bychosis wrote: ↑Sat Sep 02, 2023 7:09 am
If the local kids are anything to go by cycling is definitely in decline. The little terrors are all riding -scooters now. The only ones on bikes seem to be properly into MTB. Hardly any other types of bike out there.
I think this is the crux of it.
50 or 60 years ago it was every kid’s ambition to learn to ride a bike. It was (and still is) the freedom machine.
Parents would get stressed if their kids struggled to learn how to ride a bike, but they would also get stressed if the kids took to it like a duck to water and gained “too much” freedom !
As you say, these days there are so many other distractions for kid’s entertainment, including looking at stuff on the internet, but also various other types of mobility devices - usually powered, such as small motorbikes and e-scooters.
Back decades ago, not being able to ride a bike was something to be embarrassed about, like a form of virginity.
Obviously there are other things happening these days, such as Zwift and other indoor cycling, but generally the roads are less hospitable these days.
In the far north of NSW it is wonderful to see the diversity of people utilising the new Railtrail (Murwillumbah to Byron Bay Shire border)
It is especially beautiful to see family groups with one or both parents on bikes, training their offspring in the mastery of their humble kids bikes.
It can bring a tear to the eye, so to speak.
May we see more of it.
People are even using the new Railtrail to get to work in Murwillumbah. Kudos to that.