Cycle touring with children: it can be done

Don't think bringing children along for the ride means you have to miss out on one of cycling's true pleasures. You just need to do a bit of extra planning

One of the great joys of riding a bike is touring - pedalling from place to place, without a fixed timetable, ideally with camping gear and everything else you need strapped to your bike. So that poses a question: can you do it with children?

The answer is a qualified yes - qualified in the sense you just need to do a bit more planning. We recently tried out a first brief family cycling tour with our son, now seven, and learned a lot in the few days of cycling through the Surrey and West Sussex countryside.