by Becky Douglas
This is the eleventh in a series of articles about youth bicycle travel. The articles cover all aspects of developing and executing a bike trip with home schoolers, and are based on Adventure Cycling Association's Pedal Pioneers Guide, a detailed handbook for bicycle travel with kids.
“Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all other journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself: no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip: a trip takes us. Tour masters, schedules, reservations, brass-bound and inevitable, dash themselves to wreckage on the personality of the trip. Only when this is recognized can the blown-in-the-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. I feel better now, having said this, although only those who have experienced it will understand it.”
– John Steinbeck in Travels with Charley .
This bicycle trip may be a monumental experience for your child and, depending on the length of your trip, they may find it challenging to readjust to their regular - and, as they may say, “boring” - daily lives. Depending on the destinations and length of your trip, you may want to have a "debriefing" with your child where they can talk about how great the trip was and what they hope for the future. It may be useful to include other family members and your child's close friends in such a discussion. If you have led a group trip, share a contact list to help them stay in touch with each other.
If you will be shipping your bikes back home, make sure to check in with the shop that will be giving you boxes or helping you to mail the bikes.
In addition to gathering feedback throughout the process of organizing and implementing the trip, post-trip feedback and evaluation are key to learning from the tour. It is important to gather feedback from everyone who helped to make this trip possible. You may choose to do this through written correspondence or meet in person individually or in a group. You may choose to gather feedback the same day the tour ends, or perhaps wait for a few weeks to let the experience sink in. However, memory fades quickly, and many important details may be lost. You may want to do a combination of the two.
During the tour, and as soon as possible after it, it is important to thank all of the partners and trail angels who helped to make your trip possible. Wherever feasible, try to share the your child's direct experience in these communications - giving quotes, photos, or having them actually write a portion of the letter. Goodies, in the form of T-shirts or water bottles, can be great thank-you gift for those who gave above and beyond the call.
You are probably exhausted by the end of a trip: handling all the daily tasks plus riding the bike. When you get the energy together, it is important that you review the feedback you received and combine it with your experience and the real facts. This is where you look at all of your trip choices - like route, overnight accommodations, food, leadership support, and safety training - and evaluate what worked well and what could be improved. You can also identify holes where you, your child, or other support persons could use better training and information sharing. It is also the time to explore whether your time and financial projections were keyed into reality, and make appropriate adjustments for your next trip. Use your journal, photos, maps, credit card and phone bills, and website postings as references.
“One of my favorite things is when the kids come to visit. When they return, and they aren’t kids anymore. They share how what they experienced with us has impacted their lives. It gives me a profound sense of personal joy. A sense of worth as an educator, and, in recent years, a sense of fulfillment as an elder, and a hope for the future.”
– Jim Brady, Santa Barbara Middle School and Educational Safaris and Consulting LLC
You are part of a greater movement to empower kids through bicycle travel. Thank you for introducing kids to fun, fitness, and self-discovery!
Throughout this series of articles, we will be referring to the vast cycling resources that already exist in North America. The articles should be supplemented with other resources that address bicycle safety, camping skills, and group dynamics if you are traveling with several kids. Happy bicycle travels!
Becky Douglas is the Outreach and Education Coordinator at Adventure Cycling Association. Thanks to Kerry Irons for his help in writing this article. The mission of Adventure Cycling Association is to inspire people of all ages to travel by bicycle. They help cyclists explore the landscapes and history of America for fun, fitness, and self-discovery. Becky is the administrator of the Pedal Pioneers Program, which aims to inspire and empower adults who are taking kids on overnight bicycle adventures. She is also the author of Pedal Pioneers: A Guide to Bicycle Travel with Kids and can be reached at outreach@adventurecycling.org
