Despite the looks of horror that I got from people when I told them what we were doing, the family bike trip we took in August went really well. It was a five day trip along the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Rockwood and back (about 200 miles), with a little city cycling between Pittsburgh and Homestead.
(We were grateful that my Dad joined us, increasing the adult-to-child ratio! The little girl in the background is a neighbour who desperately wanted to come too!)
We had rain, we had some whining from the kids, but overall it was a good time. Such a good time, in fact, that I thought I'd post some tips that will help you plan and execute your very own family bike adventure. Here they are:
1) Make sure your youngest is about 1 year old (some would say at least). This is for safety's sake. Despite my love of the bicycle, I am willing to give it up for a year or so after the birth of each child. Young babies simply do not have strong enough necks to support the weight of a bicycle helmet on their little heads as you go over bumps and make sharp turns. If you have a really little one, by all means plan. Buy that front-riding bike seat you're dying to try. Pick up some panniers. Look around for some bargain lightweight camping equipment. Just please don't put a little baby on that bike until they are strong enough to handle a bump or (God forbid) a wipe-out!
2) Assess your needs. Are you rough-it types who don't mind sleeping on a camping mattress after a long day on a bike, or would you prefer to fork out the extra dough for a B&B and sleep in a real bed? How many days of cycling do you think you can sustain? Be honest with yourself: what will work for you and your family?
3) Assess your children's needs. How long can they last in the car? Don't anticipate that they'll be happy cycling for much longer than that, especially if they are too little to be doing any pedaling: they get bored. You will need to take frequent breaks, so do some research about the places you'll be passing. Is there an icecream shop? A playground? Also, bring lots and lots of little snacks. They'll need them. You'll need them.
4) Acquire the necessary equipment. Bikes are obvious, but you'll also need spare tubes, chain lube, a small pump, etc. If your children are too little for their own bikes, you'll need a seat of some kind for them too. Trail-a-bikes (also called "tag-alongs") can work for kids who are tall and strong enough to do some of their own pedaling, bike seats are great for the littlest ones, but I don't recommend a bike trailer unless your entire route is paved. The extra wheel and weight back there will really slow you down! Probably the best scenario if you have two little ones is a front-riding seat on each of the adult bikes, with some gear on the back of each bike. That way, the weight is decently distributed. (In our case, I had both girls on my bike, one on a front-riding seat, one on the back, which adds 70lbs to my bike, and Papa had all our gear on the back of his bike, which made his bike pretty unstable.) If you're roughing it, you'll need camping equipment. You'll need some non-perishable food if you don't want to eat out every night, although this can get heavy to carry, so locate the grocery stores on route and try to carry just what you need for the day. You'll need weather appropriate clothing. It was August, but we were glad for the raincoats we brought for the girls, as they got colder just sitting still in the rain than we did cycling in it.
5) Train. Go for lots of weekend day trips before the big event! You'll need muscles you can't get without lots and lots of cycling!
6) Plan a route, then scale it back. Don't overestimate yourselves. I know I can do a sixty mile day with both kids, but on our five day trip, we scaled it back to 40 miles so that we could sustain it for 5 days and so that it would be fun for the kids. Don't try to do more in a day than you've cycled on one of your weekend day trips... If anything, do less!
7) Have a contingency plan. If unforeseen circumstances prevent you from getting to your daily destination of choice, have another, closer location in mind. Even if you plan to camp, know where there's a B&B in case the weather gets downright dangerous.
8) Get out there! Hope you have as much fun as we did. I'd love to hear your stories!
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