Episode Summary: This discussion on bicycling is an excerpt from a previous episode ‘Bicycling and Kids Climate Action’ 

Leekei and Rick talked about the freedom that cycling gives children, as well as cognitive development and how biking can help kids take climate action. They discussed opportunities there are for children as young as 18 months start to use a bike and how infrastructure influences the uptake of cycling.

To listen to the full episode of this conversation, go here 

Urban cycling fans? Listen to another episode of CarbonSessions with Julie from Ottawa, Canada, discussing urban cycling, pathways and infrastructure among other topics. 

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Featuring Carbon Almanac Contributors Leekei Tang and Rick Holt. 

Rick is a cycling enthusiast, part of his local school cycling patrol and a certified cycle instructor, teaching adults and kids. Rick is from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Leekei is a fashion business founder, a business coach, an international development expert and podcaster from Paris, France. 

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.

Yeah, certainly.

Yeah.

And, and bikes in general, you think people will buy a range of

bikes and that's fine too, but you know, my first bike was a.

I bought it a yard sale.

My parents bought a yard sale for me.

And so, uh, that in, and when I started, uh, getting back into riding

on the road as an adult, um, I was using a bike that was in 1980s it

was, um, had had the down shifters on the, uh, tube and everything else.

So wa it was an older bike, but it was fine.

It got me around everywhere.

I wanted to go.

And if it, and if someone.

Borrowed it from me, then it wasn't such a big deal.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And , I have another question, um, regarding , the bicycle for kids,

at what age, you can let them move around by themselves because they

need to have a notion of the space of, you know, where they can go.

So that's a, that's, that's a great question.

So, you know, you, like I said earlier, you can teach children earlier.

Bike skills.

Right?

And, but when, when do you let, 'em be independently mobile?

And I think that's, that's gonna be a call on each parent, uh,

based on the child's development.

And usually that comes a little later.

It could be earlier, but usually around that, that, uh, probably 10

to 12 year age, that type of thing.

There's interesting.

Um, organization called let grow, um, Lenore skinna in the us.

She's, she's focused on letting kids be more independent and the idea is.

You know, letting kids go out there and, and take, take a bus, take a subway.

Take, I mean, It, it really depends on where you live.

Um, what what's available.

You, you know, the child's development is key too, because you know, having

independent mobility actually helps build resilience and self-confidence yeah.

That's uh, so yeah, it's got, it's got different in, in many cuz many

different factors come into it.

You know, I was again, traveling pretty independently.

Uh, My sister and I, uh, we walked to school, uh, to get to the bus.

We walked, we walked three blocks in the city, uh, in Germany to, um, get to the

school bus and she was 10 and I was seven.

So mm-hmm yeah.

So a message to the parents.

I, I think the me message to the parents in this case is that biking is

such a beneficial, uh, activity in the fact that kids just put it this way.

I'm not sure.

Remember if you remember back to when the first time you rode a bike was.

But if, if you look at kids, when they learn how to ride a pedal bike, and I just

watched this, some of my granddaughters to see the smile on their face.

Yes, yes.

when they take off and they've, they've, they've mastered that skill to do that.

And so I think if you, you think not only there's this self confidence,

this resilience that comes in it's great for physical activity.

That's my focus is on playing and physical activity, research and

beneficial outcomes for children.

But the idea is.

More physical activity.

Kids are having fun.

They're learning a lifelong skill.

Um, it allows them to move around pretty independently later on.

When, when you, when the parents feel like they're able to do that, like biking down

to a friend's house or going other places, um, allows you to take 'em out on, on, on

bike rides and for recreational purposes.

Uh, so.

Academic wise, as I talked earlier, maybe more attentive in

the class, they biked to school.

So there's so many things that come out that, um, from a social,

emotional standpoint and a physical and mental health benefit,

if you have your kids bike.

Okay.

And also, I think there's a message for the local municipalities

is to make the infrastructure more easy to access and safer.

Oh, certainly.

Uh, you know, if you see places where you have upswing in,

um, biking, uh, especially.

Gender related too.

So more balance from, from men and women, biking or kids or older adults biking,

it's gonna be with safe infrastructure.

It's gonna be with separated infrastructure because obviously you

can ride on the road in many places.

That's the way it was set up.

But any place you see with trails that move from place to place or

separated bike infrastructure.

People feel more comfortable.

They're not interacting.

They don't have that conflict as, as, as much, uh, potentially with, with vehicles.

So it's, it's, it's such nicer ride in a way to, to me you're cuz you're,

you're able to look around you and see what's going on in the nature.

And, and, and I, and I, I ride my bike and I'd stop and I'd look

at things on the way to work.

So I go, oh, you know, biking to me is one only one of the few things

that I would bike outta my way.

And take longer time to commute.

Yeah.

Yeah.

precisely.

Yeah.

Sometimes.

Cause I wanted yes.

So yeah.

Um, it, to me, that's it, that's a wonderful thing.

Okay, great.

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