Family Biking

I would consider our recent adventures as micro-adventures. In fact they were such a small change in routine for us that we might not have even thought about writing about them.

Since the month of June was Bike Month I decided to think carefully every time I  needed to leave the house. I wanted to use the car as little as possible and ride our bikes as much as possible. Every trip was accompanied by the question "Is there any reason we can't bike?". It turned out that many of the trips were totally doable on a bike.

Our youngest daughter rode in her bicycle seat on my bike to get to preschool. Our middle daughter rode on our 'trail-a-bike' to get to and from school and our son rode his own bike. It was a great way to see things that you miss while in a car.

Ready to Go!

An Old Trail-a-Bike Picture

Coming Home From School

 Here's what I liked most about our month of biking:

• The kids kept asking if we could bike.
  
• We helped the environment - a little. We would normally drive our youngest daughter to preschool so we reduced some driving there. The other kids ride a school bus that comes by our house whether they're on it or not. Removing their combined 100 pounds from the bus probably doesn't do much  for the environment but they understand that biking in general is better for the environment.
  
• We immersed ourselves in bike culture. Every day was about biking. How far would we go today? What route would we take? Could we make it home before the bugs came out? Would we beat the bus home?
  
• Fitness. We all got a ton of exercise as a result of all our biking. It feels great to be in better shape.
  
• Being outside. It's no secret that as a family we love being outside. This gave us a way to sneak in more outdoor time on school days as well as other days. In addition to just being outside the kids got to see more nature. It was great to watch the older kids stop on to watch a rabbit that was up ahead on the trail on the way to school. Perhaps the highlight of the month was biking our youngest daughter home from preschool and seeing a deer bounding along side us as we rode, then watching it stop to watch us pass. Who knew a three year old could be so appreciative and respectful of nature (complete with her little whisper so as not to scare it).

I really liked how biking seemed to enhance some of our outing. As an example, one day the kids wanted to go fishing so we decided to bike to the river. We biked along the road to get there but on the way back we took the multipurpose trail. I think they enjoyed the ride along the trail as much as they did the fishing. Everyone was smiling, happy and well worn out just in time for bed.

Our bikes helped us realize the fact that you don't have to go far to have a good time outside.

What are your favourite micro-adventures or family biking stories?