Michel Gagnon is a well respected member of many of the Mailing Lists and cycling related forums that I participate in. He has made very knowledgable replies to queries for everything from Icebiking to bicycle advocacy and of course bicycle touring. Michel brings his highly developed common sense to all of the information that he shares.
Back in the 1980's Michel toured various parts of Eastern Canada. Today he has continued that activity by bringing his two beautiful daughters along with him when he tours.
Left to right are Michel Gagnon, Ève Gagnon (then 8 years old) and Sophie Gagnon (then 4 years old). The picture was taken June, 2004 at the West end of the Lachine canal, as we were going for a day ride to the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue locks. Our light load consists of a lunch, sweaters and rain gear, as well as basic tools and a few toys for the children.
Photo (C)2004 Richard Guy Briggs
Touring with the Gagnon family
I have enjoyed cycling and touring for as long as I remember. Wouldn't it be a good idea to introduce our children to cycling and touring too? Why not take advantage of tools that were not available when I was young?
My children started bicycle touring gradually at a young age. Just like we adults need some training before we undertake a major tour, children also need some training too! They have to build up their endurance and their stamina. Adults need to adapt their touring style accordingly.
Training
Both children were indroduced to the trailercycle at 4.The first rides with Ève were a few kilometres long and without steep hills. Within a few outings, Ève was enjoying 50-75 km day rides on the trailercycle. I then gradually added more serious hills as climbs were essential to my training and downgrades were essential to hers. She was afraid of grades any steeper than two or three percent.
Another aspect of training is being able to ride some distance without complaining and hopefully while enjoying it. We live in a city and our normal rides are in or around the city so my children had to learn about riding longer distances in rural settings. On the other hand they had no problems with cars passing close to us.
The first tours : a slow introduction to touring
I did my first tour when Ève was 5. It was a 6-day tour. Two days riding from Montréal to Trois-Rivières via Joliette, followed by two days spent at grandma's home and then two days riding back via the direct road. It meant two nights camping but it also allowed me to time the trip with decent weather. I didn't want her first experience to be a miserable one. We did a similar trip the year after using different routes. In 2003 we did a 11-day tour from Montréal to Québec city going one way along the northern fringe of the St. Lawrence valley and coming back on the South Shore via Victoriaville.
Photo taken during our first tour in July 2001, as we were leaving my mother's house. The Trail-a-Bike seen here was replaced by a Piccolo soon afterwards, but the setup is the same one that was used in the two tours after that...
The trip was loaded with new experiences:
Touring with children is not economical, especially when one considers the ice-cream budget but it is wonderful to see them in direct contact with nature. When we did a multi-day trip by car in the summer of 2004, I was struck by the fact Ève is much more aware of her surroundings when we travel by bike than when we travel using a car. I look forward, albeit with some apprehension, to the 2005 tour with my two daughters who will then be 9 and 5.
Submitted by Michel Gagnon
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