USE THE BICYCLE IN THE FAMILY AFTER THE CORONAVIRUS

We too, like all of you, hope that you will soon be able to leave at least within your region. The coronavirus made us understand that we need to review our lifestyle habits. The bicycle can be a means that will allow us to regain confidence with the outside world and will help us solve everyday problems.
Being with my children all day, as the weeks went by, I noticed the fear growing in them too. It is not always possible to understand what they think or what they feel but for sure, who more or less, some fears will remain in them.
The first outings, even just in the city, will also be demanding for children / teenagers. We thought that the first few times we will use the excuse of the bicycle to get them used to another concept of human relations.
USE THE BIKE WITH CHILDREN
For us it was customary to use the bicycle with children daily. We will come back to do it again and indeed we will push even more the use of this vehicle. We miss the outdoors and feel the fatigue on the legs, go to find the grandfather or go to kindergarten. The bicycle was part of our daily life turned upside down, finding new rhythms will make our family even more united.
Each age reacts differently to this surreal situation but small steps can be taken to make children / young people more autonomous and serene.
1. SMALL TRAITS AROUND HOME: if you have small children, take the opportunity to go around the house or the shared garden. The children will regain confidence with the bicycle and regain confidence in themselves.
2. TRY TO REMOVE THE WHEELS: if you have a large garden or like us a street where no one passes now, try to remove the wheels from the little ones. It will be a demanding step for everyone but then they will be ready to pedal when the parks reopen. Also after the first normal fears you will hear them laugh, it will repay you for all the efforts.
3. BICYCLE MAINTENANCE: for those who are at home with older children, take advantage of the maintenance of the bicycle together. Check the height of the saddle, in the meantime they will have grown; handlebar height, brakes and air in the wheels. On the tires you will find the right pressure to inflate them. We still have to fix the Erran wheel that has been punctured in the last trip. Small things that older kids like to do with dad. In these moments take advantage to have a chat between men.
4. CREATE A LIST OF PLACES TO VISIT: every time my children hear the date they change they get very excited. Last time I opened a map of Friuli Venezia Giulia and they started studying it carefully with their dad. Having identified the places that are interesting to them, they looked at Google Maps on how to get there, what the place offered, things to visit. They have drawn up a very long list, I think it will take me 2 years to satisfy them, but they had fun and making a future project has reassured them. However, on the list in the first place there are grandparents and an ice cream on the beach.
Small tricks to get closer to your children in this difficult moment. Also if you live in the city there will be major revolutions of public transport. If there are cycle paths where you live and the distances are not excessive, start thinking about using the bicycle as an alternative means. At the beginning it will be physically and mentally hard but then it will be all downhill.
Let me know if you can change your habits a bit in favor of an ecological and economic means.
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