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Biking, camping, cooking out ... you can do it all with the tribe on a Friday!
MY TWO KIDS are born cyclists.
They had no choice because their parents, who met each other on a bike ride, both have to ride their bikes almost every chance they get. Each child has cycled over a thousand miles per year after climbing out of their bike trailer chariot at around age 4 or 5. Now several times a week they head out on a bike ride from our home in Sonoma County California.
Our candy apple red Bike Friday Tandem Traveler makes it easy to go for family rides. Either adult can captain it and it can take a rack for our Burley Piccolo if Dad wants to take both kids for a spin.
So, I knew it was a rhetorical question when I asked one day, “Hey, would you kids like to go for a bike tour with Daddy?”
“Yeah!” came the reply in unison. Juliet, nine and a veteran of three such summer tours , explained to five year old Ethan, “It’s really fun and we get to boss Daddy around.”
Since this would be Ethan’s first self contained cycling tour, I wanted him to have a quality experience. My first tour with Juliet had been a resounding success, so I knew I only had to follow a simple formula to guarantee a trip that any kid would find enjoyable.
First, pick a scenic area. On our first trip, Juliet and I had cycled along the Avenue of the Giants in northern California’s redwoods. This year I chose the Lake Tahoe area which would have the advantage of good camping along a fairly gentle terrain. The altitude would be a problem but the bike trail along the west shore would be perfect for my unwieldy pannier laden triple bike (Tandem Traveler hooked to Piccolo).
My second rule for successful touring with kids is keep the mileage minimal. On this tour with both kids we rode only ten miles each of our two riding days. We spent one whole day from our camp site just hiking and exploring.
Adult cyclists tend to want to push the miles on a tour but kids have a lot more fun if their adult guide can think of the bike ride is just a way to do lots of fun things along the way.
That brings me to the third rule. The kids call the shots. That’s what Juliet meant when she told Ethan “ We get to boss Daddy around.” If Daddy has an idea about what to do next, that’s only a suggestion. Any decision where our safety or health isn’t in jeopardy, the kid’s decision trumps all. I have to improvise stories on demand about whatever subject the kids suggest.
Sometimes it’s quite a challenge (like the time I had to make up an interesting story about a rear tire named Fred), but the reward is happy kids who can pedal away the miles with no complaints.
There are few things in life that give you as much quality time with your children as bicycle riding. Even when the whole family is at home, one might be watching TV downstairs while another is reading in another room or balancing a check book. When you are riding a bike with your kid there is no escape for either of you. A kid or an adult has a captive audience and if you don’t talk about anything that’s on your mind you can get bored.
The kids make the decisions rule means that if they want to stop riding and go for a hike at a roadside turnout, that’s what we do. On our trip to Tahoe, wading in the lake was popular. Juliet and Ethan loved wading out as far as they could go and daring the passing watercraft to douse them with their wake.
Our interesting bike attracted many comments along the bike trail at Lake Tahoe. After all, how many times do you see two kids riding in tandem stuffed to the gills with fully loaded front and rear racks handlebar bags, seat packs, etc. cruising down a trail with mountain bikes and road bikes? Juliet and Ethan had a running discussion about who gave the best compliments. Was it the “Sweet setup!” we heard early on or “Awesome”? Finally they decided “SO AWESOME, Hey WE need to get one of those!” was the best.
Our Bike Friday Tandem functioned flawlessly for the whole trip. I had to tighten the stem adjustment a bit due to the heavy front fork load and Ethan had a flat tire on his Piccolo, but our bike was the ticket to a memorable camping trip. It will bring smiles for years to come.
Lambert Daniel and family
For more information, follow this link http://www.bikefriday.com/kids.