Evening Family Bike Rides

My husband and I are a typical couple. We’re pretty crazy about each other, but if we haven’t been investing in our relationship, we actually start to drive each other pretty crazy. From the early days of our relationship, one of our love languages has been the time we spend biking together- pedaling, sweating, talking, and connecting. When we start to feel pulled in different directions, one of the best ways we can reconnect is by going for a ride.

Since our daughter was born 10 months ago, and we’ve had job changes, it’s been more challenging to get out and ride together as often as we’d like. This spring we recommitted to getting out and pedaling with the kids after work as often as we can. We load the kids in the trailer, grab our lights and head out just before sunset.

Gearing up for Safety

While it’s relatively easy to head outside with the kids in tow, there are a few important safety precautions that must be followed.

Helmets:

It goes without saying that each time you head out for a ride, every member of the family needs a helmet. While it’s easy to find helmets that fit adults and children, finding infant helmets can be more challenging. Measure your little one’s head circumference, and pay close attention to the specifications and measurements online. Make sure the fit is snug and secure, and expect that your infant isn’t going to initially love wearing a helmet.

Visibility:

While it’s important to make sure that you have the ability to see the road and any obstacles ahead of you, it is equally important that you are visible to other cars and cyclists. I’ve been surprised how many fast traveling cars we’ve encountered on dirt roads after dusk. We not only wear lights, we also put them all over our trailer- our children are our most valuable cargo! We wear light up armbands, front and rear lights (the rechargeable ones are AWESOME), and deck our trailer out in spoke lights and rear lights. Even though I am partnering with Nite Ize on this project, I actually had purchased many of these exact same items from REI when I started pulling my trailer a few years ago.

Road Repair:

The thing about biking is that you can cover a lot of ground pretty quickly. You don’t want to find yourself miles from home after dark with a flat… especially if the kids are with you. It’s always good practice to travel with spare tubes, a pump, and a multi tool. About once a season I practice changing a tire, just to make sure I feel confident and capable. If we’re riding in a new area, we download maps. I love this handlebar phone mount to reference maps while riding.

The lulling rhythm of the ride in the trailer calms the kids before bed, while my husband and I get to reconnect and talk. We’ve loved this new night time routine so much that we now bring our bikes with us camping (all of these photos are from our last camping trip in Fruita). We love the hour we get “alone”, and love that our children get to watch the sunset before bed.

Thank you to Nite Ize for kindly sponsoring this post. All opinions are 100% honest & completely my own.