This is a sponsored guest post.
Outdoor adventure always becomes more challenging the more kids you introduce. What used to be a leisurely hike with you and your girlfriend, now requires specialized baby carriers and a fanny pack for the diapers and bottle.
Parents look like an action character except instead of carrying extra rounds of ammunition; they have extra pacifiers hooked to your belt.
The challenge is to maintain a similar level of activity to what you had before the kids. Only now, you have to choose activities that engage the children as well. Most parents rely on places such as the pool or adventure parks to entertain the entire family.
But, for the family who loves the out of doors, it takes more creativity. Boating, camping, and cycling seem to become the de facto choice.
Cycling is one of my favorite choices for families. Cheap bicycles can be purchased online through sites like Dave’s Cheap Bikes. And garage sales always have a wide array of cheap cycling accessories for sale.
Cycling is the universal sport. As they say “once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget.” It is a pretty accurate sentiment.
Long before your kids are riding a bicycle themselves, you can engage them in the sport. Bike carriers and trailers make it easy to bring them along with you on your adventures.
Many families invest in two bikes for the parents and a bike trailer. On the weekends, they head out to a local path for an afternoon of riding several miles, complete with a picnic and feeding the ducks in the lake.
The kids love riding in the trailer, and it is an ideal way to make memories together.
As the family grows, you’ll need to add another trailer, but, before long, you’ll have your first cyclist. Now, some kids take to balance bikes, and they zoom all over the place while mom and dad carry the remain kids in the trailers.
From the balance bike, it is a smooth transition to pedal bicycles with training wheels. And then, before you know it, the training wheels are gone and your children are enjoying their new status as expert cyclists.
What is beautiful about this sport is that it progresses alongside your kids as they grow. What starts off as a fun excursion on the weekend, expands to become mountain biking and camping expeditions. Some kids get so hooked on the sport that they want to take up bike racing.
This addictive outdoor activity creates a never-ending amount of pleasure for the children. Every stroke of their pedal is helping them build a habit that will prevent obesity and heart disease.
It is recommended that children get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. Bikes do an excellent job of inspiring children to engage in the minimum required daily activity.
For most kids, the bicycle offers their first taste of independence and autonomy. Every city block leads them to a new world of adventure and discovery. It’s the one thing they can do “on their own.”
As a result, it’s also the one activity that you will never hear teenagers complain about. No matter how stubborn your teenager is, they are generally excited about going for a ride with mom and dad.
In an era where smartphones and video games are so efficient at snagging our kids’ attention, it is handy to have one trick in the book to use against them.
Of course, this has an added benefit for we adults. It’s commonly held wisdom that we get slower as we age. The adventures we took on when we were 30 don’t look like quite as much fun when we are 40.
But, for the family who rides together, they will always have one adventure that they can do together. The kids will ever want to race you to the next stop sign. They will still push you to go further and harder than you thought you could.
The child’s enthusiasm gives the parent an added advantage. As a parent, you’ll always have a cycling buddy. And children who are physically fit come up with the craziest ideas. Like biking across America. Or joining every fundraising ride that comes along.
These epic trips create the foundation for a lifetime of riding and enjoying each other.
And it all starts with that first bike ride together as a little family. Standing on the brink of new memories and a lifetime of enjoyment.
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