Cycling, Travel, & Fatherhood: Life Just Keeps Getting Better

Life just keeps getting better. When I was a kid, bicycling was one of my favorite pastimes. I remember my first bike, a 20 Coast-to-Coast Black Hawk. It looked sleek and fast, and I still have it. I lived in a small town, and I rode it up and down and around the dirt lot near my house. It was exciting. I could get around on my own. As a teen, I bought a used road bike, a 27″ 15-speed Schwinn Paramount for $30 (much too big for me). I envied my friends, because they all had cool new banana bikes, but soon I grew stronger and explored beyond the local grocery to pick up a soda. Only now do I realize how valuable that road bike was. I could cross town with ease–to swimming, to bowling, to my friend’s house, and to nowhere. When I reached my mid-teens, now the freedom of my bike allowed me to travel! I could choose my own destinations, not those of my parents, and get there for next to nothing. Living in central Connecticut, I explored regularly, riding to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York. At 16, I rode by myself to Niagara Falls (500+ miles). I was quite a sight, still on that Schwinn, weighed down by all my gear including the pots and pans that my Mom sent along. Recently, at age 53, I began training on my carbon fiber Trek to get ready for the L’Étape du Tour 2010, which climbs Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees. But also, as a Dad, I am reliving the gift of giving freedom and exploration to our kids. I put our daughter on the back of my bike when she was about 1 year old, and I rode her to the zoo and the park. She started riding her own bike at 5 and would tool around Golden Gate Park on her own. Now, at 10, she is riding a 20″ Trek with derailleurs and hand brakes. Our son is 9. His is on the autism spectrum, which makes it hard for him to coordinate the actions of pedaling and balance. We started him on a Rolli Rider (a wooden bike without pedals) when he was 3. It was perfect. He started out by œriding (walking/running) and later progressed to coasting. Last summer, at 8, he was riding on a larger bike still without pedals or behind me on a Trail-a-Bike. Then on a camping trip, he could no longer wait for Dad to give him a push, so he started pedaling on his own. Now, on long bike trips, he rides his own bike on the quiet roads and dirt paths, and he rides on a Trail-a-Bike on the busy sections. I don’t mind pulling him on a Trail-a-Bike, as he has never talked to me so much as when we are riding together. He likes to sing while we ride too. Instead of using training wheels, I recommend that everyone put their kids on a bike without pedals. I love to do local rides with our kids that incorporate events or destinations. We ride along the Pacific Ocean and stop for root beer, ride through Golden Gate Park and listen to jazz bands, and ride with their friends and stop for lunch at Fisherman’s Wharf. We even ride through Chinatown, weaving through the traffic (my son on the back of my bike), to join Mom for Dim Sum. They particularly like to go to Yosemite and bicycle around the Valley. It’s fun to ride from the swimming hole, to the waterfalls, to ice cream, and back to swimming. Bicycling in San Francisco has become tremendously popular, with miles and miles of bike lanes around the City. Mom is now biking to work, and perhaps our children will choose to bike to work as adults too: it’s cheap, healthy, and faster than public transit. Importantly, now we travel the world together as a family – on bikes with Ciclismo Classico. I love these escorted vacations. I feel much safer exploring with our kids, with a support vehicle and guides (BTW, the guides are with the kids). We immerse ourselves in the local culture (hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing, feeling), and the experience is greatly enhanced by the personal experience of meeting and talking with the locals. We took our first family bicycling vacation when Angie was 8 and Devin was 6. Our kids explored Sardinia (summer 2008), eating in the mountains with shepherds, swimming in crystalline seas, and slurping hand-made gelato. ( ) Our son, who loves to eat, wants to travel everywhere now, but he recently advised us that “We must stop in Italy to pick up our food on the way.” Also, they have ridden along the rice paddies of Vietnam (Christmas 2009), cooked with farmers, climbed ancient ruins, and viewed the world through new eyes. ( ) Our daughter was amazing, riding through the dense bike traffic of Hue. The roads were teaming with bikes and motorbikes, all moving like schools of fish that wove together like fabric at street intersections. I was quite gratified to hear her advise her friends that Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) was the most important place to visit in the world. When I ask them what they like best about our bike vacations, they say “Everything!” This summer we will travel north of the Arctic Circle to the to explore fishing villages with Ciclismo Classico (departure July 3, 2010). It is a family bicycling vacation, so I suggest that you grab your kids and join us for our next great adventure. We plan to stop in Copenhagen on the way to Lofoten to visit this beautiful city, renowned for its bike culture.