BPC blog spot

Are your kids tired of riding around the same block in your neighborhood?  Looking for safe places to cycle with your young riders?  Consider these easy-to-access locations that are traffic-free, usually flat and abundant.

• Church parking lots
• School parking lots
• Strip mall venues
• (For the more adventurous) Major shopping malls

The first two are likely to be right around the corner from where you live.  Except for custodial staff vehicles, church and school parking lots are likely to have few, if any, safety issues to worry about.  The pavement may not always be as smooth as you'd prefer, but there is usually plenty of surface to ride on and generally obstruction-free. 

Why not bring some soccer cones to set up a family obstacle course?  Better idea - let your kids set up the cones to make their own obstacle course.  Weaving in and around cones is a great way to practice avoiding hazards when street riding.  Word of advice:  the younger the rider, the more space needed between cones.  Older riders can manage tighter weave turns.

For the second two locations, malls may have a few more parked cars but the expanse of ridable pavement is usually quite extensive.  Unlike church and school officials, however, mall owners/managers may not be so keen about you riding on their property.  The other downside is the pavement.  Because mall roads and parking lots get a lot of use, rough patches may be 
more prevalent.  While motor vehicle tires have no trouble with small potholes, bike tires are not as lucky.