Associations between cycling skill, general motor competence and body mass index in 9-year-old children.

Learning to ride a bicycle is an important milestone in a child's life. Unfortunately, young traffic casualties remain overrepresented in traffic reports, with single-bicycle crashes as principal cause in children. This correlational, cross-sectional study focuses on the association between cycling skills and two intrinsic characteristics: general motor competence and body mass index (BMI).

Assessing the environmental characteristics of cycling routes to school: a study on the reliability and validity of a Google Street View-based audit.

Background: Google Street View provides a valuable and efficient alternative to observe the physical environment compared to on-site fieldwork. However, studies on the use, reliability and validity of Google Street View in a cycling-to-school context are lacking. We aimed to study the intra-, inter-rater reliability and criterion validity of EGA-Cycling (Environmental Google Street View Based Audit - Cycling to school), a newly developed audit using Google Street View to assess the physical environment along cycling routes to school.

Effects of a cycle training course on children's cycling skills and levels of cycling to school.

Introduction: The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the short- and longer-term effects of a cycle training on children's cycling skills. A second aim of the study was to examine the effects of a cycle training, with and without parental involvement, on levels of cycling to school and on parental attitudes towards cycling.

Methods: Three participating schools were randomly assigned to the "intervention" (25 children), the "intervention plus parent" (34 children) or "control" condition (35 children).

Does a cycle training course improve cycling skills in children?

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the short-term effects of cycle training on basic cycling skills in children from the 4th grade of elementary school. Furthermore, the influence of gender, socio-economic status (SES) and initial cycling skills level on the effects of the cycle training was investigated.

Methods: Five participating schools were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=3) or control condition (n=2).

Individual, social and physical environmental correlates of 'never' and 'always' cycling to school among 10 to 12 year old children living within a 3.0 km distance from school.

Background: Cycling to school has been identified as an important target for increasing physical activity levels in children. However, knowledge about correlates of cycling to school is scarce as many studies did not make a distinction between walking and cycling to school. Moreover, correlates of cycling to school for those who live within a distance, that in theory would allow cycling to school, stay undiscovered.

Children's cycling skills: Development of a test and determination of individual and environmental correlates.

Introduction: Children's ability to perform cycling skills was found to play an important role in cycling accidents. Therefore, this study developed a test to gain a detailed insight into the cycling skills of 9-10 year old children and evaluated individual and physical environmental correlates of cycling skills.

Methods: Children (n=93) took a cycling test consisting of 13 test stations.

Test-retest reliability and validity of a child and parental questionnaire on specific determinants of cycling to school.

This study examined the reliability of a newly developed child and parental questionnaire on specific determinants of cycling to school among 10-12 year olds. Validity of child reported distance, bicycle equipment and basic bicycle skills was also investigated. In total 211 children and 33 parents participated in this study.