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One of our goals this year was to start bike riding with the kids. But, unfortunately, when 2020 struck, we found all of the bikes and bike racks SOLD OUT!!!
It wasn’t until literally three weeks ago when we finally found a 5-bike hitch rack for our car on Amazon (we got this one) and we haven’t stopped using it since!
Though our bikes are all due for an upgrade, we absolutely LOVE taking the kids for long bike rides and they love it too! If you’ve been considering getting taking your kids bike riding, but unsure if they would do okay, I’ve come up with the best tips to help you take longer bike rides with your kids.
5 Tips for Taking Longer Bike Rides With Kids
Bring Snacks and LOTS of Drinks
Not only do we have to bring snacks and drinks with us for Michael’s diabetes, but we also bring them for the kids. Since most bike trails are in wooded areas, we know that if kids get hungry or thirsty, there’s really no options for buying drinks or food. That’s why one of the best things you can do before a long bike ride with kids is gather some drinks and small snacks.
We’ve found hydration backpacks essential for all of the kids. Plus it doubles as a way to carry small snacks too.
Bike Ride With Kids In Fun & Exciting Places
I love exploring new places, so whenever our family goes for a bike ride, we tend not to bike the same place too often. Biking at the same place get boring. That’s why I suggest biking at new and exciting places with kids. There’s literally so many places you can go and if you have trouble finding new trails, you can use an app called, AllTrails to locate fun trails and see how difficult a trail may be.
We recently took the kids to a bike trail with a long tunnel that they got to ride through and the kids were so excited to see it, that biking 2-miles there seemed like nothing to them.
Don’t Push Kids Too Hard, Take a Break
One thing I learned very early in parenting is don’t push too hard. Not only will you end up with tired, worn out children, but you may end up ruining the sport for them, all together. When we’re out on a bike ride, we stop – a lot. Sometimes we stop for small breaks and other times we’re just stopping to look at a strange insect on the trail.
We have so much fun on our little breaks, that I would recommend just taking your time on your ride and enjoying yourselves a little bit. We’ve made so many memories on our breaks, that I would even say, breaks are the best part of our rides.
Enjoy Nature
A long with taking breaks during a long bike ride with kids, you should also enjoy nature with the kids. There are so many things to see and do in nature, that biking right past it, isn’t always the best idea. Slow down and enjoy nature. Point out a cool looking plant, or teach children about poison ivy. These are all great life skills for kids to know and they make bike rides so much better than just speeding through them and getting to the next point.
Have Proper Bike Attire & Bike Maintenance
After our first bike ride with the kids, we realized we did not have the proper bike attire, ha! Not only did Michael’s bike pedals break during our ride, we found out our seats were really uncomfortable. Whenever you’re biking, you need to make sure to always have the proper bike attire and do general maintenance on your bike before you get to the trail. If you don’t, well you may end up pushing your bike back to the car or taking a very short bike ride when you’ve planned to ride all day.
I hope these tips help you take a nice, long bike ride with your kids as much as they’ve helped Michael and I. For more parenting tips be sure to check out my parenting section in the Family menu above.
So tell me, have you tried going on a longer bike rides with your kids?
Last Updated on 5 years ago by Crystal Carder