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Carlton Reid
simply amazing. Invent the bicycle today and you’d be showered with all the Nobel prizes going.
Who is this book for? Is this a book on cycling to be read by children, or a book for parents, who can then infect their kids with the cycling bug? In a day and age of SMS, wii and PSPs, it’s got to be the latter. That’s not to say that today’s kids have the attention span of gnats – they’ve been bred to be good at multi-tasking, simultaneously ear-budding MP3s, thumb-texting friends, and hurrying homework – but when it comes to outdoor recreation, they’re less likely to get their inspiration from books. It’s up to book-loving, bike-centric parents to get their kids awheel. The kids may squeal – see SMS, wii and PSP, above – but once out there in the fresh air, they learn to love cycling. When I mentioned, online, that I was writing a book to help parents get their kids cycling, a commentator wrote: “Can you include in your book a section on how to get an able but lazy 12 year old to do any riding, please?” This is a problem I’m familiar with.Two of my kids are mad keen cyclists. The third is an able, but reticent, cyclist. I don’t have to use any ploys or tactics to get the bike-mad twosome to ride, but the TV-loving third is a tough nut to crack. Coming from a cycling family she’s got to pedal but, given a choice, she’d rather stay indoors. It’s inertia, innit. Once cycling, she’s as happy as the other two. This book is written for parents of children yet to realise they’d much rather be cycling than watching telly.