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Bicycling Offers Adventurous Family Vacation
June 15, 2004 -- If you are looking for a family vacation that includes variety, physical activity and breathtaking scenery, consider seeing your destination on two wheels.
A bicycling vacation can be a challenging workout that involves pedaling more than 100 miles a day to elevations of up to 8,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains, and burning 8,000 or 9,000 calories in the process.
Or, it can be a leisurely ride along a section of Florida's Gulf Coast, stopping to watch painters capture the view, and knowing that, should you run out of steam, all county buses are equipped with bike racks. It can be days of riding along a major historic route such as the Lewis and Clark Trail. Or it can be a vacation centered in a single locale that combines cycling with a variety of other activities such as horseback riding, canoeing, visiting museums and exploring historic sites.
The sheer variety of the bicycling vacation is one reason that bicycling is the third most popular outdoor vacation activity for Americans, after camping and hiking, according to the Travel Industry Association of America's Adventure Travel report. And about 40 percent of these cyclists take the kids or grandkids along for the ride.
Biking is a great vacation for families. Parents and children venture into the great outdoors, enjoying new scenery and fresh air while getting plenty of exercise. Cycling any distance, whether on their own or on a 'trail-a-bike' — a sort of half-bike with a seat and rear wheel that attach to the rear wheel of an adult's bike — can give children a huge sense of accomplishment.
Tom Hale, president and founder of Backroads (www.backroads.com), a multi-sport touring company, still remembers the day he and his then 8-year-old daughter covered 25 miles on their bicycles during a trip to Switzerland.
"It was a great day and a big accomplishment for her," he says. "That's really neat, to see kids have that sense of accomplishment."
Be Realistic About Kids’ Stamina
That said, parents have to be realistic about children's physical stamina and interest in biking.
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