Bicycling is for kids…of all ages!
We live in a paradise for bicycling, on a picturesque, coastal route that used to be regularly recommended as one of the nicest places to ride in the world. I know this because, way back in the day, I used to write the newsletter and answer the mail for Bicycle Nova Scotia, a volunteer group of devotees to the bike. It was one of the reasons I thought up the idea of operating a bicycle touring company: lots of people loved Nova Scotia!
As a resident here on the beautiful Aspotogan Peninsula for nearly 20 years (before that, we lived on the other side of St. Margaret’s Bay), we have noticed a significant change in the road usage. It used to be that people that we didn’t know were riding this route, coming from all over the place to cycle it. Now, people are going other places to ride, places where they can count on dedicated bike lanes, and a “bicyclists welcome!” ethic that feels safe for people travelling with children. Nova Scotia finally seems to be recognizing that bicycle people are wonderful people, and want them to come back and ride our beautiful coastlines once again.
Nowadays, after running Freewheeling Adventures for nearly 25 years, we are deeply involved in more of an educational process that begins, as it always should, with the kids. Just last week, many of us here at Freewheeling were trained by “Making Tracks”, a youth Mentor cycling program. The program is an initiative of “Active and Safe Routes to School”, which encourages more children, youth and their families to use active transportation.
We brought up two boys (now ages 19 and 20) in this area, and from a tender age, they were on the bike. Those baby/kid trailers made it easy and fun to bring the children on an adventure. I loved buckling them in, side by side, with their books, their juice and cheerios, and a few toys, and bringing them to a different place on the Loop (as the Aspotogan Loop is affectionately called by locals). We would stop for a beach outing, visit the local café for snacks or lunch, buy some groceries, visit friends. Mostly, they would doze off to sleep immediately, bumping happily along behind me.
I was a bit of a pioneer in this area, alas. Many people thought I was putting my children at risk by sharing a road with them and cars, trucks, motorbikes, tractors, and the other ‘usual suspects’ who use motor power to get around. As the boys got older, they would ride their trikes, then, eventually, bicycles, to play soccer or t-ball. I once heard one mother tell her two sons: “You’d better be good or I’ll make you bicycle to soccer practice like those Guest boys.”
I brought them on a Freewheeling Adventure when they were about twelve or so. There were two families on a Family Frolic in Prince Edward Island, so I thought I’d join the trip and see what it was like to be on one of my very own adventures. The boys loved it, and formed lasting friendships (as did I!) with the other participants, even at that young age! They surprised themselves, and me, by cycling on the Confederation Trail for more than 50 km one day. Mostly, the kids liked to ride for part of the day, then go to the beach, or explore their fantastic inns, all magnificently appointed. I had grown up spending two weeks every summer in P.E.I., loving Anne of Green Gables, horseback riding, beach combing, campfire singing, and so much more. Here were my children seeing the island from a different point of view, and loving it, just like me!
Two years ago, we had a family excursion to Cuba, a true adventure since we took our bikes with us, packed all our belongings in panniers, and set off cycling right from the airport in Varadero. I wrote about it (it’s published on my blog on our Freewheeling site). We thought we’d gone a little too far that time: there was no Freewheeling van support, no fancy inns in the little inland towns, no cafes to visit along the way. For the boys, it was more of an “educational trip”.
Last summer, during a visit I was having with my neighbour, Cameron, I was preparing to set off to nearby Hubbards by bike to get a few groceries in my now empty “baby trailer”, and she asked if she could come with me. Ruefully, I told her to go ask her mother (she was 12 years old), not expecting a positive response. But Michelle, bless her, said: “Go, and be careful, and listen to Cathy,” …she was given permission to ride 11 km, each way! over two big hills, each way! sharing the road with motorized vehicles. She did a great job. We stopped at the beach on the way home, and she met some friends there, unexpectedly. Now, it seems, there’s a group of almost-teenage girls that want to ride with me to Hubbards, or Bayswater Beach, or on the back trail.
In our neighbourhood, we formed a group about six years ago called The Route Enhancement Committee of the Aspotogan Peninsula (RECAP) after we learned, at a community meeting, that people didn’t know that cyclists had the same road rights as cars. When the RCMP told everyone, clearly, that this was so, there was a lot of headshaking and muttering. For cyclists, it was a sobering victory. Over the last few years, RECAP has been able to get “Share the Road “ signage along The Loop, and, with volunteer help and some grant money from local groups, have helped to equip many local businesses, community centres, schools, and other places of meeting with bike racks, bright yellow, and very sturdy.
It was a dream of mine to have a job in which I got to ride my bicycle, not wake up with an alarm clock, meet new people, travel, and be outside. You may not embrace, as I did, the idea of owning your own bike tour company, but you can still ride your bicycle, as a [grown-up] kid, or with your kids anywhere in the world, or in your own backyard.
Happy trails and tailwinds to you!
