Father-daughter in KC area enjoy tandem riding

Only a few years ago Elise Hickman didn’t know if riding a bicycle was for her.

She was afraid she would lose her balance and fall, her parents said. Elise, 10, said riding a bicycle with training wheels was “really tippy,” so she didn’t ride much.

Now, about five years later, Elise and her father, Michael Hickman, zip around the Kansas City area at about 16 miles an hour on their bicycle built for two, or tandem bicycle, several times a week. The Overland Park pair ride with the Prairie Village Yacht Club twice a week and also ride at the Indian Creek trail.

The father-daughter hobby started slowly. Hickman said he started riding for exercise when Elise was just learning to ride a bicycle. Two years ago, the duo borrowed a friend’s tandem to give it a try. Tandem bikes can cost more than $2,000, so Hickman said he wanted to make sure he and his daughter could commit to the hobby.

“We got on it and she loved it,” he said. “So we decided to come out for a group ride, and she loved it even more.”