Got a young daughter in your family? Well then perhaps you should think about starting with a trike. Tri scooters are fantastic for the general development of youngsters assisting them to learn balance and get them ready for their future experiences with a bicycle when they are older.

Tri scooter makers take greatest care to make the rides attractive to the children while still keeping them safe. And what appeals better to youngsters than their popular junior TV characters?

Thomas & Friends tri scooter - The captivating train engine, Thomas with his friends, Barney the friendly dinosaur, Bob the builder, Angelina ballerina, Pingu, Fireman Sam and Rainbow Magic have been a fave with the youngsters for well over 30 years now. After having found his space on bed sheets and mugs, Thomas features for the first time ever on a tri scooter. A pretty design good of the red coloured train engine and a large plaque and stickers make the scooter impossible to resist for youngsters. A must have if you have a fan of Thomas in your home.

iScoot tri scooter - Also known as a Bobby board, this one is for the truly young ones, the 3 year olds. A radical construction that features two wheels on the front and the third at the back. Built of intensely light material, the tri scooter is just what your kid would desire to get his first lessons in balance and coordination.

Though themed differently, all of the tri scooters score high on safety and comfort. The body has been kept light and the design is very portable. The feedback for the scooters have been really positive with buyers liking their abilities to engross the children imaginations while still helping them learn some very handy lessons.

Since I bought my 2000 K12, I have been scouring the pages of the BMW LT riders website for all the information I can glean from them. I’ve done that for every bike I’ve owned since the internet was invented — find a discussion group, get on board, and learn what I can about the bike before I manage to accomplish harm due to ignorance. The BMW group is great, full of information and experience, just what I need to get the most out of what I am already convinced is one incredible motorcycle.

But I must tell you, it hasn’t all been joyful. Although I do express my sincere appreciation to the owners and maintainers of the site, and to all the contributors who have shown me what to look for and how to fix things, you should also realize that you’ve made me a nervous wreck. You’ve made my life a living hell — a hell on wheels, so to speak.

I mean, how can I start up and ride my beautiful new K1200LT? I will only ride in fear. So many things to worry about…

I fear a mysterious haze will cloud my windshield, resulting in my instrument lights blanking out, my speedometer being too slow, and my radio playing static. I’m afraid I might get confused and put 880’s in the crankcase, Dot 4 in the tires, and 15W50 in the clutch reservoir. Or worse, that I will inadvertently ask the question aloud to the group, “What’s the best oil to use?” and find myself engaged eternally on a battlefield from which no warrior returns unscathed, and in which so many have died.

I’m afraid my brake fluid will become contaminated, causing my front wheel to wobble at low and/or high speeds, thus infecting my on-board computer with a virus and causing my highway pegs (J-Pegs) to turn to GIFS. I have grave concerns that the increased output from an amplifier upgrade will almost certainly cause my mirrors to fall off, and that in the process of turning around to pick them up off the roadway, I might kick my shift lever too hard in its ball joints. That is certain to make its rear brake screech loudly, I just know it.

I’m already convinced I have more options than money, and I know I can never afford to pay 600 bucks for a 200 dollar pair of armrests. But my more immediate concern is that my bike won’t like its new battery and will start vibrating strangely at 4,236 RPM’s. Or worse, flip itself off it’s kickstand in a spiteful snit.

I worry and worry about what a MoDITec is, and I fear I may never find out. I fear I might not have one on my bike, and then I turn around and fear that perhaps I do. And I lost sleep last night playing with my own autocomm, and now I’m afraid I might be going blind, else my headlights are surely too dim.

These things are stressing me greatly — so terribly, in fact, that I think I just need to get on and ride this beautiful bike, and abandon my fears. But I’m still waiting for the UPS man to bring my oil change kit.

Oh God…what if he doesn’t get here…?

Ted Thompson

Ted Thompson is a freelance writer living in Harrison, Arkansas. More of his work can be seen at his website http://www.phfft.com or he can be contacted by email at invinoveritas@alltel.net

Facts

• Tour de France is to bike racing as Masters is to golf and Wimbledon to tennis.

• The race consists of a few stages with a total distance of more than 2000 miles over a duration of 3 weeks.

• It is normally held in summer during the month of July.

• The Tour de France was started during the Industrial age when a sporting newspaper called, L’Auto-Vélo, offered a prize to anyone who could beat others in an attempt to cycle round the whole of France. It was a publicity stunt to sell more copies of the newspaper.

• The first race was held in 1903 with 60 riders.

• During World War I (1915-1918) and World War II (1940-1946), no Tours were held.

• A peloton describes a huge pack of riders that make up the main body of racers. The English word platoon is derived from peloton.

• A win is each stage is a major victory in itself. The leader of the peloton wears the famous yellow jersey.

Tour winners

• The first race in 1903 was won by Frenchman Maurice Garin after more than 93 hours of racing. He was 32 and was nicknamed the “Chimney Sweep”.

• One of the youngest winners was Henri Cornet of France. He was 20 when he won the race in 1904. He was actually fifth in position but everyone else ahead of him was disqualified.

• 5-time champions of the cycling race were Jacques Anquetil (1957, 1961?964) from France, Eddy Merckx (1969?972, 1974) from Belgium, Bernard Hinault (1978?979, 1981?982, 1985) from France and Miguel Indurain (1991-1995) from Spain.

• A 7-time champion is Lance Armstrong (1999 to 2005) from America.

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