ey up, ive camped out loads by myself but never been with the boy , what do I need to remember, things like needing to poo in a field with a shovel were news to him but I thought were obvious lol what else am I missing

Don't forget to make sure all electronics he wants taking are fully charged and you have a spare cache battery.
Make sure you've got enough snacks, because hell hath no fury like a hangry tired child in the outdoors.

I took my 5yr old daughter bikepacking yesterday. We went with my mate and his 6 year old son.
Although we didn't get the 4.3miles to our intended campsite, mainly due to underestimating how bad the track was, we all still had fun at our overnight camp spot.

The main things I took away from it that were successful were:
1.Go with a mate, preferably one who is also willing to bring their kid out on an adventure. The 2 kids helped entertain each other while my mate and I could do all the kit/camp stuff

2. Pack some surprises - for our kids it was a magazine with a toy for the drive to the car park and when we got to the campsite I produced packs of top trump cards for each of them so we had some evening entertainment.

3. Pack treats that they like and tactically deploy them to keep them going when they begin to flag or face plant as my little one did this morning - 2 jelly babies later and she was back on her bike

4. Pack a midge net each

5. Pack spare warm clothes, gloves etc

6. Give them something to look forward to. I told my daughter that I would treat her to a bacon buttie on the drive home, she looked forward to that from the time we left the house and she was delighted when she munched in to it.

I learnt a lot from our overnighter, I wouldn't recommend the route I did to anyone with kids, but as a result of going I've learnt lots about route choice and camp craft for the next time I go out with my daughter.

Hope you have fun bikepacking with your kid

easy route
Know campspot
Have camped with them before
Have ridden a bike with them before off road or on a similar route
Arrive with plenty of day light hours left
Snacks
More snacks and
SNACKS

My young fellas a teenager so may be a bit different
What you find a easy route for them probably won’t be
Expect strops when things point vertical and let them have their moment (Karl was a witness to my young fella having his on the jenn ride)
Don’t be afraid to cut the route short
For mine we always have to take a pack of playing cards or dominoes
Make sure all their kit is on your bike
And plenty of snacks that they normally don’t get more than one of at home
I found it easier to keep stopping and discussing things we found on route
Not bike packing but the first time I took him up snowdon he was about 5 , it took us 6 hours to get up the rangers path as we kept stopping to let him tell me about the stuff he’s doing at school and what he’s playing on the computer at home , I have no interest in video games but learnt a wealth of knowledge about mine craft if I ever wanted to play it with him
Make the couple of days about them not what you want
They might love it or hate it so don’t push them too much
Mine enjoys getting out with me but he’s more passionate about his Thai boxing so that’s where I encourage him more
You’ll learn as much about your parenting skills as they will about their own limits

Yes, make it fun and make sure they have a decent pair of shorts - not the ones with thin foam that most manufacturers think are good enough for kids as they won't go far anyway. Also mitts in case they fall off. Grazed palms are very sore. I would advise against taking electronics and go old school with cards and so on. It's a lot more fun and will bring you closer together. And yes, lots of snacks as they will burn through energy fast. Also a wee teddy if they are of that age. Teddy shouldn't miss out on the fun.

Some good tips thanks all

Also a wee teddy if they are of that age.

Age is no limiting factor for teddies, just ask Sean and Ralph!

Good tips to know for the future. Mine are too young yet, but i plan to start off with picnic and play somewhere different on the bike, hopefully getting to the point of staying overnight later on. And yeah, taking a teddy is a given

Don't what ever you do drink 6 pints in the ODG after a ten mile ride tell them the campspot is only i mile away up a 20% gradient road but you do get a picture you will treasure for a lifetime
58462135_10157356338916474_3007191562124787712_n by Richard Munro, on Flickr

Cracking picture!

Landslide wrote: ↑Mon Aug 31, 2020 8:07 pm Age is no limiting factor for teddies, just ask Sean and Ralph!

You beat me to it. Ralph would like to make it clear he's a monkey and not a teddy

I'm going to have to take him to Scotland, otherwise he'll miss the bivi and I'll have to go out again when I get back to keep his BAM going

This is a couple of years old now, but may be interesting.
https://bikepackingonabudget.wordpress. ... ach-trail/

Loads of good points there, especially the snacks! I think the hardest thing is not to get too ambitious with your plans - what constitutes a successful trip to you won't necessarily match up with their opinion. Luckily, their threshold is much lower, as just going out for an adventure with a parent is all that's required.

This ended up being only 5km and he's been hooked ever since!

http://highlanddrifter.com/kerrs-first-bikepack

Got a bit further for his next go...

http://highlanddrifter.com/bam-2018-august

Nice one mate

I don't think you have said how old your child is, but when riding with my son (which I have done from when he was 11 to 16 now) I find that choosing a route with 'bragging rights' is important. Just going for a bimble here and there doesn't cut it - he responds best when he can go home afterwards and tell people he has cycled from x to y. While this might sound shallow I don't really think it matters. The most important thing is that he gets out there and does it. I say this with the caveat that we always approach every ride with an attitude of 'we will ride this for as long as it is fun and then go home', which takes the pressure off and can prevent the feeling that you are making yourself miserable because you don't want to lose face by quitting early. We have only bailed from two routes so far, so this approach doesn't make it inevitable that you will jack it in at the first sign of difficulty, actually the opposite I think - we see it through because we want to.

Lot of wise words in one para there B