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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Rural poster here...i did occasionally bike home from piano lessons and it took close to an hour. It was about 12 miles on country/very hilly roads where the speed limit was 50mph and there was (and still isn't) any type of shoulder on the road. There are no street lights, so when it gets dark, it's VERY VERY dark. I lived in WA stated where it rains A LOT and there are ditches along the side of all the roads to catch water. I bike all the time as an adult in the cityI live in, and it's one of if not the most bike friendly cities in the US. It's still not without hazards, but to think anyone, let alone a teen should be able to bike around in a rural area is completely ABSURD!![/quote]

I was the one talking to you. If you notice, I said no biking at night and obviously not for areas where it would be more than a 20 minute drive between towns (as in so rural that you are driving around with only farms nearby for an hour straight). Not every rural area is just country roads with farms for miles with no towns nearby, so I was not commenting about the type of situation that you would have been in. I also don't know of many areas where there are neighbors that are so far away from you but you being one of the closest that could be a good babysitter option for them, etc. I was just going by the area where I grew up and where I now live, but maybe there are more places like that elsewhere. I also haven't experienced many "back country roads", but normal roads that took a back way (that had a shoulder on them, had lights, had space on the side of the road after the lines but before pavement out), though there were ditches as well. Going by my experience though, I was having a hard time trying to figure out why someone who was working a daytime job couldn't consider riding their bike as a viable option in a rural area.

With the age thing, I think it is because most children are so protected in this day and age. I used to ride my bike around my town by myself when I was 8 yrs old. I was a good rider, and I was safe. I actually started to ride with my dad from town to town when I was 13 for day trips, and I suggested getting a bike helmet (back when no one had them except extreme bikers) and gloves etc. I road from town to town myself at 14, had a job in another town that I biked to at 15-16. These days, an 8 yr old needs someone to watch them while they bike around in a cul-de-sac in their very safe gated community. So I guess 14 might be too early for some to consider letting their child ride their bike like I rode mine.

Let's come to the agreement that it IS an option to some/many, just not to all.[/quote]

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