Bicycle Touring with Children
Many people dream of taking off with their children to travel the world. Their dreams are filled with days of visiting the Egyptian pyramids or the Taj Majal. They will travel on buses and planes and boats But traveling the world on bicycle? With kids?
I have now cycled about 21,000 miles with my twin sons (now 12) in the past few years, and can tell you that traveling by bike may just be the best way to travel - even with kids!
When traveling on buses or other motorized vehicle, you tend to hop from one city to the next, and skip over the small villages. The bike forces you to get off the beaten track and spend time in the small villages - and therefore you get to know the country better. In the villages, you’ll see life as it really is and will learn more about a country from the country folk rather than city folk. In today’s world, cities are becoming more and more generic, while it’s the villages that have retained the character of the country. Traveling on bicycle allows you get out of the city and get to know the country.
Motorized vehicles encase you in steel and glass and isolate you from Mother Nature. Traveling on bicycle without the protective layer of your vehicle around you, you’ll be more in touch with nature. You’ll feel the wind in your hair and rain on your cheeks. You’ll grind up hills using muscle power only, so will truly understand what those hills are. You’ll feel the effect of altitude on temperature as you climb into the mountains.
But more than that, by touring on bicycles, children learn important life lessons that will carry them through life. They learn to persevere through hardships - knowing they will come out victorious on the other side. They learn there are times when only through teamwork can you achieve your goal. They learn that sometimes, the only thing you can do is put one foot in front of the other, set your sights on making it through the next 60 seconds, and forge ahead.
Can kids learn those lessons by traveling another way? Sure. But the lessons come a whole lot easier on bikes!
Nancy Sathre-Vogel has been bicycling with children for more years than she cares to think about. She is now cycling from Alaska to Argentina with her sons as they attempt to become the youngest people in the world to pedal the entire Pan American Highway..
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