When I first became a dedicated cyclist, during my teen years, I started to follow bicycle racing. In those days, before the Internet and 24-hour news cycles, it was much more difficult to do. There was little or no coverage in any of the mainstream media. Bicycling! ran stories about the Tour, the Giro and some of the classics, but that came out only once a month. You pretty much had to go to a large city to find a place like Hotaling's, where I used to find French, British and other European publications.
During my rides, I would sometimes imagine myself in the peloton with Eddy Mercx or Bernard Hinault. I wondered, then, if I would have been like them--or one of their competitors--had I grown up in Brittany or Flanders or Tuscany and pedaled in the midget and youth races in the days when I was playing Babe Ruth League baseball (and high-school soccer) in New Jersey.
What I would have done to ride in a Strider race!
This one was just held in Fort Worth, Texas. It's part of a series of Strider races that will culminate in a Strider World Championship on 21-22 July, in Salt Lake City.
I mean, really, how can you not love it?
Strider, the sponsor of these races, is the leading brand of so-called "balance bikes", which have no pedals--or training wheels. Proponents of this type of bike claim that the most important skill in cycling is balance, and a kid learns it more quickly than on a bike with training wheels. Moreover, their advocates argue, because balance bikes don't have pedals, chains or sprockets, they are free of the sharp surfaces that can hurt a kid or simply snag his or her pants.
If I had a kid, I don't know whether I'd choose a balance bike or training wheels. Well, maybe after watching Strider races, I might be swayed!
During my rides, I would sometimes imagine myself in the peloton with Eddy Mercx or Bernard Hinault. I wondered, then, if I would have been like them--or one of their competitors--had I grown up in Brittany or Flanders or Tuscany and pedaled in the midget and youth races in the days when I was playing Babe Ruth League baseball (and high-school soccer) in New Jersey.
What I would have done to ride in a Strider race!
This one was just held in Fort Worth, Texas. It's part of a series of Strider races that will culminate in a Strider World Championship on 21-22 July, in Salt Lake City.
I mean, really, how can you not love it?
Strider, the sponsor of these races, is the leading brand of so-called "balance bikes", which have no pedals--or training wheels. Proponents of this type of bike claim that the most important skill in cycling is balance, and a kid learns it more quickly than on a bike with training wheels. Moreover, their advocates argue, because balance bikes don't have pedals, chains or sprockets, they are free of the sharp surfaces that can hurt a kid or simply snag his or her pants.
If I had a kid, I don't know whether I'd choose a balance bike or training wheels. Well, maybe after watching Strider races, I might be swayed!
