Cycling for family fun is a great way to combine exercise with quality family time at weekends and during holidays. Many modern families barely see each other some days. With busy lives keeping us apart, it makes sense to schedule in some “family time” and find a fun activity where each member of the family can take part and get fit at the same time.
Cycling is the perfect sport to encourage young children to learn to love physical activity and exercise. Rather than let your kids spend hours on their games consoles, you can encourage them to join the rest of the family on a bike ride through a country park, or simply just meander around the local countryside at leisure.
If you are already a keen road cyclist, instead of rushing off every weekend for time trials and club training sessions in the assumption that your kids are too young to appreciate cycling for family fun, then think again. From the moment babies can support their heads, they can sit safely in a child seat on the back of a bike. If you wait until the kids are old enough to keep up with you on their own bikes, they are more likely to have found other interests to keep them occupied on a weekend—like killing zombies on the latest PS3 game extravaganza.
Family cycling is an activity best begun at a young age. By encouraging the kids to join you for weekend rides, you can help to foster a love of two wheels that will hopefully stay with them for the rest of their life.
Cycling is a wonderful way to explore the local countryside. You can cover far more ground on a bike than you ever can on two feet, but you still have the freedom to stop and admire the view or take a break at a playground to have an ice cream. You might be used to zooming around at the speed of light for two or more hours, but being forced to slow down is a great way to enjoy a whole new perspective on cycling for pleasure.
If your kids are still very young, there are plenty of ways to take them along with you on a bike ride. Child seats and kids trailers are great for small children, plus they are handy for stowing extra gear on longer rides. As they grow older, they will want their own bikes so they can race you. Before you know it, they will be giving you a run for your money and you will be the one left for dead on a steep hill.
Cycling for family fun can be a simple ride to the local park to feed the ducks, or it can be a week long cycling holiday around Holland. Once you and your family discover the delights of leisure time spent on two wheels as opposed to sitting in traffic jams on the M6, you will wish you had tried family cycling sooner. The possibilities are endless, so give it a try and see how much fun you can have cycling together as a family.
