Hi there
I've done a fair amount of touring in my time but haven't done any since my daughter was born. She's now 6 and I think I would like to do a tour next summer with her behind me on her trail-a-bike. My biggest concern is her safety (with enjoyment being a close second). Where would be a good place to ride?
Thanks
Pete

You will find tons if info on gear and advice for tiring with kids in the forums. I started with my oldest son at the same age as your daughter. Initially with a TAB (Burley is much better than Adams) then went to a tandem and now that my second son is 6 we ride a tandem with TAB behind it. Six is a perfect age to start and plan 40 miles max loaded. We started with organized supported rides like the MS150 but they have now raised the min age to twelve so you would have to look at other supported multiple day events. The other fantastic routes we have ridden are the C and O and Great Allegheny Passage rail trail route from DC to Pittsburgh and the Erie Canal across NY State. Both routes are almost entirely off road so you have no cars to worry about and bike traffic once you get out of DC is only moderate. There is also a great week long on road route around Lake Champlain in NY that we are planning to do next year but we have just started to plan that so cannot speak about it personally yet.

I am lucky that I have two brothers in law that have kids the same ages and I got them interested in tandem riding too so we have great family trips with just the dads and all of the kids so it is really fun for all. We have had some really memorable trips so far and it has made all of the cousins a lot closer.

Let us know what ever we can do to help you get started. This is the best thing I ever have done with my kids and now they do not have such a car centric mindset to everything. When else will you get a chance to spend eight hours a day within two feet of your kid just talking and no TV or video games?

Pete, you don't tell us what continent you live on so suggestions are difficult to make.
That is, unless you have a budget and time to fly with your bicycle to any starting point we suggest.

There is also the type of touring you want to do. It can be a credit card tour in Europe with minimal kit or a self contained trip where you have tent, sleeping bags, stove and pots etc.

I took my 10 year old son and 5 year old daughter out on a 6 day 225 mile trip through the California Redwoods this past summer. We rode a Bike Friday tandem with a child seat on the back for my daughter, hauling a flagged trailer with our gear. We'd done some overnight bike camping trips, but this was our first extended tour.

I thought a lot about where we would go; kids' attention spans are short, and if I planned a boring trip, it would be our last. We covered varied terrain including hills and flats, redwood and pine forests, farm and pastureland, open countryside and with ocean views. Towns and services were typically no more than 15 miles or so apart, so we could get a snack or food as needed.

We were on the area's main highway for a fair bit; fortunately there's a wide clean shoulder for most of the way, leaving just a few hairy spots. At least half the time we were on the old highway or a country road, sometimes trading a poor road surface or twisty climb for the lack of traffic.

Many people tour the California coast, but as beautiful as it is, the 400 mile stretch between San Francisco and Los Angeles is much of the same type of beautiful the whole way, and I knew this wouldn't fly with my kids. I haven't yet planned the next trip, but we'll again want to vary the sights and views, keep the towns fairly close together and traffic light...perhaps we'll do some sort of Napa and Sonoma wine country trip. My daughter is now riding the trail-a-bike, so we'll have to figure out a new gear carrying solution.

https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...c_id=7203&v=Ci

I rode the Pacific Coast in 1992. I met a woman who was pulling her 5-year-old son, Ben, in a trailer from Portland to San Francisco. She was on a mountain bike. Pulling Ben and all their gear up the many hills on the west coast was arduous, but she was tough.

I'd be worried on parts of the coast - particularly northern California and the Big Sur coast. There is little or no shoulder and lots of traffic. The Oregon coast is better, although there are still short stretches with inadequate shoulders.

Thanks everyone. Sorry for nor providing more details. I'm in the Southern Ontario area and was thinking about touring anywhere in North America. However, I think for the first trip it would be best to stay within a day's drive from home. I did some reading this morning on Le P'tit Train du Nord north of Montreal and it may be a possiblity. It also looks like the Niagara Circle Route is a possibility as well.
Thanks Again
Pete

Pete,

Have you ridden any real distance with your daughter yet? If not, I'd think first about just doing a day long ride all along the Niagara River from Ft. Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake. This has a lot of things going for it as a first-time-out together. First, it's almost all offroad, on paved paths. Second, it's scenic. Third, it's got interesting things to see and do along the way (the upper Niagara River, the Falls themselves, the Butterfly Conservatory, the long descent at the Escarpment, the white water rapids and Whirlpool, the vineyards and fruit vendors along the lower Niagara, etc). Fourth, there's plenty of snack / rest stops along the way. Fifth, it's downhill practically the entire way! 56 km is a nice ride.

This would give you a chance to gauge her willingness / ability to do an actual tour. You may already have this map, but I thought it was great and ordered the hard copy: https://www.niagaracycling.ca/Niagara...ing%20Maps.htm

I'm hoping to do this ride with my 9 year old sometime next summer; economy, exchange rate and time allowing.