Bicycle Touring with Children
A fun, exciting, and inexpensive family vacation, taking your children on a bicycle riding trail. Your children can ride their own bicycle, along side you. However for smaller children either a bicycle seat or trailer would provide easy access for them to ride along. And, enjoy the scenery. Advantage using a trailer gives the extra weight onto a separate axle that gives better balance for the parent riding the bicycle. When using a trailer, good idea to cover it with a screening, to prevent the child from insects and throwing anything onto the road. Children that are nine years and older, on average can ride 40 to 50 kilometers a day, including periodic stops for breaks and sight seeing. Before embarking on a long bike ride, children and adults should have a physical examination, to determine their physical health and measure their endurance for an extended bicycle ride. Children should be taught bicycle safety rules, wear protected gear, and learn how to repair their bike, for minor repairs. The child’s bike should be perfectly sized for height, and weight. Having all the possible safety measures, including bicycle head lights. Parents should instruct their children never to ride off the bike trail and stay within visual sight.
When traveling on long bicycle rides with children, certain preparation should be considered. Children require more water to drink then adults, often prefer snacks, frequent bathroom facilities, enjoy taking pictures possibly with disposable camera, and prefer changing clothing more often. Attaching a water bottle to a child’s bicycle can reduce frequent stops along the bicycle trail, since the child can learn to drink from the bottle, along the way of the bike ride. Starting early in the morning, on a bike trail is a good idea, because children, have more energy in the morning, after a good breakfast. Always use insect repellent on children, when riding in the wilderness. When approaching a hill, a child will have more difficult time climbing, then an adult. Certainly, patience is required. However, going down the same hill, children often enjoy the thrill of the speed.
There are different ways to keep children entertained. Good idea to carry, small toys, books, video games, note pad to write down experiences, and bathing suit for opportunities to go swimming. Certainly entertaining children, when the bike ride is postponed during bad weather. Also, children to will have more energy by taking short naps. Never make the itinerary for a bicycle ride over extended, covering a long distances in a short amount of time. Stay over night at lodges or campsites that can provide entertainment for children. Children’s enthusiasm going on a bike ride should be enjoyable, but not stressed.
Locating bike trails, can be found on the Internet or contacting your local travel agency. Furthermore, you can learn about bike trails from some Internet chat rooms, organizations that specialize in bicycle touring with children, and bicycle magazines.
