so much for riding during the summer...

[Henry]

this ones a little long but i could use some advice...

so, my dad wont let me go to the track by myself this summer, which pretty much sums up to no riding. just backround information...my dad does not ride, so its not like he makes an effort to get to the track on a regular basis. im not saying that when i ask him to go riding he says no because he doesn't want to go to the track, its just that i have to ask him to go or else we wont go. anyway he has seen me ride dozens of times and has gone with me everytime. he has already signed a track waiver, and he still wont let me go to the track by myself. i am 17 and will be 18 on October 5, and he thinks that im not fit to go to the track by myself unless im 18.

this is really not fair at all. i have also been having a lot of issues with my mom struggling with addiction, so i have prety much been living by myself for the whole year(since august 2006), just because my dad works all day, my sisiter is in college and my other sisiter moved away becuase of it, and i was stuck here pretty much by myself. even though all of this he still wont let me do the one thing that i love, just becuase im not 18. i mean, how much will i change in 4 months?? i know the answer is not at all.

to all you dads or moms with teenagers would you not let your kids go to the track by themselves? or am i just expecting too much? im just really annoyed right now and sont see what the big deal is...

-MIKE

[Shoei_391]

I agree with you man. But its just because your dad loves you. But if you are a responsible young adult, I dont see why not. Why dont you just ask your dad to go more often?

[crfjedi393]

I support your dad 100%! Look at it from his perspective. If he lets you go to the track by yourself and you get seriously hurt, then DHS could come down on him HARD! They would see him as a VERY irresponsible parent.
I can understand your frustration but just be patient. 4 months is not very long and you have many, many summers ahead of you to ride 'til you drop.

[Henry]

Originally Posted by dirtbikekid1337

Why dont you just ask your dad to go more often?

becuase i feel bad that he has to sit at the track all day, and mostly im talking about weekdays, becuase its so much easier to go on weekdays. its cheaper, less people, and more fun for him and me, becuase he doesnt have to sit in the car all day.

[Henry]

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

I support your dad 100%! Look at it from his perspective. If he lets you go to the track by yourself and you get seriously hurt, then DHS could come down on him HARD! They would see him as a VERY irresponsible parent.
I can understand your frustration but just be patient. 4 months is not very long and you have many, many summers ahead of you to ride 'til you drop.

i am trying to look at it from his angle, but when i do, i see how much my summer will suck. i wouldnt be so mad if i would be able to go riding the day i turned 18, but i am in the marching band and we are the best in conneticut(and new york for that matter, but thats a different story), and my last two weeks in august through november 18 are spent doing band and nothing else, thats why i want to go riding a lot this summer.

by the way jedi, what is 'DHS'?

[crfjedi393]

Originally Posted by Henry

what is 'DHS'?

Department of Human Services.

Just be patient. You'll be on your own before you know it.

[Shoei_391]

Originally Posted by Henry

becuase i feel bad that he has to sit at the track all day, and mostly im talking about weekdays, becuase its so much easier to go on weekdays. its cheaper, less people, and more fun for him and me, becuase he doesnt have to sit in the car all day.

Thats actually pretty cool of you to think of your dad like that. And Jedi does have a point. Haha I love how he supported the adult and me the kid, supported the fellow teenager . Well maybe you guys can come to an agreement. Maybe like ride once a week or maybe once every other week?

Does your dad have a bike? If he doesnt, it wouldnt be a bad idea to bring it up to him. If you get him involed in it, it will make this ordeal 1000 times easier

[Henry]

Originally Posted by dirtbikekid1337

Thats actually pretty cool of you to think of your dad like that. And Jedi does have a point. Haha I love how he supported the adult and me the kid, supported the fellow teenager . Well maybe you guys can come to an agreement. Maybe like ride once a week or maybe once every other week?

Does your dad have a bike? If he doesnt, it wouldnt be a bad idea to bring it up to him. If you get him involed in it, it will make this ordeal 1000 times easier

thanks. and i agree that if he found out how much fun riding was he would want to go riding all the time, but unfortunatly he never will. hes too scared to get hurt(thats why he wont let me go) and we dont have the money to get him a bike, im not saying we are poor, its just that he has to pay for college for my sis and me, and my little sis.

[Henry]

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

Department of Human Services.

Just be patient. You'll be on your own before you know it.

why would they come donw on him if he has already come to the track and signed the waiver saying its ok?

[Shoei_391]

Originally Posted by Henry

thanks. and i agree that if he found out how much fun riding was he would want to go riding all the time, but unfortunatly he never will. hes too scared to get hurt(thats why he wont let me go) and we dont have the money to get him a bike, im not saying we are poor, its just that he has to pay for college for my sis and me, and my little sis.

Aw man that sucks ...heres another suggestion if you would like. If any of your friends ride and if thier parents go with them, do you think your dad would let you go then?

[Henry]

Originally Posted by dirtbikekid1337

Aw man that sucks ...heres another suggestion if you would like. If any of your friends ride and if thier parents go with them, do you think your dad would let you go then?

yes he would but the only other freind i have that rides, does flat track, and is a pot head(my dad does not know that). no one rides where i live.

[crfjedi393]

Originally Posted by Henry

why would they come donw on him if he has already come to the track and signed the waiver saying its ok?

Because you're underage and he is responsible for your well-being.

One of the main points here is that NOBODY should ride alone. Our crew keeps up with everyone else and we always know we have a lift to the ER when something goes wrong. And things DO go wrong.

[Henry]

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

Because you're underage and he is responsible for your well-being.

One of the main points here is that NOBODY should ride alone. Our crew keeps up with everyone else and we always know we have a lift to the ER when something goes wrong. And things DO go wrong.

but even if i did get seriously hurt the ambulance would take me away, if my dad wasn't or was there.

[crfjedi393]

I should have known better than to try and make sense to you. You're a typical teenager. And I know from experience.
Enjoy your summer.

[ipaintu]

im a parent of 5 kids, I never ride alone. I never let them go anywhere alone.
I hate being an adult but someone has to do it.
We as parents make hard choices everyday. We even hate them at times but they have to be made.
You will understand oneday, maybe you cant see it this day but oneday you will.. I miss my dad so much its not funny, If i could spend one more day with him i wouldnt fuss even if he would want me to go to church.. I know he would choose rabbit hunting but thats that.. How about finding something your dad wants to do and try his enjoyment. Show him YOU have more time for him that he has for you..because in the long run your younger and maybe do have more time. We as older parents find it hard to rest ..
But as I said oneday you will see his side with open eyes... Your just not ready. Love your dad and respect him for his dicissions he is making for you, cause in the long run he is only trying to keep you safe.. He has 17 yrs invested into you... make it pay off..

[yzernie]

ipaintu brings up some very interesting points. When you are responsible for someone under 18 years old there are many things that come into play. I will not try to determine why your dad has made the decisions but the harsh reality of it is that he has made those decisions. I'm absolutely positive he believes he is justified in those decisions.

I lost my father more than 26 years ago. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him and the life lessons he taught me. He also tried to teach me lessons that I refused to listen to because I was a young buck and knew what was best for me...or at least I thought I did. I wish I had my dad here today so I could look him in the eye and say "thank you." I don't expect you to completely understand what I'm saying right now but when you grow up and have kids of your own these moments in your life will flash back into your brain.

The bottom line is this (whether you like it or not) on October 5th you can pack your clothes, your Legos and your motorcycle, move out and be responsible for yourself.

[Henry]

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

I should have known better than to try and make sense to you. You're a typical teenager. And I know from experience.
Enjoy your summer.

i was actually hoping you'd chime in here jedi becuase i know you have a teenaged son. so i guess my dad is not being that unreasonable, becuase come to think about it, if i did hurt myself the car, but more importantly my bike, would be stuck at the track...ooo man, reality sucks.

[Mainjet2001]

Henry, let me give this a shot.
First let me tell you a story. When I was your age there were no dirt bikes but there were scooters, Cushman, Mustang, Salisbury, and some others. (I can see some old guys in the background grinning). Anyway I wanted a scooter. My dad said “flat no”.
Why, well because he once worked for a car dealer and delivered and picked up cars with a 3 wheeler Harley in which was towed with the cars he delivered. One day on the way back to the dealer he ran under a flat bed truck and came close to losing his life.
That is why he said “NO”. I like you couldn’t figure out why my dad felt the danger or why he thought I would repeat what happened to him.
Son I was 27 when I got my 1st dirt bike. This was out of respect I had for my dad.
I know my case isn’t quite like yours however I did set down and figure out what my dad wanted out of me. That was to 1st, be safe. Then he was putting a big investment into me to be successful. Remember that word investment because in this context, that comes from love.

Next, please understand that the band along with your dad sending you to college is 100 times more important than you riding a dirt bike. I know you want to ride because I went thru the same thing but you need to see where the priorities are. Take the bike riding when it comes.

When my son started riding I used the dirt bike to control his behavior, kind of like you got bad grades….no riding. Are you sure your dad is not doing the same with you? I’m not talking grades here I’m talking behavior.

What does this overload mean, well you have a few months in which you may not ride much. but it will pass. Have patience grasshopper.

One more thing, I bet you don’t think your dad is very smart and sometimes you have better judgment. Well when you are about 23-25 you are going to figure out your dad was a lot smarter than you thought.

Hope this is a little help but remember all this advice you are getting from everyone comes from long lines of experience.

[crdude]

Be happy you go to the track at all, I havent been on a track sens I was 5 or 6 years old..

[Keetoman393]

Jedi is right on the money about you getting hurt. Sure, the ambulance can take you to the ER but who is going to get you stuff home or keep it from being tolen? Let's aso look at the cost of getting a ride from a family/friend vs. a ride in an ambulance. The ambulance will cost you about a grand to do what your friends and family will do for free. Trust me on this - I broke my ankle two weeks ago and thank GOD Char, her husband and Jedi were there. I owe them big time and it was so good to have Jedi taking care of the check in while I was in pain. Char's husband was also a very invaluable friend that missed out on riding that weekend after driving 4 hours the previous day and then 6 hours back home after dropping me off at another hospital and staying with me until my family arrived.

Listen to these guys that have the experience. You are a smart young man and will look back one day and know this was in your bst interest.