Earlier this year I mapped out a route that would be my girls’ first bikepacking trip; a short 7.5 mile gravel ride shaded by the lumbering Loblolly pines in the Sam Houston National Forest. I have two daughters (4 and 11 years old) who are not unfamiliar with biking or camping, but this would be the first time to combine them. We did one test ride this spring, but any further trips were soon halted due to a worldwide pandemic. Now 7 months later with the temperatures finally starting to cool off in Texas I took advantage of an unexpected change of plans that left my 4 year old and I alone for the weekend. It took about 12 minutes before I started to rummage through gear, assemble bikes, finalize plans, etc etc…..and tomorrow we ride!!
From the moment I told Sloane about the forthcoming trip it was all she could talk about, and asked “is it time to go yet?” on repeat for the entirety of the day. Note to parents, don’t tell the kids about the trip until right before bed. Problem solved. Aside from that, the preparations went off without a hitch. Luckily, since I had 7 months to plan, it was rather easy to put it all together last minute. It should be mentioned that Sloane would be riding a Wee Copilot, which is a cheap pull-behind bike and probably the most likely thing to sabotage this whole trip. But it’s only 7 miles, right?! I went with a pull-behind bike mostly for my own benefit. Do I think she could bike the entire route? Yes! Do I want to stop every 5 minutes for any number of reasons that only make sense in the mind of a 4 year old? No. Plus, it’s a better workout for dad, which I need more than she does.
I really didn’t have any trepidations about taking her on an overnighter primitive camping in the woods. Sloane is one tough kid, she loves the outdoors, has boundless energy, and doesn’t know the word quit. That’s an easy claim for many parents to make, but I gave Sloane the opportunity to prove me right or wrong.
When Sloane woke up the next morning she sleepily walked up to me and asked, “are we going to the Magical forest today?” The stoke was high! We would start our trip at Big Woods Camp 1.5 hours from our home. On the way we listened to music, usually only broken by “Are we there yet?” and me answering “No” like a million times. As we drive east the scenery changes to tall green pine tree forest everywhere you look. We arrived at our starting spot about 3pm, it was 80 degrees and cloudy. The sun’s going down about 7pm now and I gave us 2 hours to ride to camp, which would give us 2 hours to set up camp and enjoy the area.
This would be our first ride on our fully loaded rigs which added to the adventure. My only concern was about handling; the weight combined with any jirations from the backseat. I found the weight manageable, but stayed mindful of it as we rode. A couple miles in and I’m thinking to myself “wow we’re making good time,” moments later Sloane suggests that we’re getting a little far from the van and “maybe we should turn around,” I reassure her that everything is great and I’ve got a nice camping spot picked out just for us. This seemed to quell any worry, if there were any there to begin with. Most of the ride was surprisingly quiet. Sloane is many things, but quiet usually isn’t one of them. Out of the silence she says “I love you Dad” as we pedaled along a dirt road all alone on our adventure. The rest of the ride went even better than I could have imagined. We happily pedaled on together in silence enjoying the scenery, the sound of gravel and the wind as it passed by.
I gave us 2 hours to get to camp and we smashed that goal with a time of 58:34 and only 5 minutes of stoppage time. We averaged a blistering 8.9 mph. In my head I’m thinking, holy shit she’s a little bad ass, and already scheming bigger ideas for the future. But once at camp, the real challenge of endurance would begin. Setting up camp, entertaining a toddler, helping a toddler pee every 30 minutes, setting up camp while she “helps,” making a fire, cooking dinner (okay truth be told I let her eat a smores first, cause she fucking earned it!), and all the things until she finally crashed in her hammock around 8pm. Kids are hard work, every parent knows. Taking young kids primitive bike camping is down right hard, but damn if it isn’t worth it. Not once did I regret the work because I knew the payoff is big. The camping trips my father took my brother and I on in our youth and into our teen years have paid off in dividends for me. As a father now I feel a sense of duty to give my daughters the same opportunities.
Another great thing about Sloane, she’s a great sleeper! From day one she has been really easy to put to sleep and once she’s asleep nothing is waking her up, but when she wakes up the next day she’s reignited with boundless energy. Thankfully this night was no different. I tucked her into her hammock and laid next to her on my own as she drifted off to sleep. I too slept soundly as the tree crickets and katydids sang their summer-time chorus. I woke up in the morning to Sloane telling me quietly she needed to go potty. It’s about 6:30am, the sky is just starting to show a hint of day and it’s very quiet…until our potty break starts to go poorly and Sloane bursts into cries and screams that can only come from a toddler trying to sleep pee in the middle of the woods as her dad props her up. Through a series of failed attempts, more cries/screams, nature finally took its course and the potty break was complete. I had hoped to tuck us both back into bed and let the sun rise without an audience, but Sloane thought differently. Instead we watched bugs dance on top of the pond nearby. In that moment Sloane saw the Magic Forest she had wished for. Being a voyeur to the world as it wakes up is a special thing. I’m glad we didn’t go back to sleep. We stayed there until the idea of coffee started to percolate in my mind.
After coffee and breakfast, we went on a short walk along the lake shore, and then it was time to break camp. Guess who got that job? By 10am we were loaded up and back on the forest road 7.5 miles away from where we parked the van. Again it was a quiet and peaceful ride back, only interrupted by Sloane needing to pee 3 times!!! But I can’t complain, she is such a trooper. The whole ride there and all the way back she didn’t utter a single complaint, in fact she just sat back and enjoyed the experience, and so did I.
Reflections from Dad
As parents it is our job to introduce our kids to the outdoors. No one is going to do it for you. Our way of life is rapidly moving away from the natural world in lieu of manicured outdoor spaces riddled with guidelines for proper use. I believe we are doing our children a disservice by not giving them the opportunity for unstructured recreation in the outdoors. There are no simulations or recreation that can satisfy the young human’s body and mind the way that can be done in an unstructured environment, and to not provide this opportunity handicaps their development. Richard Louv coined the phrase “Nature Deficit Disorder” in his book Last Child in the Woods, which I highly recommend for parents if you too are concerned with such matters.
I can’t say with exactness the long term benefits that Sloane will derive from this trip, but I can take some guesses. I believe Sloane’s silence on the ride was because she was fully stimulated. Her mind, body, and all of her senses were activated, and if she’s anything like her dad this has a calming effect. I believe that she is seeing how capable she is and as a parent I want to facilitate her belief that she can accomplish anything. In order for her to learn this, as a parent, I need to be willing to give her the space to see, do, experiment, and yes even fail. Failure is a part of life, so is learning from our failures or shortcomings, and the only way to develop these skills is to be allowed to experience them and grow from them. I believe this process starts from a very young age. When Sloane is old enough to attend first grade I believe that she will have confidence and an understanding of herself that most kids her age were deprived of.
I should also mention that there is a selfish component to this as well. I can think of no greater joy than introducing my kids to the outdoors and having them join me with their own enthusiasm. I’m laying the groundwork for what I hope is a lifetime of adventuring with my girls. Check back with me in 10-20 years and I’ll let you know how it goes.
