Just got back from a 3 day trip in the south west of Western Australia. By bikepacking standards it was pretty tame; 60k’s over 3 days. But I had my 3 kids with me and it was a big trip for them, particularly coming off months of injury/illness. I posted about the route before (Munda Biddi Trail Jarrahwood-Nannup then Timberline Trail back to Jarrahwood) but I learned some good lessons from it:
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Travelling with kids (10-15 years old), expect to carry most of their stuff. I was using a one-wheel trailer for the first time and it was a game changer. 2x 20L dry bags with the younger 2’s tents, mattresses and some food on it, more of their stuff on my bike. They carried their own sleeping bags and clothes.
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The one-wheel was excellent. It has a 27.5” wheel (same as my MTB) and for the riding we were doing (rail trails and some single track) I could easily have forgotten it was there most of the time. It just tracked along with the bike. The one exception was that it did start to pop off the axle mounts on really rough terrain. I think that was a setup issue on my part (I got it secondhand and never read the instructions).
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Night riding is fun. We started late (5pm, sunset at 5:20) and had 15km to ride. Ended up doing most of it in the dark. It was on a rail trail so essentially straight, flat (100m climb over 5km) and smooth with a few interesting bits. It ended up being one of the highlights of the trip for the kids. It’d be a different matter on more technical terrain, but for where we were it was excellent.
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When people get cold at night, warm them up. #2 kid ended up with a leaking tent and a wet sleeping bag at 2am (it’s winter here and single digits Celsius). I got up, put my warm clothes on him, put my bivy bag inside his sleeping bag (synthetic so it still insulates a bit) and heated up some milk for him to drink. It was enough for him to get back to sleep and have a tolerable night. If he’d just suffered through it he probably would have gone down with hypothermia.
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Packing/prep for 4 people takes longer than you think. I didn’t leave enough time. I was still fitting new brake pads to my bike at the trailhead. Same goes for packing up in the morning.
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Tow ropes for kids are mandatory. Even my eldest who is typically a machine was feeling off (sick and coming back from months of injuries) and needed a tow every now and then. It’s faster than walking up the hill and shows the kids that they aren’t going to be left to their own devices. Over day 2 they all got a tow every now and then and it made all the difference.
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Be realistic about what you can achieve. Our moving average speed was 9.3km/h. Closer to 4.8km/h if you include stops. Not a lot. But it is what it is. Plan to cover less ground and enjoy the trip more.
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Bring something to sit on. Even a square of closed cell foam is better than getting a wet/cold backside.
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Radios. Always. We have a set of walkie talkies that we always carry. They are invaluable and allow us to spread out without losing contact. They are the best thing we’ve ever done and we always regret it when we don’t have them. We don’t have to yell to keep in touch and I can stay at the back (so the kids set the pace) while still calling turns and stops for the faster kids at the front.
Different people wear them different ways. #1 kid has a quad lock on the handlebars. #2 in a camelbak with an earpiece, #3 has a simple belt with the radio on it (she and I always ride close together so it’s more for emergencies). I either clip mine to my camelbak chest strap or put it on my back with a remote microphone.
I can’t stress this one enough. If you’re riding in groups, especially with kids, get a radio for everyone and teach them how to use it. We have a fairly strict “don’t mess around on the radio” rule otherwise people will turn them off/down which defeats the purpose.
- Screw the plan (sort of)… enjoy the trip first. We ended up very nearly exactly following the plan but we adapted when we needed to and it made all the difference, apart from anything it reduces stress levels enormously when you have already decided to be adaptable before things go pear-shaped.
by notadoctoriguess