Ride on! A Junior Cyclist's Christmas Wish List

What's the best Christmas gift you could give the outdoor child who loves biking?  A new bike?  A bike upgrade?  Funky new helmet or cycling gloves?  Here is my Christmas gift guide for the junior cyclist in your family - guaranteed to make them squeal Christmas morning!

Ride on!  A Junior Cyclist's Christmas Wish List

One - A Spawn Cycles Bike

While you could go down to ToysRus or Walmart to pick up your child's first bike, there's nothing like an aluminum light-weight bike to help your child master the sport of cycling.  Whether your child prefers pavement or trails, a good bike will get them where they want to go faster.  

My son got his Spawn Cycles 16" Banshee bike this spring and it was incredible to watch how quickly he went from average to amazing on the little green machine!  We transitioned from a balance bike to the new pedal bike in a couple of weeks.

The Spawn Cycles 16" Banshee

The Spawn bikes are not cheap but they are an investment!  They can be passed down to siblings, onto friends, and then onto their siblings.  This isn't a bike that you throw away after a year when it's fallen apart.  

My Junior Rider

To read the full review I wrote on the Spawn Banshee, visit Kids on Wheels - Choosing a Good Bike.  

For more information on the complete line up of Spawn Cycles bikes, visit their website at Spawn Cycles.  Their pedal bikes come in 14", 16" and now 20" with the new Spawn Cycles Savage 1.0 and 2.0.

Off Trail Riding on the Spawn Banshee

I can think of no better gift for an outdoor kid than a new bike under the Christmas tree this year.   And it's the perfect time to justify buying a new bike, right?

Bikes can only be ordered online so visit the Spawn Cycles website.  (Order NOW for all Christmas orders.  They sell out fast.)

Fall Riding

Two - A Fun New Bike Helmet

How much fun would it be to see a cool new bike helmet under the tree in your child's favourite color? Check out the great collection of helmets at All out Kids Gear and support a local Alberta business this Christmas. 

You've got to wear a helmet so you might as well make it as fun as possible to wear one.  Style is everything - even to children.  And who knows, maybe that child who protests and fights every time you pull out the bike helmet would finally agree to wear it if they got to choose a fun new design.

Bike helmets don't have to be boring

Three - Bike Gloves

Safe and Fun!  When a kid falls, it's inevitably the hands that take some of the worst beating.  But it's so preventable.  Buy a cheap pair of bike gloves and your child is not only cool (I'm a real biker now!)  but safer and protected from falls.  We actually had a rule in our house when our son was learning to ride his bike that he didn't get on it unless he was wearing a helmet, long pants, AND gloves.  

Nothing ends a bike ride real fast like scraped hands or knees.

Our favourite bike gloves are the Zippyrooz half finger or full finger gloves that you can order online through All Out Kids Gear. They're lightweight, comfortable, and super stretchy (meaning they'll last a few years!) 

These gloves are also great for hiking and rock climbing! (anything that saves the hands in a fall.)

Off Trail Riding with Bike Gloves - recommended!

Four - Their Very Own Bike Jersey

If you watch cycling on TV with your child, they will know that real cyclists wear jerseys.  How cool would it be therefore to get one of their very own?  And while they are super hard to find, Rocky Mountain Rags out of Colorado has a great kids' collection of jerseys.   

One of our friends showing off his bike jersey at the Canmore Nordic Centre

Five - A Bell!

I'm pretty sure it's required by law to have a bell on your bike here in Canada.  And who doesn't want to have one on their bike anyway?!  Especially for kids - it's the best part about their bike.  And again, another great idea for stocking stuffer!!

Little Bike, Big Bell

And for the child yet to become a Cycle Master - a Balance Bike

Skip the training wheels and teach your child to ride with a balance bike.  Spawn Cycles has a balance bike called the Spawn Tengu which comes complete with hand brakes.  (unusual for a balance bike.)  This is a great option for the dare devil child who can't stay away from hills and is destined for big wipe-outs without a brake. (My son could have used one.)

Mountain Biking on the Strider Balance Bike

For my family personally, we had a Strider Balance Bike which did not have a hand brake, but was light!!

We did a lot of bike hikes with our Strider Balance Bike which involved me carrying the bike up hills, mountains, and steep paths so that my son could ride on flatter terrain up top (or ride down from the top.) For me, a lightweight balance bike was more important than something that had brakes.  

Strider Bike Hiking on Nose Hill

This Christmas, put a balance bike under the tree for your child and you'll be able to teach him or her to ride it in your basement or living room until the snow melts a bit. For bikes, new tires, and other Strider Accessories in Calgary, contact Strider Bike Canada. 

Find my complete set of holiday gift guides below

A Holiday Gift Guide for Happy Campers

A Holiday Gift Guide for Active Kids 

A Ski Family's Holiday Gift Guide 

A Holiday Gift Guide for Outdoor Families: Trips, Activities, and Tours 

A Holiday Gift Guide for Winter Hiking and Snowshoeing  

Top Ten Christmas Gifts for Snowy Winter Fun  

Ride on! A Junior Cyclist's Christmas Wish List

Snow Warm! An Outdoor Mom's Christmas Wish List 

Christmas Gift Ideas for Outdoor Children 

Backpacking in STYLE - no tent, no sleeping bags, and no cooking!

Can you really call it backpacking if you don't sleep in a tent, don't have to carry sleeping bags with you, and don't have to lift a finger the whole time to cook, set up camp, fetch water, or build a fire?  Personally, I choose to think that backpacking refers to any overnight journey where you have to hike, ski, or ride your bike to camp on your own steam carrying at least a few items - and if you have kids, guaranteed you will always be carrying a lot of gear to ensure that you are prepared for everything from snow to rain!

Arriving at Sundance Lodge - our backcountry luxury destination

A Bit of Our Backcountry History

We started our backcountry family adventures when my son was just a year old and we travelled the old fashioned way on foot, carrying everything we'd need for a night at Elbow Lake in Kananskis.  We pushed Noah in a Chariot and used it to carry a lot of gear too.  Once at camp, it was your average backcountry camping trip complete with tent, boiled water for drinking, and fire for warmth. The next year's backcountry trip in Yoho National Park followed in the same style except that we ventured further from the car, hiking a total of 4km to reach our campsite.  Again, we brought the Chariot to help with gear and child transportation, but this time we stayed for two nights.  It was fun and we definitely knew we had started an annual tradition.

A typical backpacking trip for us

Last summer our son was three years old and we figured it was time to up the challenge a bit.  This time he would hike his own way into camp.  No Chariot.  We chose to camp at the Point in Kananaskis for two nights and we had all of the preschool aged kids marching the 3.5km to our overnight destination on Upper Kananaskis Lake.    However, we discovered something important on this trip that will be repeated for years to come - choosing a campsite accessible by canoe makes things a whole LOT easier when it comes to hauling gear in with small kids!  We used two canoes to ferry gear to camp and did shuttles on the way out so that none of the kids had to hike back to the cars.  It was glorious!  We will be doing another similar trip this summer in Kananaskis and have booked the entire Jewel Bay Campground for our group.  Some families will hike in to camp with their gear transported by boat but the majority of us will paddle to our scenic spot on Barrier Lake.

Mom, Dad, kids, the dog, and gear - the BEST way to travel

The final way we've explored the backcountry has been by skiing and snowshoeing into backcountry huts.  We've done this twice now as a family pulling Noah in a ski pulk.  Of all the trips, these have been the most brutal and we are absolutely nuts to even consider repeating this kind of adventure next winter - yet you know we will!

Winter Snowshoeing Adventures

Last Weekend's Epic 20km Return Trip Backpacking Adventure

Now, it's 2013 and our son is 4.  Time to add more challenge to the summer trips I figure.  (see if we can make them as hard as the winter ones) And what better way to do that than to jump from 3.5km of hiking all the way up to 10km  to reach camp! Yes, we are crazy! - but you probably already knew that if you've been following my blog for a while now. Last weekend we completed 20km of hiking round trip as a family over two days with ankle deep mud, rain, hail, and cheap department store running shoes on Noah that were falling apart with every step on the trail.  (We had to put plastic bags in his shoes for the hike out in a desperate attempt to keep his feet dry - which didn't work)

There were three key things that lead to our success in actually pulling off a 20km two day backpacking trip with a four year old: 

One - We let Noah bring his Strider balance bike and he rode about 50% of the distance on the bike

Two - We brought the Chariot along for rest breaks

Three - We all knew that we had a cozy lodge waiting for us at the end of the trail and that knowledge alone kept us going!!  (In fact I told Noah that if he rode right up to the front door of Sundance Lodge, he would get extra cookies!)

Negotiating a rocky section of the trail that had gotten very muddy with the rain

Our Backcountry Home for the Night:  Sundance Lodge, Banff National Park

Holiday on Horseback is a well known Banff company that specializes in trail rides and backcountry trips to cozy lodges or tent camps in the heart of Banff National Park's wilderness.  Cowboys supplied by Warner Guiding and Outfitting accompany you on your journey and ensure you have the trip of a lifetime in the Canadian Rockies!

While I haven't done a horseback ride with Holiday on Horseback (yet), I have skied into their most accessible backcountry destination, Sundance Lodge, twice now and knew I wanted to return in summer as a family.  To read about our winter adventures at Sundance Lodge should you be planning a visit to Banff this coming winter, please follow the next links to Sundance Lodge - Home in the Backcountry and The Secret Backcountry Ski Lodge in the Canadian Rockies. 

To read my informative post on Sundance Lodge in the summer, please follow the link to Kids in the Backcountry - Escape to Banff's Sundance Lodge.  I've covered everything you need to know in this post if you are a family that might want to travel into the lodge with the kids OR if you would like to go on a trail ride with Holiday on Horseback.

Sundance Lodge, Banff National Park

Hiking to Sundance Lodge

Sundance Lodge is easily reached from the Healy Creek Trailhead on the Sunshine Village Road.  From there you follow the Healy Creek Trail to the junction with the Brewster Creek Trail which leads you to the lodge in approximately 10km total one way distance.  We chose to take a short cut trail signed for Fatigue Pass but the name says it all and I can't recommend this way in.  At all.  Possibly on the way out it might be a good way to go if you're on foot because it cuts off a kilometre and is fairly steep so you could definitely save some time.  If you are on bike though, as our son was, you want to stick to the main Healy Creek Trail all the way to the normal junction which then joins the wide, well travelled Brewster Creek trail, switch-backing its way up the steepest part of the trail.  Noah rode his bike the whole way down the Brewster Creek switch backs on the way out but he would have had to walk the short cut trail as he did on the way in.

Making sure he knows where he's going before we set out

The short cut trail we took on the way in - not so bike friendly

The Healy Creek trail is a pretty little trail that would make for a nice day trip to the junction with Brewster Creek and back.  It's very bike friendly and has a nice bridge crossing at the start.  And when I say that it's bike friendly, I mean that even I would ride it and I am the greenest mountain biker out there!   The only challenge we had with this section of the trail was that the creek had overflowed at one low point of the trail requiring a short ford.  Fortunately it was only ankle deep on us and we pushed our son across in the Chariot.

The Healy Creek Trail

Fording the creek at the washed out section

The bridge at the  beginning of the trail

The Brewster Creek trail is great for two groups of people:  Competent mountain bikers making their way into the lodge overnight or people on horseback making their way to Sundance and Halfway Lodge as part of a four day ride.  As a hiking trail there is really little to recommend as it gets muddy with any amount of rain, sees enough horse traffic to create rutted sections through the mud, and isn't especially scenic.  You'll see lots of trees but that's about it until you reach the lodge and can see some mountains poking up behind the lodge.  The Good news - if you have children over 9 years of age, you can make use of the company's guiding service and travel on horseback.  You would then be able to go beyond Sundance as well to Halfway Lodge - which is way way in the Banff backcountry and on my list to visit.

One of the narrower sections of the Brewster Creek Trail - and Noah taking a break

MUD!

Easy riding on the Brewster Creek Trail

Why Stay at Sundance Lodge?

Trail aside, there are many reasons I would highly recommend Sundance Lodge as your next family backcountry destination:

• It is reasonable in price to stay at the lodge compared to other backcountry lodges.  No helicopter access required and if you hike instead of riding it's even more affordable. 
• While it's 10km to the lodge, this is one of the easiest trails your family can find.  We pushed a Chariot into the lodge afterall! 
• There are not many backcountry lodges out there accessible by bike!  And how many accessible by balance bike?  Definitely very few!!
• The lodge is not usually booked full so you have a good shot at enjoying a quiet night with few other guests.  We were blessed to be the only guests in  the giant 10 room lodge on our night - and it was a Saturday night!  (While it's no guarantee, for a better shot at having the lodge to yourself go early or late season, or go mid week)
• Unless the lodge is booked 100% solid full, you'll have your own room for your family which comes with a large comfortable bed for mom and dad, and a bunk bed for the kids.
• The Meals!  Good country home cooking with food your kids will eat!  We're talking chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner (we even got to choose our veggie to go with), fresh  baked cookies and muffins, pancakes and sausage for breakfast, and all the lemonade you can drink!
• This is as classic of an experience in the Canadian Rockies as you're going to get!  Whether you hike, ride your bike, or ride a horse into camp, you are staying in the backcountry of Canada's first National Park at an authentic wilderness lodge. 
• If you choose the four day riding trip to both lodges you will definitely be able to check something off your bucket list because really, who doesn't dream of doing a multi-day horseback trip into the backcountry?  If I can figure out how to make my knees happy with the idea of riding a horse for hours at a time I will definitely be signing our family up when Noah turns 9!
• Sundance Lodge is a great destination for your next family reunion or gathering. With 10 bedrooms there's room for everybody, and each member of your group can choose their preferred method of getting to the lodge so that while some might want to arrive on horseback, others could hike or ride their bike.
• At the end of the day, who wouldn't rather stay in a cozy lodge  after hiking 10km instead of having to sleep in a tent?  Come on, raise your hands!

 

Our backcountry paradise

The lodge living room

Checking out the corrals

Enjoying our private lodge in the evening

Glampers and Mountain Princesses - Sundance Lodge is Your Access to the Backcountry - in Comfort! 

Sorry if I offended anybody with the term "Mountain Princess" but I'm one of the biggest ones out there so I point a finger back at myself!  I love camping, love to plan to go camping, and love it when I'm at camp - but I really don't want to do any work while I'm camping.  And my husband would agree that I'm telling the truth there.

When you stay at Sundance Lodge you have to do the work to GET to camp.  But then it's all done and you can relax in complete comfort and luxury!  I mean check out these amenities:

• Running water
• Solar powered energy for the light switches found around the lodge - and in your bedroom
• Showers!!
• Indoor plumbing (yep, you don't have to use the outhouse once!)

Add the awesomeness that you won't have to do any cooking, you'll have fresh baking and coffee when you arrive, you'll have to carry very few things for your overnight stay, AND if it rains you'll be warm and dry!

Seriously, are you on the phone yet booking your reservation??

The original lodge - now a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Evening at the lodge

For More Information on Sundance Lodge and Holiday on Horseback: 

Check out the last post I wrote, Kids in the Backcountry - Escape to Banff's Sundance Lodge,  which highlights everything you'll need to know from how old your kids have to be to stay at the lodge to minimum ages for trail rides or backcountry trips with Holiday on Horseback.  

Also, visit the Holiday on Horseback website for more information on:

• Hiking to Sundance Lodge
• Backcountry Lodge Trips
• Wilderness Tenting Trips
• Trail Rides
• Carriage Rides
• Reservations

Some final photos of our trip out:  

We ordered REAL hiking boots today so that Noah is set for his next trip.  These shoes are done!

I had to go buy new tires for his bike today - we are seriously riding this Strider into the ground

Happy Camper who did AMAZING on this huge trip!

 Do you have a favourite backcountry destination in the Canadian Rockies that you like to visit as a family? 


Disclaimer:  Holiday on Horseback graciously covered my stay at the lodge.  As usual, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kids on Wheels - An Introduction to Bike-Hiking

Continuing with my Kids on Wheels series, I wanted to write about a great multi-sport activity that you can do as a family this summer.

We've been doing a LOT of Bike-Hiking with my son's balance bike this spring and it's fast becoming a favourite family activity.  There's less whining on the trail, less frustration, less boredom, and much less overall complaining.

Bike-Hiking to Troll Falls, Kananaskis Village

Kids on Wheels - 10 Tips to Make Bike Riding FUN - AND a Great Giveaway!!

 Last week I started a Kids on Wheels Series with the first story - How to Create your own Junior Biker Gang.  This was the follow-up piece to my popular story on our recently formed Bow Valley Biker Gang.  Today I expand on the topic of group bike rides to offer other fun suggestions for making bike riding fun.  You can get out with friends all you want but some kids will still be less than motivated.  Try some of the tips below though and I guarantee most kids will quickly warm up to the idea of riding.  I mean, who doesn't like to have wheels under them so that they can go faster and further?

And please make sure you read all the way to the bottom for a sweet giveaway from our friends at Specialized Bicycle Components.  

Bike Riding is FUN

The Bow Valley Biker Gang

Last weekend we met up in Bow Valley Provincial Park with 9 other families for a preschool bike-hike. With the Bow Valley Campground still closed for winter, we knew we'd see nothing but pedestrian traffic past Middle Lake and would be able to fully enjoy the wide open roads.  There were no cars, no campers, no RVs - just us, and our junior bike gang.

5 Members of the Bow Valley Biker Gang

We turned off Hwy 1 just past the Hwy 40 turnoff for Kananaskis and headed for the Bow Valley Provincial Park Information Centre and Headquarters for the park.  We then parked at the winter gate closure by the Middle Lake Day Use Area and gathered the troops.

Some of the younger ones showed up in diapers or training pants and some showed up with a stroller or bicycle seat mounted on the  back of mom or dad's bike, but every child above the age of 2 showed up with their own bicycle.  The majority of kids were between the ages of 3 and 4 and not one of them had pedals or training wheels on their bike.  We had 10 preschoolers on balance bikes and they were ready to hit the open pavement and take over the park!

Middle Lake - the start of our journey

Many people take this opportunity in spring to bike the closed highways around Highwood Pass or down in the Sheep River area of Kananaskis but we've never considered this as a family because of the steep hills involved that would be much too challenging for a novice cyclist such as our son.  Even parents pulling children in bike trailers would struggle on some of the hills.

Bow Valley Provincial Park on the other hand is the perfect place for a beginner rider to get out and even those on little run bikes will excel here.  While there are a few hills as you make your way to the Many Springs Trailhead and the Whitefish Day Use Area, our children never had to get off their bikes and just had to exercise a bit of caution.  (It helped to have a few parents on bikes who could keep up with the ring leaders and encourage a slower pace on the steeper hills.)

Even a 2 year old can ride a bike in Bow Valley with Daddy at his side

As you can see from the photos, the kids had a rare opportunity to ride on a wide paved road, side by side, and on whichever side of the yellow line they chose.  (So far this hasn't been a problem now that we are back in the city.)  Us adults loved the fact that we didn't have to worry about the kids getting hit or run over.  The only concern we really had was over wildlife but we stayed as a fairly tight group in the front so I'm sure every bear in Bow valley was LONG gone after hearing us coming! 

Gliding down one of the gentle hills in Bow Valley

We reached the Elk Flats Playground and met to regroup.  It was a great destination for the kids at maybe 1.5km one way from Middle Lake and snacks were definitely appreciated at this point.  A couple families decided to turn back but the rest of us continued on towards the Many Springs Trailhead for a short 1km loop hike.  The total bike and hike distance for the day was about 5km which was ambitious, but we knew the older children would be able to make it.  The younger kids would jump into their Chariots or hop on the back of a parent's bike when they tired out.

The trail started to get much wetter past this point

The Many Springs hike is always a spring favourite for us and it's become an annual family tradition.  This was the first year we slightly "cheated" and allowed the kids to take their balance bikes on the trail if they wanted.  While there is a "no bikes" sign at the trailhead, we knew nobody would object to a family pushing small children in a stroller or Chariot.  Therefore, it wasn't much of a stretch to assume that hopefully a kid without pedals could take a very small pre-bike on the trail as well.  (They do have one less wheel after all and a smaller footprint than a Chariot).

The kids had a blast, the hike was very bike-friendly for little riders, and we definitely didn't have to worry about knocking out any pedestrians on the trail.  We met one other hiking group on the trail but our children were moving slowly enough that nobody was at risk of a collision. We left all adult bikes at the trailhead and many of the children continued on foot as well.

Riding on the Many Springs Trail

The biggest challenge of the hike was navigating the boardwalk section over the small pond that the trail circles.  The water level was higher than I've ever seen it, causing the boardwalk to sink as we walked across it.  We learned rather quickly that we had to spread out and take turns getting across.  The first group I was in was bunched up tightly together and I was walking through ankle deep water.  We also learned that if you are carrying rubber boots in your backpack - just in case - that this would be an excellent place to put them on!  Before crossing the pond and not after!

Trying to get to the boardwalk - in sandals

Crossing the boardwalk - again in sandals

Taking a Chariot across the boardwalk that is normally well above the water level!

We got separated out a bit on the hike and had planned to meet up again at the viewing platform on the far end of the pond.  As you can see from the next photo however, there wasn't much of a platform to stand on at this time of year.  Wow!

Unsafe Parenting Since 2009 (my husband's joke)

Fortunately the rest of the hike was uneventful and drier.  Much drier!  The kids were able to enjoy some easy riding or hiking and we all reconvened back at the trailhead for the ride back up to the parking lot at Middle Lake. 

My son having the time of his life on the Best.Trail.Ever!

Most of the families made their way back up the paved road to Middle Lake.  We couldn't resist trying out one more hiking trail though that paralleled the road en route to our final destination.  Worst case scenario, we'd end up carrying our son's light weight Strider bike and just hiking the trail.   (Have I mentioned that these amazing bikes weigh so little you can easily carry them for miles?) Fun scenario, we'd introduce our son and a couple of his preschool friends to single track mountain biking.  No breaks, no pedals - how hard could it be?

Navigating a flat easy section of the Elk Flats Trail

The trail soon became quite rocky, rooty, and steep in sections (by 4 year old standards) as we made our way from the Elk Flats Group Campground to Middle Lake on the Elk Flats Hiking Trail.  Bikes were carried, pushed, lifted over a fallen tree - and ridden!  The kids really did want to ride them as much as possible and thanks to the no-pedal concept, walking their bikes up the hills while straddled over them, was relatively easy.  Getting down steep twisty sections was also do-able with some feet-dragging action to slow down.  Convincing Noah's friend that she should slow down was another issue however!

Noah tackling one of the bigger hills

This truly shows how light a Strider bike is!

No Fear!

It was a fabulous day and I was left on a huge high after watching the kids come down the final hill - in one piece, and with no blood.  We watched one minor fall but overall it was a very successful first attempt at single track riding.  We can't wait to continue with our bike-hikes over the next few months and you can expect many stories to follow on the best local trails and our adventures trying them all out.

Noah making his way down the final hill on the Elk  Flats Trail

An excellent photo that demonstrates the balance learned on a Strider bike