Top Tips for Family Cycling BY LANA STEWART
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Start small Choose a route where you feel totally comfortable and in control, such as a quiet side street, the park, or a bike path. It’s good to get used to how it feels to bike with kids without worrying about traffic at the same time. Alcatel-Lucent Sunday Bikedays are a great place to try out new things too – especially if you’ve got a solo pedaler! The wide parkways provide lots of space for starting and stopping. For more information about Sunday Bikedays go to www.canadascapital. gc.ca/places-to-visit/parks-paths/things-to-do/ alcatel-lucent-sunday-bikedays.
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Choose a fun destination If having your kids on your bike (in a child seat, trailer, trail-a-bike) or having them ride solo is new, choose a fun destination that’s easy to reach. It could be a local park, pool, cupcake shop, or friend’s house. Kids may be more eager to hop on their bikes if they’re excited about the destination.
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Don’t rush it Some kids will take to biking without any hesitation, while others may need a bit of a warm up. If they’re feeling scared, follow their lead. When we bought our midtail cargo bike, our son was really nervous about riding on the back. For a week, I walked the bike to and from
daycare with him sitting on the back to get used to it. Of course, when introducing any new activity, try to avoid doing it around nap times. A grumpy child can make a bad bike passenger.
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Shop around and ask questions If you’re not sure what bike, trailer or child seat would suit your needs the best, try and find other pedal parents and ask their opinions. Community bike rodeos are a good place to see lots of different set ups in person. Most bike shops are becoming more familiar with family biking needs too.
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Go ahead, bike through ALL of the puddles!
Make it the new ‘normal’ When you’re done riding or when you’re home, instead of asking “how was the bike ride?” talk about what you saw along the way. Would you ask your kids how they enjoyed the car ride each time you went out? Probably not. We can all normalize biking by just getting out and doing it.
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Let the good times roll Ride with friends. The only thing better than biking with your kids is biking with more parents and kids.
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