A boy and a bike
As a family, we’ve tried to make cycling adventures part of my son’s childhood – aiming to help him develop by overcoming challenges on two wheels.
I firmly believe that adventures are for every day, and also that every day should have an adventure. And that’s why I think it's important to incorporate adventurous cycling into family life. Ride over the hills to the grandparents’ house instead of driving. Set off from the front door and see how far you can get. In the words of cycling legend Lee Craigie in her book Other Ways to Win:
In general, we shy away from challenge more than we need to. We are obsessed with saving ourselves time and effort but often forget to stop and ask ourselves what we plan to spend this saved time and energy on instead.
That’s the essence of it, for me. Time spent on shared adventure, building resilience and confidence, is time well spent. Sure, it can be hard to summon the effort required for cycling with kids (pack plenty of patience, and snacks). But here’s what’s helped our family – me, my wife J, and our son G, who’s now 13 – over the years.