Cycling 1000km Across France with Small Kids

Last summer, my wife and I cycled from Orléans to Hendaye (French/Spanish border) with our 2 year old and 4 year old boys. To prepare we did two other 4-day trips near the Loire, as well as day trips around Paris.

For the longer trip, we took the train from Paris to Orléans to avoid busier roads heading due South or the curvy Seine path that would have added 3-4 days. We followed the Eurovélo 6 route along the Loire via Blois and Tours before cutting to the Via Francette a bit before Saumur*. We followed the Francette through Niort and the Poitevin Marsh before arriving at La Rochelle. From La Rochelle we followed the Vélodyssée along the coast the rest of the way. It took 16 days, including two rest days.

Going in, I wasn’t sure what to expect with the kids, so I figured I’d share our experiences for any one interested.

Takeaways:

1. The most important: The kids really enjoyed it. I had no idea how it would go having them in the trailer together for many hours a day. They would fight and complain sometimes, but overall they were more chill than just a normal day at home. They definitely enjoyed the adventure in it. Our first day out on one of the smaller rides we got lost at night on terrible mud paths in the rain in the woods and they took it in stride.
2. We had the trailer as well as a child seat on the back of my wife’s bike. She’d keep a backpack on the seat most of the time. If the kids were fighting or we just wanted to change it up, she’d swap my youngest with the backpack. A lot of my best memories were chatting with my oldest when it was just the two of us.
3. The route was incredible. I chose it to be close to sea in case a heatwave came through (more moderate weather). Every day there was cool stuff to see. The French countryside is beautiful. The routes were well marked (I just followed the signs) and there were no dangerous sections. It was all on small country road or paths.
4. It is hard hauling that trailer. The first day out we brought way too much stuff and it broke the connection to my bike. Even once we got the weight down, it is a good workout. When we finished (averaging 50 mile days), I went out on my own and did a 160 mile day and felt good. It took me maybe 3-4 days to really find my legs on the longer trip.
5. You need to find a rhythm that works. We would wake up and give the boys breakfast in the trailer. They were generally pretty chill in the morning and my youngest would usually take a nap. We’d try to knock off 2/3-3/4 of the distance before lunch. This of course depended on logical stops. We’d then take a long 1-2 hour break at a park or the beach. We mostly stayed at Airbnbs so would try to get in around check-in at 4/5. In the afternoon, both kids would nap so we would put our head down and push. Because, breaks woke them up, we had to keep moving during this time. We’d get in and usually prepare dinner at our Airbnb.
6. Toys: Lots of legos. It worked pretty well overall. I also discovered an extensive rock collection at one point – if the trailer wasn’t heavy enough.
7. We missed a lot of attractions. We passed tons of cool chateaux, vineyards, restaurants, etc, and rarely stopped. Going on a tour of a castle with two little kids takes energy, and we normally opted for just chilling in a park. In the Loire especially, if you wanted to stop and see a lot, I’d recommend really light (20-30 mile) days. On the other hand the stretch through pine forests along the coast was magic, getting to stop at the beach for all our stops.
8. We had an added complication of my wife’s diet. At the time she couldn’t eat all sorts of things (bread, cheese) because of an auto-immune disease. For lunches, we would buy hummus/vegetables/tuna/crackers that she could eat from the grocery store. I’d often get something from the boulangerie. 
9. Train logistics. We took the train from Paris to Orléans, and then a side-trip off the route to see Bordeaux. In France you need to have the trailer in a bike bag to take it on the trains. No problems with the bikes, though you sometimes need a reservation (check on busy weekends).
10. Bike shipping: I had signed up for someone to take the bikes back to Paris for us, who canceled on me at the last minute. We shipped them (60 euro each) with the Spanish post.
11. We had a few repairs (broken brakes, flats). Usually a Decathlon was close if we were missing a part.
12. We stayed mostly in Airbnbs. The littlest would sleep in a sleep sack on a foam mat. There was always a couch or something for the oldest. Places are used to people bring their bikes in – though not always fun hauling the two bikes and trailer up 6 flights of narrow stairs. Airbnbs were reasonable in larger towns, but costs exploded going through tourist season in all the southwest beach towns.
13. Our main regret was not leaving it more open ended. We had to leave shortly afterwards, otherwise we would have kept going.

Favorite Stretches

1. Pine forests and beaches between Royan and Arcachon.
2. The last, hilly stretch from Biarritz to the border. I enjoyed Bayonne a lot as well.
3. Coming into (and taking a rest day in) La Rochelle after a beautiful but incredibly windy day through Poitevin marsh.
4. The hilly section between Airvault and Niort.
5. Vineyards and sunflower fields near the Loire. The wooded section near the Vienne was nice too.
6. Canals and then a major oyster area (and a boat crossing) south of Rochefort.
7. Coming into Blois.

Our family all really enjoyed this trip. I highly recommend the route to other families.

*Note: The stretch between the Vienne and Saumur is a real highlight with all the troglodyte caves and vineyards. We did this on another trip between Angers and Orléans. But on the longer trip we took the shortcut, staying in Fontevraud-l’Abbaye.