When we travel and decide to camp along the way, we carry the bikes where we can get to them easily. Usually that means they are in the back of the pickup truck. Our double cab gets cramped so the luggage is always in the back, so if it is really packed well, there is always a bike rack, or what is even easier for us... a trailer. Yep, if we are camping, it is much easier for us to have a cargo trailer, not big, but big enough for all our luggage and gear, and the bikes!
I know... this is getting out of hand, but when we go, we go for a week or more in what might be more rugged terrain, and there isn't going to be a super market close at hand... though, more and more... you find a Walmart or some sort of big store even in small, out of the way places. Kind of sad...
So, I pack for a week of eating on an open fire, or maybe just a few days if I think we will be near a restaurant, because... if it makes it easier on me, I'm all for it!
With having bikes ready to ride, be sure to have the first aid kit ready! Believe me, there will be blood... This recent vacation, we had the first accident with a fall off the truck, the second was off the bicycle, the third was as well... sigh... and the fourth... So I was glad that I brought lots of band aids, and extra tape. Chances are, the first ride is going to be before we even start to unpack. This really helps, especially with boys I've found, they have all that bottled up testosterone and need to get it dissapated, riding a bike is just hte ticket to get it out of their systems!
Of course if you bring bikes, you have to bring a pump and a repair kit.
Now, this list of stuff that I bring along is getting out of hand. At some point you have to put your foot down and say... we don't need it... And then you do.
I know now that there are plenty of places to get a tire aired up, and patches if needed... those Walmarts come in handy in this case. But I really like to keep just that little patch kit, shoved back to the back of the kit with the balls and badminton rackets.
Helmets are really necessary, especially if the kids are going to ride on pavement, but I want the whole shebang... knee pads, elbow pads... gosh... I am too over protective, and my son just refuses to wear the extra padding. My grandson lives in the city now, and he is used to riding on pavement in traffic, and he's getting pretty adept at checking for traffic, but my son, ever the country boy, will just go headlong and I worry.
We were staying one night in a KOA.. yes, we broke down and rented a cabin for the night when we ran into a heavy storm...The next morning, I sent the boys on their bikes to the convenience store less than a block away to fetch some ice. There was not much traffic on the road, and it was a wide road, lots of room to ride to the side. They hopped on their bikes, rode off and took a bit of time, more than what I thought it should take.. I got worried, but waited a bit. They came limping into the cabin...My grandson had fallen off his bike, scratching his already scratched up hands, but he wasn't hurt. After a quick bandage, off they went to ride in the mud. They were so happy to ride in the mud. It caked thick on their tires and clumped on their shoes, but it was probably the one thing they really will remember of their trip!
I know... this is getting out of hand, but when we go, we go for a week or more in what might be more rugged terrain, and there isn't going to be a super market close at hand... though, more and more... you find a Walmart or some sort of big store even in small, out of the way places. Kind of sad...
So, I pack for a week of eating on an open fire, or maybe just a few days if I think we will be near a restaurant, because... if it makes it easier on me, I'm all for it!
With having bikes ready to ride, be sure to have the first aid kit ready! Believe me, there will be blood... This recent vacation, we had the first accident with a fall off the truck, the second was off the bicycle, the third was as well... sigh... and the fourth... So I was glad that I brought lots of band aids, and extra tape. Chances are, the first ride is going to be before we even start to unpack. This really helps, especially with boys I've found, they have all that bottled up testosterone and need to get it dissapated, riding a bike is just hte ticket to get it out of their systems!
Of course if you bring bikes, you have to bring a pump and a repair kit.
Now, this list of stuff that I bring along is getting out of hand. At some point you have to put your foot down and say... we don't need it... And then you do.
I know now that there are plenty of places to get a tire aired up, and patches if needed... those Walmarts come in handy in this case. But I really like to keep just that little patch kit, shoved back to the back of the kit with the balls and badminton rackets.
Helmets are really necessary, especially if the kids are going to ride on pavement, but I want the whole shebang... knee pads, elbow pads... gosh... I am too over protective, and my son just refuses to wear the extra padding. My grandson lives in the city now, and he is used to riding on pavement in traffic, and he's getting pretty adept at checking for traffic, but my son, ever the country boy, will just go headlong and I worry.
We were staying one night in a KOA.. yes, we broke down and rented a cabin for the night when we ran into a heavy storm...The next morning, I sent the boys on their bikes to the convenience store less than a block away to fetch some ice. There was not much traffic on the road, and it was a wide road, lots of room to ride to the side. They hopped on their bikes, rode off and took a bit of time, more than what I thought it should take.. I got worried, but waited a bit. They came limping into the cabin...My grandson had fallen off his bike, scratching his already scratched up hands, but he wasn't hurt. After a quick bandage, off they went to ride in the mud. They were so happy to ride in the mud. It caked thick on their tires and clumped on their shoes, but it was probably the one thing they really will remember of their trip!
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