So you know how I like to jump in headfirst? Well, back before my Radish even got here I booked us a campsite to go camping–by bike. Yep.
We did a test pack tonight and I’m quite pleased to see that it looks like I will be able to carry all of our camping gear on my bike without the trailer! I’m really happy that I don’t have to worry about pulling the trailer and adding to the length of my bike. Jesse will carry the kids, the dog (yep), clothes, and the food. I’ll carry the 8-person tent, two adult camping chairs, the stove, air mattress, sleeping bags, and the kitchen gear.
When I first made the reservations I assumed that we could get there by taking the trail. It’s obvious that the Seminole-Wekiva trail should go to Wekiva Springs, right? Turns out that it doesn’t go anywhere near there and if we tried to take the trail for a portion of the ride, we’d end up adding on at least another 10 miles. I don’t mind going a couple miles out of my way to stay on the trail, but 10 miles with all of our gear is out of the question. So it’s all road travel for us. The route is 20 miles, which is the longest ride we’ve attempted with the kids. We’ve never taken the dog out on the bike, so that should add some excitement.
It looks like a really pleasant route. Keri of Commute Orlando, Florida Bicycle Association, and General Cycling Goodness put the route together for us. This is a good time for a sidebar–if you are in the Orlando area, boy are you in luck. I’m pretty certain that Orlando has the best bike advocates in the country. They want you to ride and will actually help you meet that goal. Commute Orlando has a “Ride with Me” program that pairs new riders with ride mentors to help them get comfortable on the streets. Keri has helped both Jesse and I with route planning, which has made an incredible difference in the quality of our rides. If you are thinking of riding, please do yourself a favor and check out the Commute Orlando site.
I’m getting pretty excited. I didn’t try riding around with the gear, since we really didn’t pack it tight enough. It doesn’t look like it will be too heavy, so I’m feeling pretty confident about hauling it the whole way. We’ll be gone two nights–our first camping trip alone as a family (we’ve gone in the past, but always with other family members). What to do with the kids? I’m thinking books, coloring, cards–any other (very lightweight) suggestions?
Ahhh–I’m looking forward to campfires, S’Mores, and early nights.
My trip to Wekiva is 24 miles one way. Decent roads, just bad timing on my part. I ALWAYS seem to start my “test-runs” when auto traffic is heavy…DUH!
I would suggest trying a short test-run with your bike loaded. I was surprised to find out my trailer handled much differently than expected. I’m used to it now and can haul about 70lbs quite easily.
Have a great time!
Could you share your route to Wekiva? We rode there once from downtown near lake eola, but we took the trails the whole way and it was about 45 miles.
This sounds like it is gonna be fun! One question though: How are you solving the dog carrying issue? I’m trying to get my family to ride more recreationally and I keep getting the pushback question “What about the dog?”
Our dog is a puggle, so I’d imagine he is around the same size as Roxy. I have considered just strapping him in the kid trailer, but I’m looking at all the options.
Have a great time camping and keep up the positive attitude with commuting, I’m having a great time reading about your adventures!
Kitzzy, here is a route from Colonialtown to Wekiva Springs State Park. You can modify based on your point of origin downtown.
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/fl/orlando/363125358851780903
How did you get from downtown to the springs via trails the whole way?
I just noticed this reply as I am re-reading these posts because we are attempting it this weekend.
I guess our route is not entirely on the trail, but it is pretty close minus a few miles on roads to connect from one trail to the other. We took the Cady Way Trail to Cross Seminole Trail to Wekiva Trail.
@Rodney – we are leaving Saturday morning and I sure hope we miss a lot of the traffic! Coming back Monday will probably be a different story. As far as the bike, I have ridden it loaded with groceries and then with Sofie–hopefully this won’t be too different.
@Brian Thanks for your comment! We originally planned to put Roxy in the trailer with some gear, but now we aren’t bringing the trailer. I have what is essentially the handle of a leash with a clip (I think it’s meant to hook onto a chain leash) and I would have run the trailer seatbelt through that and hooked the clip to her harness. We’ve done this on long car trips to prevent her from jumping on the kids and it worked great. For this trip, rather than risk her getting out of the Madsen, we bought a soft mesh dog carrier. She’ll ride in the carrier in the Madsen with the girls.
Can’t wait to hear about this camping trip AND to see photos of the loaded bikes. Have fun.