My son's walk to school is about 10 minutes, and I'd love to be able to send him on his own on his bike at some point! I wouldn't feel comfortable with him and his sister biking around in city traffic though, until they were older and had better judgment.

I started biking around town with my brother (with no chaperones) at a pretty young age. We were maybe 9 or so? We'd bike to the local shopping center and go to the library or the secondhand book store. Some of the best memories of my life!

My biggest concern with kids biking by themselves is actually traffic. I grew up with an area with a lot of walking and biking trails, so I was rarely in traffic.

When did you start being allowed to use your bike around town by yourself?