Make Tracks
Nature For Kids encourages you to trade your screen time for green time this Columbus Day Weekend!
Take part in “Make Tracks”, a family trail weekend, Oct 11-13, 2008. It’s Part of the National Wildlife Foundation’s Green Hour campaign, which urges parents to give their kids a daily dose of nature, something Nature For Kids is all about!
Just go to Nature Find and enter your zip code to find outdoor activities near you. And if you’re new to the whole outdoor scene, no problem, maketracks.org provides a list of supplies, tips for family friendly activities and a link to Nature Find. Here at Nature For Kids in our hiking and biking categories we also have a wealth of information.
Have an enjoyable weekend making tracks!
hiking, biking, make tracks, nature, nature for kids, outdoors, family
Good Biking Reads
Recently here at Nature For Kids we talked about Learning To Ride A Bike.
I think like most outdoor activities for kids it couldn’t hurt to correlate some reading material with it. Here are some good reads when it comes to biking…
Marta and the Bicycle by Germano Zullo
The editorial review reads…”With perfect poker-face kookiness, a Swiss team chronicles how an indefatigable, bicycle-loving bovine named Marta becomes a racing champion. Certain that her owner, Monsieur Gruyere, is too cheesy to buy her a two-wheeler, Marta builds one with parts scavenged from the town dump. Then she patiently teaches herself to ride. “She fell down. A lot. She scraped her hooves. She scraped her horns. She even scraped her tail.” (This funny multi-drawing spread also contributes new words to the blooper vocabulary, such as “paf” and “spotch.”) Albertine’s watercolor-and-ink drawings combine an elegant fine black line with a nonchalantly loopy sensibility. Marta’s tiny eyes radiate a cross-eyed determination, and none of the other bikers looks askance at her (perhaps because so many of them have the same chunky physique). Throughout the illustrations, signage appears in its original French-from “Poissonnier” on a fish delivery truck to “Arrivee” at the bike race finish-adding a nifty cosmopolitan touch. Although the trend-setting Marta is ready to move on at story’s end (”If everyone is going to ride bicycles, I’ll have to find something else,” she says, as her fellow herd members balance on two wheels), youngsters will rally for a repeat rendezvous with this slyly funny heroine who refuses to be cowed. Ages 4-8.”
Biking: An Outdoor Adventure Handbook by Hugh McManners
The editorial review reads…”The author, who has written several outdoor adventure/sports books for adults, tries his hand at one for kids who have a yen for riding the back roads. Following discussion of bike features (he focuses on multigear bikes), clothing, and equipment, McManners takes a look at basic skills, which many kids already know, adding some new perspective by suggesting a variety of games and activities for perfecting techniques for off-road rides. He even includes brief instructions for homemade obstacle courses. Tips for mapping and following a course, bike maintenance, and fixing a puncture are presented as well, with loads of colorful photographs splashed across the pages, but the photos, though quite clear in most cases, are too small to be much help, especially when it comes to bike maintenance and repair. However, the handbook is perfect for fitting into backpack or bike pouch.”
Do you have any good biking reads to recommend? Leave a comment here at Nature For Kids!
biking, reading, read, bike, good books, kids, nature
Biking With Toddlers
If you want to know what the hottest things on wheels are, just head to my friends’ garage in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Andy and Adrea, parents of Elijah, Olivia and little Astoria (Story), have the dream bike setup for biking with toddlers.
We stopped by for a visit over the 4th of July weekend and were in awe when we saw all the fun toys in their garage. There was an array of long boards, snowboards, bikes, bike seats, bike trailers, rafts, motorized scooters and more!
The thing that stood out the most to us was the bike setup they have for their young kids, a front mount toddler bike seat and a trailer bicycle. Our kids took a test spin with their dad. Needless to say they have some ideas for their next letter to Santa Claus.
Currently we have a bike seat for our toddler like this.
It sits right above the rear wheel. It has worked well but unfortunately my kids have to look at my behind the entire time we’re riding. Also I feel like the seat tips with each turn throwing me off balance a bit and leaving the bike back heavy. I’d really like to give the front mounted seats a try.
I’m sure the child appreciates the ride more when up front because it’s more interactive for them. All the weight is centered in the middle making turns and bumps easier to handle too. If you’d like to learn more about front mounted child bike seats read these two reviews done by the Gear Junkie.
The trailer bikes are a great way to get new riders use to balance and pedaling without having to worry about turning. My three-year-old couldn’t stop talking about his experience on the trailer bike. It’s the perfect size for those kids too big for an enclosed bike trailer but too small to ride their own bike.
Andrea and Andy took part in Jackson Hole’s Pole, Pedal, Paddle competition. They entered the family division and took their kids along with them! Take a look!
Now if this doesn’t inspire you Nature For Kids readers I don’t know what else will!
Check out these other wild setups that allow biking with toddlers, a tandem and a quad!
*Buying Tip
Be sure you buy an attachment (trailer or seat) that will fit your bike. Some bike trailers can’t mount to bikes with disc brakes. And some seats can’t fit on bikes with large center tubes, the ones between the handlebars and front forks. So be sure you keep your bike in mind when buying attachments and always keep your receipt!
Don’t forget about the flower child contest going on here at Nature For Kids. Send in your best photograph of your flower child to shawna@natureforkids.net. Contest ends July 31st.
outdoors, adventure, biking, bike seat, kids, outdoor equipment
