The 15 mm spanner has been ready for years: There is hardly a moment that fathers wait for more eagerly than the moment when the training wheels fly into the junk box. Finally, the offspring can go on tour. Think again! It usually takes years after the training wheel amputation before the rides are even remotely touring-like. A child's organism is simply not made for continuous stress. What's more, the play instinct and hippiness are many times more pronounced than the desire for boring straight-ahead jogging. Which is not a bad thing. More and more bike parks are becoming family-friendly and expanding their range of trails for children. While the parents are massaging roots and jumps into their hands, the tots can romp around the BMX course or soft single trails. Parks now even offer special riding technique courses for children. A perfect holiday structure is usually included in these areas.
PARKS FOR KIDS
- MTB Zone Bischofsmais: children's school, BMX course;
www.bikepark.net
- Bikepark Winterberg: practice course;
www.bikepark-winterberg.de
- Dortmund EDG Arena: Single trail with little gradient, biker cross;
www.edg-mountainbike-arena.de
- Bikewelt Willingen: Tour network (family tours), freeride, swimming pool;
www.bike-willingen
- Bikepark Hindelang: Kids course, tours;
www.bikepark-hindelang.de
- Bike Circus Saalbach-Hinterglemm: indoor hall, practice area, tours (including very easy ones);
www.bike-circus.at
"NEVER IN THE RED ZONE"
Internist Dr Karlheinz Zeilberger works as a sports physician in Munich and looked after the 2006 Olympic speed skating team. He warns that children are not suitable for long-term exercise.
When can a child join the tour?
This cannot be said across the board. The decisive factor is not the calendar age, but the biological age. How physically developed is the child? And, of course, how active is the child in general? Parents should assess these two factors carefully. Basically, however, it can be said that children under the age of twelve are not designed for continuous exercise, but rather for intermittent exercise.
How can the biological age be estimated?
The best way to do this is to compare your child with their peers. You can quickly see whether your child is more developed or perhaps still a little behind.
What are the dangers if a child does overdo it?
This has an immediate effect on motivation. If a child becomes over-acidic, it loses its appetite. The physical consequences are more drastic. As the regeneration time for children is longer, physical development can be impaired in extreme cases. If a child sits on a bike for a long time in a monotonous manner, this damages the spine - by far the most sensitive area of the growing organism.
So how should you proceed?
As soon as you want to do regular sport with a child, you should first have them thoroughly examined by a doctor. If everything is in order, you can start with short, easy rides, with the child setting the distance and pace. To recognise whether a child is still riding in the green zone, a glance at the heart rate is of little use. This is always higher at a young age than in adults. I've had children on the treadmill who had a heart rate of 230. The reddening of the face and the external impression says a lot more. Too red is too much. Thermoregulation also doesn't work so well in children. So don't dress too warmly. During growth spurts, you should also refrain from exercising, as children need every bit of energy and every hour of sleep.
So no sport in the normal sense with children?
Everything must remain playful, without pressure. The endurance aspect should only take up a third, the riding technique exercises a third and general exercise a third.
TIPS FOR FIRST TOURS
There is no guide for children's cycling. But there are a few rough rules of thumb.
