Dilema

[alleycat]

Ok Im not sure what to do here... Maybe some people will be able to make a wise decision....

So Saturday there is a big, no... HUGE annual motorcycle rally/ride. Thousands of bikes over a couple hundred miles. People drinking, riding motorcycles, being stupid, showing off, etc....

Well being the weather is going to be so nice, I decided to do it this year. The group I was planning to ride with has decided to strap one of their children to the back of their friend's bike. :eek Ok... Are you FUGGIN KIDDING ME?!?!! This girl is 6 I think. The father is taking his girlfriend on the back of his bike, and is putting his daughter on the back of my friend's bike. This is her first real ride on a motorcycle. They want to literally strap her on to my friend's back. I told them I totally dont agree with this. She is too young, and if anyone should be taking her, it should be the father. You should no way in hell put your daughter's life in someone elses hands like that. For this to be a first ride too, I think is absolutely foolish. This is a long ride, with salt and sand still on the roads. They are also taking some detours on some rural twisty roads. They say they are going to go slow. I dont think it matters how slow you are going in these circumstances. There are drunk bikers... tons of traffic, and people you cannot trust that much. Is this me overreacting or being too protective of someone elses kid?

 

[AUDRAA]

its not really your place its their child, even though you may not agree Im doubtful that you will be able to change their mind on the subject and all you are going to end up doing is causing hard feelings in the end

 

[TheOriginalJames]

I agree with you, 6 is way too young to be going on a long trip on the back of a bike.

 

[alleycat]

Im not asking them to not do it or not go. I just refuse to be a part of that group.

Father says...

I'll avoid sarcasm as a response. Having seen how people drive around our neighborhood though, I honestly have more faith in Matt keeping her safe on a bike than her walking the 5 blocks to school every morning... I've ridden with Matt for almost 400 miles now (since Saturday,) and I've got confidence in his ability to not run off or panic on a spot of sand... The drunk biker -- that's just as real a possibility playing in the yard, unfortunately... I do understand what you are saying, and, having wrecked seriously more than once, I'm a bit more apprehensive than I was years ago... But, I know it will all be great!

I just reminded him that our dear friend Matt just ran off the road Sunday while riding with us.

 

[Boomer]

I agree with you 100% Ali. *nodz*

 

[alleycat]

thanks boomie wombie

Why are people so hung up on theirselves they forget to be parents first?

I let a mutual ackquaintence read this post...

his comments... I deleted the name of said party.

[15:24] alicia: hey
[15:24] alicia: i gotta talk to you
[15:25] : waddup
[15:25] alicia: alex
[15:25] alicia: http://­www.off­t­opicz.co­m/14244-­dilema.h­tml
[15:25] alicia: read that
[15:27] : fair enough. he's a fucking idiot
[15:28] : putting his kid on the back of matt's vic right?
[15:28] alicia: yes
[15:28] : I wouldnt trust myself on the back of his bike, let alone my kid
[15:28] alicia: I wouldnt trust anyone with my kid on the back.
[15:29] : I take my kid out on the rocket, but thats short trips and I"M driving
[15:29] alicia: exactly. put jen on the back of matt and take your own fuckin kid
[15:29] alicia: matts been riding a year... thats it
[15:30] alicia: ur also not taking them on a booze cruise either
[15:30] alicia: and on the letter roads
[15:30] alicia: and stagecoach
[15:32] : alex is all about how other people perceive him. He thinks that its perceived that he's cool cause he's got his girl on the back. It makes matt look like the idiot with the kid back there
[15:32] alicia: exactly
[15:32] alicia: im sending him an email right now sayin this
[15:32] : I would NEVER take my kid out on the twisties

 

[Peter Parka]

People over there are allowed to ride motorcycles when pissed???:eek Thats fucked up! Over here you get done for being pissed if you're even on a push bike! Hope I'm not going to stir things up here with cultural misunderstandings as I did with the guns thread!

 

[Louis_Cypher]

It's VERY illegal to drink and ride in the U.S. they take your license, seize your bike and revoke your plates...

My daughter's also 7, not 6 ... she's got almost 500 miles under her belt, on the back of my TL1000s my old bike, an R1 and Matt's Victory. After our last crash (my fiancee and I,) I made an executive decision NOT to let my daughter on the back of a sportbike again ... for a couple of years.

So, the dilema: A 7 year old who has seat time and wants to go on a slow cruise, a cruiser with a back seat and a rider who's put 1k miles on in the past week alone -- who's also been riding for a number of years (endorsed for a year, I'll give that...). Breakfast and a meet-up, 2-3 other parents also planning on bringing their kids (some on their bikes, some on other people's bikes...) An 'alternate' route (i.e. we are not going on the official 'flood run' -- about 30 miles outside of it) and 3 miles of 'twisties' ...

Wouldn't it be just as foolish of me to ride with someone who buzzes another bike @ almost double the speed -- in the same lane, knowing that the passenger of the other bike has had her casts off for less than a month? How about riding with someone who thinks kicking at n00bs is funny? One n00b was pretty nervous about that and LUCKILY did NOT respond to his SRs ...


Oh, and the 'strap' it's an AMA approved BIKE BELT... She also forgot to mention I got my daughter her own bike (a 50cc pocket rocket) for Christmas when she was 5 ...

 

[TheOriginalJames]

Regardless of if you or who your daughter is riding with, you can't take into account everyone else who may or may not be drinking and attempting stupid shit. The whole thing sounds really iffy even if you play by the rules and are 125% safe with her.

 

[Louis_Cypher]

I agree, we can't take everything into account ... Not even when we tuck her in at night.

I also own 3 pitbulls and am normally hated for having those and my daughter also.

There are risks in life, we either accept them and live, or bury our children in a suffocating shell, until they overreact, until they act out and hurt themselves... I started riding when I was 5 ... On the back of my grandfather's bike. I could finally reach the ground and take it out myself when I was 8; got my first bike when I was 13 and have been riding ever since.

A lot of us tend to forget the REAL stupid things we did as children ... By the time I was 8, I had been in three accidents on 2 wheels. I was hit on my BMX crossing a street, ran into while in a parking lot (again, on my BMX) and was hit head on while riding in the parking lot of the apartments we lived in... I didn't even break a sweat, much less a bone. Risk is inherent in life, my daughter has asked that she go on this ride and has showed that she can ride 2-up without a problem.
We rocked Team I-94 almost every show last season, Lilly was there... I think a stunt m/c team is much more dangerous than a slow cruise on some side roads on a Saturday morning.

 

[NicAuf]

That guy is an idiot

 

[Louis_Cypher]

That guy is an idiot

Wow, I thought 'flaming others' was against the rules...

 

[TheOriginalJames]

I really don't know what to say man. I don't agree with it, but if you think you can give your daughter the safest trip you can, I say take the trip. I wish you the best of luck and I hope she has a great time.

I have ridden on motorcycles when I was that age, but it was always around the block or so down residential streets. Even though, things can happen.

But you already are aware of that.

 

[Butterfly]

As a parent, there is NO WAY in hell I'd let my kid onto a bike, let alone with someone other than myself or his father.

I hear what you are saying about being over protective, but it also doesn't mean we should put our kids out on the "front lines" LOOKING for trouble.

It is recommended that children remain in a carseat/ booster seat until they are 12 years old... for their safety should the vehicle be involved in an accident. What kind of protection does a kid on the back of a bike have from all the raving lunatics out on the road?

Really, I think if you insist on taking your child into this dangerous situation, you should at least take the responsibilty of he safety into your OWN hands, and not palm her off on someone else. Let your girlfriend... a grown woman who is capable of making an INFORMED decision about her own safety, ride with your buddy, and YOU look after your child.

 

[alleycat]

Thanks everyone for your support. I knew I wasnt going to change his mind but I sure as hell wasnt about to participate knowingly. I also think my friend is being used too. Like I said, if anyone should be responsible for their child, it should be the parent.
In America, you can drink and ride. You can have a BAC of .08. Louis should know that one all too well.
Oh and No... Flaming others is allowed here. You came here, you can leave too!

 

[White2000GT]

I would never put any of my childrens safety in someone else's hands in that way. Sure, even driving in a car with the kid in a car seat can be dangerous. But I'm inclined to think that strapping the child on for that long of a ride on a bike is entirely more dangerous. You should know how restless children get. And a restless child strapped to a rider's back is a major source of distraction to that rider. Very bad idea bro.

 

[hubersrj]

Hey Ali, don't forget that in a lot of states, you can get arrested for just being under the influence of alcohol, you don't have to at or above the legal limit...it's like that here in VA. I've seen guys get a DUI (driving under the influence) as opposed to DWI (driving while intoxicated). Carries the same weight out here. Just FYI, but I digress....

I don't think that I can express an opinion about what this guy does. I wouldn't personally let my daughter on the back of a motorcycle...not unless she's 18 and is drving it herself. But if the guy thinks he's a safe rider and that the person who's letting the kid ride on his bike is a safe rider, I'm not going to even attempt to stop him...hopefully nothing happens...like an idiot on 4 wheels that doesn't see them or something.

 

[BreakfastSurreal]

I would talk to your friend you think is being "used." It is just as much his responsiblity as soon as that little girl gets on his bike...maybe he should avoid that situation altogether and pull out...If anything did happen, do you seriously think the kids parents would forgive him? We are only human...

 

[Kat]

ok only thing i have to say about this...not knowing the parents of the child. I would no way in hell take my daughter if she was that age on a bike for a motorcycle rally...but that is besides the point it is the parents choice despite that we may not agree..

the only thing i really have an opinion on is this. I think the child should be with a parent. Not with a friend. First off no matter how much you trust someones driving skills i think it is up to the parents to take the responsibility on themselves...to look out for her saftey themselves...also If anything does go wrong...how can you put that on someone else? If someone crashes into the guys bike whos carrying her imagine the guilt he wil have to carry around the rest of his life...

"anything that can go wrong...will go wrong" be prepared for the worst in a case like this.

 

[NicAuf]

Wow, I thought 'flaming others' was against the rules...

I'm not flaming anybody on Offtopicz.