George Turner’s Tips for Family Cycling

Guideposts Video: Inspiring True Stories

Hi Guideposts. My name is George Turner, Jr., and I’m over here in Inglewood, California, And this is Penuel Bicycles.

A few tips for families that would love to ride together: One of the things that every family must consider is to be patient when you’re out there with your family, because not everyone is used to riding. So you may have some younger people that haven’t been riding before, or you may have some older people that haven’t been riding in a while.

Be patient, because everyone is not at the same skill level. But if you go out with the intent to have fun, you will have a great time cycling and hanging out with your family, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s being able to spend time with those that you love.

Bicycling has a number of physical and mental health benefits. Of course, the obvious–the physical benefits. Exercise keeps you physically fit. And right now the important thing, especially during COVID, is to make sure you have a robust immune system. The more you’re out there in the elements, the more robust your system will be.

Along with physical benefits is the mental benefits. Sometimes with people in various communities, we need a break from the day-to-day life and a break for some of the things that happen. When I was growing up the thing that always kept me in a state of peacefulness was being able to get on my bike and escape what was going on. Sometimes we got to escape what’s going on at home. Sometimes we have to escape what’s going on at work or escape was going on in the streets because sometimes life is just stressful. It’s better to get on a bike and just pedal out your frustrations. And that’s what a lot of us can do.

Times have changed a lot from when I was growing up. When I was growing up, it was the thing to have a bike. Nowadays, kids aren’t into cycling, and I think that’s one of the problems that we face as a community as a whole, because the kids are no longer out there exercising. They all want electronic devices. Nothing wrong with electronic devices, but when we’re out there riding, we’re riding with other kids. Kids need to be able to interact with other kids. And I think the electronic device world has pulled kids away from people. Somehow, someway, I would love to be able to get the kids back into cycling.