Cycling with kids is a real adventure

Is your social media feed full of people embarking on envy-inducing bike rides in far-flung places? I love daydreaming about solo cycle tours – tracing routes on a map that I’ll probably never take. And I even treat myself to the occasional trip. But I find incorporating bike adventures into family life just as satisfying.

Some families go big on bike expeditions, with the kids tagging along on huge journeys across continents. I prefer a more moderate approach, looking for opportunities to slot trips into our regular schedule of school, work and activities.

I believe that adventures are for every day, and also that every day should have an adventure. 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. What better way to spend time than sharing in the wide-eyed satisfaction of a child who’s overcome challenges to complete an adventurous bike ride? Sure, it can be hard to summon the effort required for bike-based adventures with kids, but here are some approaches that have helped us as a family.