What to take for a bicycle trip with children?

Cycling with children can be a great adventure, but you should prepare accordingly. A well-planned route rich in interesting places to see, a small first aid kit, helmets to ensure safety, and snacks of course (preferable the sweet ones)! You don’t have to spend many hours to organise a successful bike escapade! And we give you hints how to prepare it.

Who comes with us?

When organising an all-day bicycle trek, many factors depend on who will participate in it. A bicycle trek for small children and bicycle trek for family with teenagers will be prepared in vastly different ways. In case of babies, we will need a well-mounted bicycle seat or a trailer, which is more popular, but also more expensive. An incontestable advantage of the latter is the fact that it can fit e.g. siblings of similar age.

Regardless of the age, all trek participants should wear helmets – adults often forget that, but firstly, they should give children a good example. Secondly – a fall from a bike can happen to anyone and a parent should take care of his own safety too because he or she has a family to take care of. A good completion will be gloves that additionally improve riding comfort.

Kids in bike seat on a trip with mum and dad

What things should we pack?

Baltics climate is fickle even during summer and one must be prepared for literally any weather. Even if forecasts announce sun, we should pack a thin raincoat into a backpack. When driving through a forest, we should wear long trousers and blouse with long sleeves (it can be thin) to protect ourselves from ticks. For children, especially smaller ones, we should take a change of clothes – a shirt can be soaked while drinking and shorts can be damaged during fall. In case of babies, we will need spare diapers – for comfort as well as to protect the seat from soiling. Of course, comfortable shoes are the base! All types of flip-flops and sandals are out of the question – covered sneakers will be the best choice. If a trek will last few days and we plan to e.g. sleep in a tent, then we will need sleeping pad and we will have to fit the remaining necessary sleep over equipment into a saddlebag. We should remember about high-visibility elements even if we are planning to travel during daytime. A functional bicycle lights are also important.

First aid kit for bicycle trek

Bicycle treks quite often are a great adventure that reinforces family bonds. Unfortunately, the idyll can be very quickly be ruined by a fall or injury. Cuts can happen to children and for this reason it is important to have a first aid kit available. Stressed and tired people are recommended to eat dishes with this cereal. For that reason, amaranth is a great choice for children in their school years.
Girl on bike trip with her dad in the park

We should put in the saddlebag:

  • disinfectants, e.g. in the form of comfortable
  • anti-septic wipes bandages and plasters
  • UV cream
  • sunburn cream
  • insect repellent

 

Remember! Even if you do not have bicycle saddlebags, you can take a small basic first aid kit into a backpack or on a trunk – remember about properly securing it against loss.

What to drink and eat?

It is worth to prepare proper snacks and drinks regardless of the route’s length. In case of the latter, we should bet on water that effectively quenches thirst and is healthy. We should remember to drink it only during a stop, not while riding.

Saddlebags should also contain snacks and meals in case of longer treks. Eating a nourishing and healthier snack, which will add energy, during a trek feels great. The perfect idea for a snack will be Amki Sesame Snaps that does not take a lot of space and perfectly restore energy and give strength to continue cycling. In addition, it does not melt in its package on sunny days and will not stick to child’s hands.

Sesame-based snack should be included into a diet as the main component of sesame seeds are fats, including unsaturated fatty acids (UFA), which our bodies need in order to properly function.
Read more about benefits of sesame

Amki Sesame Snaps are also convenient snacks that you can eat in any scenery. Of course, it is worth to also take other food: washed fruits – preferably harder ones, such as blueberries, pears, or apples.

Hygiene - a key to stress-free trip

Every mom will certainly remember to take refreshing wipes on a trip to wipe hands of a child and other family members before a meal. Experiences of a pandemic has also taught us new habits – most people keep disinfecting liquid or spray in their baggage. Of course, when we plan to travel for a longer period of time, we should put other hygienic products that we use on a daily basis in the saddlebag. We should remember about cosmetics for child – although there will be no opportunity to take a shower in camping conditions, but a child can clean its teeth using even water from a stream.
Bicycle with a bag leaning against a railing on a dam
Repairing the rear derailleur on your bike using an allen key

When a bicycle breaks - bicycle first aid kit

When we travel with a child, we must be especially prepared for possible bicycle malfunctions. Therefore, we should prepare bikes for a trek already on the planning stage. We can hand them over to professionals – a bicycle repair service, but we can also do it ourselves. We should also take into account that saddlebags should contain basic equipment that will allow us to remove defects on an ongoing basis. It is of upmost importance to take things that we will be able to use, be it spare parts, keys, or a repair kit. Even the most expanded equipment will be of no use if we will lack knowledge on how to replace damaged bicycle parts. We should also remember that in case of a forced we should calm our child stressed with occurring situation. We should hug it and tell that this is a temporary break in the trek. You can turn an emergency into adventure and use the forced stop to call grandmother or beloved aunt and tell her about the trek.