Saving turtles. Swimming in lakes. Sleeping in a tent. Seeing the countryside from the seat of your bike. Family bike camping trips can be positive and lasting experiences. “Let’s Go Family Bike Camping” is a book to help families get started. Half the book is full of stories and photos from my own initial trips with one toddler and later two kids aged 5 and 8. I share our failures and fears as well as our successes and joys. The second half of the book is full of tips with ideas for your trips. It includes tips on planning, gear, entertaining the children and more.

See the full list of planned chapters below. Not yet written chapters are marked as TODO. Feedback on tips to include or that you’d like me to cover are welcome.

Where I have related blog posts or photos I’ve already published, I’ve added links to the content you can sense of some of what’s in store.

Part One: Touring with a Toddler

• Training with Sleep Dog: First Long Ride with a Nap-prone Toddler
• Notes from a Four Day Cargo Bike Tour with a Toddler (TODO)

Part Two: First Family Bike Tour with Two Kids

• Day 1: Home to Deam Wilderness Area
• Day 2: Deam to Hardy Lake
• Day 3: Hardy Lake to Clifty Falls
• Day 4: Clifty Falls to Louisville
• Day 5: Exploring Louisville Car-free
• Day 6: Louisville to O’Bannon Woods
• Day 7: Rest Day: O’Bannon Woods
• Day 8: Tipsaw Lake and Pirate S’mores
• Day 9: Tipsaw Lake to Santa Claus
• Blowout!
• Days 10 & 11: Holiday World
• Moving on after the blowout
• Back Home
• Routes, Maps and Stats

Part Three: Tips for Family Bike Camping

• Counting Cows: Our Favorite Family Bike Touring Game
• Getting into Shape for Loaded Touring
• Building and Maintaining Back Health
• How to Carry Gear for You and Your Kids on Your Bike
• Managing Traffic on a Family Bike Tour
• Extra low Gearing for Family Bike Touring
• Top Five Tools for Bike Tour Route Planning
• How to Attach a Burley Piccolo to Xtracycle
• How to Attach a Burley Piccolo to a Yuba Mundo
• Saddle Comfort for Adults and Children (IN PROGRESS)
• Cargo Bikes vs Bike Trailers
• Cargo Bike Comparison: Xtracycle vs Yuba Mundo vs Bakfiets
• Advance Financial and Gear Planning
• Meal Planning and Cooking for a Family on the Road (TODO)
• Kid-friendly Camping Meals (TODO)
• Non-traditional Family Bike Camping Spots near your House (TODO)
• Cargo bike Modifications for Family Bike Touring (TODO)
• Car-lite Bike Camping (TODO)
• Electic Cargo Bike Camping (TODO)
• Family Bike Camping in Freezing Temperatures (TODO)
• Riding in the Rain (MAYBE)