[63November]

I got to ride in the exhaust stream while my young son did the driving.

We had gone to get a load of ice and pull tires on the same snowless lake whose ice is around 3-4 feet thick. I had both my young boys along with one riding along in the sled. Well, after skidding around on tires for awhile, both were a bit cold at 5º F and wanted to ride on the machine. What to do? The seat on the RMK is completely filled with one youngster in front of me. There's no way I could put two on board.

I said, "______ (the 6-year-old), you'll have to drive with your brother on board then."

I figured he would balk. He didn't.

Okay: instructions.

We tried the tundra trail but it was too bumpy and bare so he had trouble with the right amount of throttle to make it move without going too fast. I did those two miles. When we got to the one mile crossing over the frozen bay, I stopped, gave more instructions and climbed in the sled. First, he got going a bit too fast but remembered what I had just instructed and slowed it down. We were on a trail which just scratches the surface in some places so it's a bit hard to see. He lost the trail a couple of times but always looked for it and found it right away. He looked back frequently to be sure everything was going alright behind.

It might sound a bit foolhardy but the kid has probably logged 5000 miles on snowmachines and sleds in his young life, starting young with rides nearly 100 miles in length as early as 14 months. I think he'll do alright. I couldn't have been a prouder dad.

 

[davidmaynard]

i wouldn't call ya foolish...i started riding on the state trails in vermont on a full size sled at age 8 with my sister who was about 5 on the back! My parents also bought me a 3-wheeler (50cc) when i was 4!

 

[Thumbdoctor]

Hey Dumb, Foolish, Stupid etc... I'll bet everyone had a great time though LOL

 

[ZIPPARS02mxz800sp]

Hey nothing wrong with that in my books my kids have 0 interest in sledding took them out a couple times they didnt like it.

BUT THEY SURE LIKE SITTING IN FRONT OF THE TV TUBE OR COMPUTER PLAYING GAMES.LOL MOST KIDS THESE DAYS ARE ALOT DIFFERENT FROM WHEN I GREW UP I WAS NEVER IN THE HOUSE.

 

[8vo fan]

Hey nothing wrong with that in my books my kids have 0 interest in sledding took them out a couple times they didnt like it.

BUT THEY SURE LIKE SITTING IN FRONT OF THE TV TUBE OR COMPUTER PLAYING GAMES.LOL MOST KIDS THESE DAYS ARE ALOT DIFFERENT FROM WHEN I GREW UP I WAS NEVER IN THE HOUSE. [/b]

I have the exact same problem. I would love it if me kids would get into something I do.

 

[ontariohunter]

My kids are into it. I bought my son an old '86 Yamaha moto4 80 when he was 4. He's 8 now and the '94 Mach 1 that I bought this year is the first sled I have had since before I was married( wife still thinks their a waste of money). He loves how fast the sled goes. My daughter is 6 and when she first heard how loud it was compared to the little quad she said no. I convinced her to ride around the yard a few laps with me now she wants to got to the restraunt at the other end of the lake from us when ever I go with everyone in the neighborhood. It's good because I have to behave with her on with me. No 100 MPH passes. I let my son drive with me sitting on the back out on the lake and he thought that was pretty cool to drive dad's big fast sled.

 

[snowmutt]

Nothing wrong with that , glad to here the youngins like the sport. EDUCATION,EDUCATION is the key. Starting them out right is right way to go. I started out real young too my dad taped a block behind the flipper on his 340 tnt so I did'nt go to fast , as I learned more the block got smaller. Then he bought me a 250 elan. BY the time I was 12 I was riding a 70 somthing 340 john deere liuqidfire( THE BIG TANK ONE) all by myself on trails with the rest of the group. I thought I was the cats a$$( I think thats what really gave me my addiction :slick:

I had a time when I let my step kids drive (with me on the back) and the first thing they did was put the flipper to the bar w00t . That was a short ride ( I had the teather on my hand !!)

Teach them right and youll have riding partners for life. This is the problem with kids these days they dont want to do all the homework involved, just want to get on and ride it.

Nowdays it's hard to get kids involed, if it dose'nt have a cord hooked to the T.V then its a waste of there time to them, go figure :bash: . Give me a helmet ,some gas and a one lunger and I was gone all day till it needed more gas or I was hungry .

mutt

 

[63November]

Thanks for the kind comments. I know it wasn't an entirely risk-free endeavor. However, it seems like few things worthwhile are. As was mentioned, the old tube is a rather attractive deal for many these days and the artery clogging behaviors and appetites that often follow aren't exactly risk free either. Then too, even the more hands-on things in school like shop classes have obvious physical dangers but no one seems to consider the biased pollution of the minds some of the "thought" classes have.

The look on my son's face and the excitement and pride in his voice spoke volumes. It was a great opportunity to give him the strokes he needs for following directions well. He nailed it them to a tee and he was thinking as he went. That's the kind of stuff that makes a parent feel "right."