UKC

My son's keen on doing the C2C this Spring Bank holiday but I'm a tad concerned that it might be pushing it for a 10 year old. Having completed numerous Audax events of around 40 miles and competed in CX competions for the last 2 seasons he's adamant that over 4 days (average around 34 miles per day)he'll be fine.Thoughts!

In reply to GoWest:

I would have thought he would be ok so long as the weather is good 34 miles at a slowish pace ,and good overnight stops .of course if its pouring down every day then things change ...

In reply to GoWest:

Give yourselves plenty of time and go for it! What a wonderful adventure to do together. If you have a bit of spare time you can take time out to potter around one of the many "things-to-see/do" along the way. If nothing else, you will have some quality time together.

In reply to GoWest:

It sounds like with his experience he'll be fine. We did it over four days many years back when my kids were 14 and 16 (ish). Obviously that's not comparable to a 10-year-old, but both my daughter and my wife did very little cycling at that time, and had no problems. As victorclimber hints, the psychological side of things might be more of a challenge, especially if things aren't going so well. I remember the Beamish Open Air Museum was a good diversion at one point.

In reply to Doug Hughes:

I'm sure your right, the psychological aspect is more of an issue especially if there's inclement weather.
His 11th birthday is on the 27th May so should we do the ride I'd plan to finish on his birthday.

In reply to GoWest:

I'd have thought he'd be fine, at least in half decent weather. My older son is 8, and having got a new bike for Christmas, is cycling the 16 or 17 mile round trip along part of the C2C to his grandparents house apparently without noticing. I'm sure he could easily do double that in a day.

Given your son knows he can cycle 40 miles, seems a fairly reasonable challenge

In reply to GoWest:

A 10 yr old did the Pedal for Scotland Sportive back in September- 110 miles from Glasgow to Edinburgh. I'm pretty sure he beat me too.

In reply to Wee Davie:

And I was concered about being a pushy parent !

In reply to GoWest:

Sounds like he will be fine. Make sure you have some alternatives planned if the weather is awful. Hope you both enjoy it. My 15yr old can now burn me off easily on our rides! However, he does wait for me

In reply to GoWest:

hi
we di the C2C last year with our son - who was just 11 - and friends who's daughter was 9
they had no problems at all - the hardest day was from kirkoldswald to nenthead - we did it over 4 days - had plenty of snacks/treats etc and let them make the pace - they really enjoyed it