also altered the riding technique to further reduce the risk but as we all know, riding on two wheels is dangerous. At 63 and having about 50 years of experience I have learned quite a lot about paved surfaces and reading other driver's intentions but am still somewhat nervous. Animal encounters are the one thing that is the least predictable so when she is with me I keep the speed under 40 and stay off busy roads. I can't plan for meteor strikes or the errant aircraft having to land on the road we are on and hopefully some deer doesn't leap out of the woods to broadside us but just about everything else has been considered.
As far as cycling goes I plan to update the registration on my Honda CB350F so that we can ride a smaller, less intimidating bike. Before we took off last Tuesday she had second thoughts so I told her to ride around the block with me and if she still didn't want to go we wouldn't. By the time we pulled out of the drive and went about 100 feet to the four way stop she was giving a thumbs up with a big grin. I had her strapped to my front side and it wasn't long before she discovered the horn button, high-beam switch and throttle that she would try to goose at every opportunity. For her, riding on a big bike like the CBX was like riding a horse and the engine sound was a little scary so the much smaller little "Four" will help.
18 months ago the mother and step father got involved with an illegal drug and decided that their children are no longer to be #1 on the priority list. I now have autonomy to rear this one the way I see fit and have been introducing her to a broad range of activities from snake hunting to target shooting and now motorcycling.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

You are a good man for taking on the responsibility of raising your grandchild.
Get someone to take a photo next time you are out on the bike.

[Spooky#1]

Thank you, I was stunned and scared to death when I discovered I was about to become a parent again and when I was told she was headed for foster care that was all I needed to hear. I live alone and retired 11 years ago so my life was pretty well etched in stone. Leave it to a shattered little girl to yank me back to reality. I thought about getting a video of us driving off but it was just the two of us and I didn't want to mess with a tripod. By the time we were headed back home she was fearless and wanting to go faster so I pointed to the speed control sign and then my speedo. I have been pushing the buddy harness we use to anyone that will listen, when I heard that young kids can sometimes fall asleep and roll off the bike I was horrified because it isn't something that most people would consider.
Thanks for responding!

[daves79x]

All I can say is God bless you!

Dave

[Jeff Bennetts]

It looks like you have a full dance card for awhile, good luck and God bless.

[Mouse]

Good on you Spooky. My 15 yr old nephew wants a ride on mine and I'm nervous about doing it as its been 20+ years since the last time I doubled up.
Nice to hear your looking after your grand daughter.

[Spooky#1]

Thank you all!

[Spooky#1]

For anyone that is interested, this is the harness we use. It's a little uncomfortable but safety trumps comfort and the kid can be placed either in front or behind. They are sold on eBay and Amazon as well as the Sears website:

Katahdin Gear Kg Kid Karrier