Cycle Touring With School Children

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Cycle touring with school children

Tips for adults organising and helping with tours

Cycle touring with children is very worthwhile. If you are a cyclist yourself, you will already

know the pleasure of covering a decent distance, and getting a grandstand view of the area youare travelling in. Your means of transport is silent so you can enjoy the countryside all themore. There's also the feeling of independence which touring engenders.

These notes are intended to encourage you to go right ahead and tour with children. Plenty ofexperience accumulated on our tours is included here to make your first tour as stress-free as

possible. In nearly 20 years of touring weve certainly made plenty of mistakes and some ofthese are included in the text.

Finally, if you are an adult who has volunteered to come on one of our tours, thank you1 Ihope you have a great trip.

Chris [email protected] +44 (0) 121 415 6038

Planning the ride ..............................................................................................................2

During the ride ................................................................................................................11

Problems on tour .............................................................................................................16

The practice ride .............................................................................................................21

Maintenance training day ..............................................................................................23

Equipment .......................................................................................................................24


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2 Cycle touring with groups of children

Planning the ride

Planning the ride

Ask yourself some basic questions to start with: Roughly how many days do you want to cycle for? This affects the choice of route

although you don't of course have to complete an entire route. What kind of cost do you think your group can afford? This affects what

accommodation and transport you can use. What age group will go? This affects the distances you can cover in a day (see later). Who might the adults be? You will need a team of people willing to come! In school I

advertise the trip by letter to the target age group and include an invitation for parents tojoin us, and so far this has always worked.

Most of the tours we have completed have followed a route designed by someone else andpublished as a map or leaflet. I tend to collect leaflets and route books for possible cycle toursand maintain a small library at home, which is where I begin in planning a route. See the

references section for a list of publishers.

Numbers in the partyAlthough I have a minimum ratio of one adult to six children for cycling in general, we havefor many years toured with a ratio of 1:4 or 1:3, reflecting the fact that more parents have beenkeen to join the group.

Nowadays our tours are large, with 50-60 children and 25 or so adults, all divided into a dozenor so cycling groups. Inexperienced young riders are accompanied, in groups of about 4children, by two adults. Children who have been on tour with us before and are 14 years andolder, ride independently in groups of about 4, reporting by phone to an adult several times aday.

Small cycling groups work well: you are much less likely to lose anyone, and you will get toknow each child better and can support them better. In addition, delays are reduced: each extracyclist will inevitably slow the party down a little more, with their own mechanical problemsand need to stop for other reasons.

DistanceWith junior pupils (aged 11-14) I aim for 35-45 miles a day. The key factor in making up yourdays is where the accommodation is. Longer days are certainly possible notably when theterrain is flattish, or later in the tour when the kids are accustomed to riding. These longer daysare challenging for the kids but achievable. During ten days of riding in Holland I includedthree days close to 70 miles these started three days into the trip, were separated by shorter

days and in each case there were shorter alternatives if the weather had proved against us.

Pupils aged 15+ can cycle as much as an average adult 50 miles is fine, and if you are doinga long tour this can be increased into the 70s of miles weve cycled the Lands End to JohnOGroats route four times now, starting with a 40 mile day and increasing over the first fivedays to days in the 70s.

Factors affecting your groups ability to ride a decent distance are: Fitness of each group member. Its important to do a practice ride some time before your

main ride and give the group a typical days distance. Anyone finding that the day isdesperately hard will then have the choice either of dropping out, or of improving theirfitness level before the main ride.

Weather a head wind will slow you down and sap your energy tremendously. Hills smaller kids find hills very challenging.


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Cycle touring with groups of children 3

Surface a decent smooth surface is much faster and less tiring to ride on than a cobbledsurface or off-road surface.

Food a regular intake of food and drink is essential. Amount of kit carried see later for suggested kit.

Short first dayIn planning your route, keep the distance on the first day less than the remainder, if possible.Often our first day is half the other days in distance and this is always reported on favourably

by the kids. For a very long tour (2 weeks or more), keep the first few days shorter than theremainder, to build up a bit of stamina. People will also need to get used to the riding routine,fixing punctures etc at the start of the tour, which takes more time.

It happened to usAn informal tour from Lands End to John OGroats was planned by some sixth formers.We didnt have much experience of distance and it showed on a couple of occasionsThe first day turned out to be the longest 86 miles in gruelling heat, swooping down tobeaches and climbing very strenuously back up to cliff tops. We arrived at 9pm in the dark

at our hostel, fearful that the tour would prove too challenging. Luckily no day was harderthan this first.Later we were finishing dinner at Bristol Youth Hostel and someone looked at the

map of British Hostels on the wall. The distance between two of our hostels seemed verylarge and when we measured it, the distance proved to be 130 miles! There was no waywed achieve that with all our kit we had made a mistake in planning with measuringdistances. We had to call all the accommodation to rebook, making the 130 mile day intotwo days. Fortunately everyone was able to fit us in one night later.

The morals: (a) The first day needs to be half the normal distance, and (b) check yourroute planning carefully! have another adult check your plan.

Days off

Most of our tours have not had any days off, but there are a couple of reasons why you mightinclude a day off in your tour: You may like to include occasional days or half days on a tour to allow visits to places

of interest it is nice to break up a tour with added interest in this way. On a couple ofoccasions we have stayed at Legoland (in Germany and Denmark), and by having a half-day off, the children have really enjoyed several hours in the theme park.

On a very long tour, i.e. two weeks or more, it is very handy to include a day off mid waythrough the tour, or perhaps even better, two half-length days. The benefit is that if youlose a day early on due to injury, maintenance problems or some other cause, you onlyneed change your accommodation bookings as far as the day off. Thereafter you missthe day off, and have thus caught up on your schedule.

MapsA purpose-printed cycle route map is ideal, and many routes now have them. Dont assumethey are only printed by Sustrans (in the UK) there are plenty of leaflets produced by localcouncils which can be great (and often free).

Some routes have guide books. These are worth taking if the route is printed inside, otherwiseI tend to read them carefully and leave them at home to save weight. A great example isLands End to John OGroats by Hornby a small book which fits in your cycle shirt pocket,has route maps for the whole route and information on places you are travelling through. Thisquality of book is definitely worth travelling with.

Depending on the quality of your guide book / map you may not need to take a normal road

map with you. We have found the Sustrans maps in the UK, specially printed for cycle routes,to be excellent and havent taken additional maps in this case. The only problem comes if you


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have to stray off the intended route (perhaps to locate accommodation, or because there is ablockage in your path), when your diversion may not be on the route map.

Lacking a good route map, a map of scale 1:50,000 is excellent for route finding. However ifyou are taking part in a major cycle tour of many hundreds of miles, you will be carrying fartoo many maps at this scale! You have a few options: Post maps ahead to your accommodation on the route which you can collect on arrival,

and post used maps back home, or In the UK, the Philips Navigator series maps at 1:100,000 are ideal. Large regional

sheets are priced at 7 and county maps at 4. The UK atlas costs 20; pages can be tornout or photocopied (see note below about copyright).

Alternatively, use 1:250,000 mapping, which is the scale of standard UK road atlases,which can be bought for as little as 3. I have used these on the 1100 mile Lands End John OGroats route, in conjunction with a guide book. There were plenty of times whenthe mapping was confusing on tiny roads, but we coped. Tear out the relevant pages, andthrow them away as you finish with them on the tour.

In France and Holland 1:100,000 maps are ideal they show all the detail you need andare small enough scale that the sheet can be quite small. You'll still need quite a few

maps for a decent sized tour though. An alternative is to buy the 1:100,000 atlas for thewhole country, which only costs the same as about 2 maps. Its pages are a convenientsize for ripping out and folding into cycle pockets.

Cycle-specific maps UK Sustrans have designed lots of cycle routes with many traffic-free sections, purpose-built

cycle bridges and other engineering to create wonderful multi-day leisure cycle pathswith good surfaces and cycle-specific signposts. The quality of their routes is matched

by their superb maps. We have ridden the Hull-Felixstowe route (quiet and often flat agood introductory tour) and the much hillier Coast to Coast and Lon Las Cymru routes.

The National Byway is a 3300 mile signposted cycle route using peaceful rural roadsthroughout England and extending into Wales and Scotland.

Some counties have published cycle routes, such as Northumbrias Cycling Kingdomand the Wiltshire Cycle Way, both of which we have cycled as school tours.

There are established routes such as the Dales Way in Yorkshire Guide books have been published by Al Churcher, Nick Cotton, the AA, Collins and

Ordnance Survey, although generally these cover day rides rather than multi-day routes.

Cycle-specific maps abroad Esterbauer produce Cycline map-guides to many popular cycle routes in eight countries.

Not all have text in English, but the mapping is very useful nonetheless. In Germany there is also a waterproofed strip-map format done by publicpress. Guide books are produced by Cicerone, Cordee, Esterbauer, Excellent Books, Cycling

Resources and Lonely Planet, amongst many others.

Route planning softwareIf youre following a special cycle route such as the Sustrans routes in the UK then there is noneed to do much more detailed route planning. The Sustrans maps have loads of detail, have amarker every mile and are backed up by good road signs.

On the other hand if you are designing your own route, then route planning software can bevery useful. It will at the least allow you to try several possible routes for a given day and tellyou very easily what the various distances are.

There are two types of software. Road route planners, such as Microsoft AutoRoute, are great

for distances and relatively easy to use. They dont, however, give any information aboutgradient or amount climbed/descended.


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Software based on 1:100,000, 1:50,000 or 1:25:000 maps is now available in severalcountries. This kind of software has all the contour detail and is therefore able to give youdistance and height information. You should be able to get a printout of the profile of yourroute, for example.

All types of software will produce a printed map specific to your route, at a scale of yourchoice.

Software giving road information only Software giving roads, bridleways etc pluscontour information

Microsoft AutorouteRoute 66 / Route 99Route FinderRoute Planner

Anquet mapsMemory Map Navigator

Global Positioning System (GPS)

During the ride you can choose to equip one or more adults with GPS receivers. Thistechnology has been around now for several years and the dedicated GPS units are a matureand effective product. You can plan the route in advance either using specific software whichcomes with the unit, or general mapping software. Provided you are reasonably economicalwith the number of turns you show on the route, you can easily store a weeks routes on yourGPS. Modern GPS units have colour displays and will show a road map of the area you aretravelling in, so you can clearly see where you are. They are lightweight, robust andwaterproof and batteries (usually 2 x AA) last for about two full days of riding. The units areespecially useful if you have pre-ridden the route, since you can incorporate route changes,specific routes to accommodation and any off-road / track sections.

We use Garmin Legend HCx units which cost approx. 120. A cycle mount which works in

the same way as a bike light mount can be bought for about 12. You can buy GarminMapSource software or alternatively Memory Map Navigator. Memory Map covers the UK,France, Belgium and the Netherlands, whereas MapSource provides pan-European maps. Inaddition Memory Map, since it provides so much more detail, costs more than GarminsMapSource.

If you can afford both, it is far easier to plan a route on Memory Map since this shows fullmap detail. However the route will probably need to be imported to Mapsource for tidying up.This is because the GPS unit has a very limited memory for waypoints and every bend or

junction you click on in Memory Map will create a new waypoint. A route planned onGarmins Mapsource only introduces new waypoints when you click to make a turn off aroad. Any turns clicked on a road dont require a new waypoint.

In practice, a 50 mile route planned on Memory Map is likely to be split up by the GPS unitautomatically into several sections, and youll only be able to store a few days routes. To fixthe problem you can create a route in Memory Map, benefiting from the map detail, andexport as a GPX exchange file. Import this into the Garmin Mapsource software. Now moveeach bend or junction onto the road shown on Mapsource. Finally go through clicking on eachredundant waypoint and delete it. Your route will be the same, but it will consumedramatically less memory on the GPS unit. Thus a full days ride will be one route, not many,and youll be able to fit 10 days worth of routes into the GPS memory.

Theres no doubt that the GPS receivers have made the task of navigation easier and morereliable. Its important that every adult still carries printed maps and keeps an eye on these, butwith the GPS unit youll have to puzzle over the map very rarely.


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AccommodationLook for group accommodation, such as youth hostels. The best place to get this informationis Tourist Information Centres, which are gold mines of information. The internet is handy ofcourse, but Tourist Information is more comprehensive not all accommodation is listed onthe internet and its sometimes tricky to find phone numbers.

Hostel accommodation is ideal they are used to groups, affordable and will usually have aspecific place to store bikes. With groups hostels will provide bedrooms for the sole use ofyour party. You usually have the option of an affordable meal being cooked for you morningand evening, or cooking for yourselves.

B&B accommodation is your next alternative. Although more luxurious they are much moreexpensive and this will significantly affect the cost of your tour, especially since you will haveto go out to eat. Your group is likely also to have to split between a couple of B&Bs.

Nevertheless we have stayed at several B&Bs and always had an excellent stay.

Hotels are a pleasant luxury which we have enjoyed when there are no youth hostels. In

France we stayed in hotels every night there are far fewer hostels in France and there areloads of really nice 2 star hotels to choose from.

When booking, follow up your phone call with a formal letter to confirm the booking. Youneed to call the accommodation again about 10 weeks before departure to reconfirm yourintention to stay.

Dont forget to warn your youngsters to behave well (avoid charging around noisily and stayquiet after hours). Establish a rule about whether they can pop out to the shopsunaccompanied by staff. And most especially, make sure that footwear is removed on enteringthe building oil stains can result otherwise. Also encourage your party to put panniers on thefloor rather than beds for the same reason, and if the weather has been very wet, get hold of

bin liners to place the panniers on.

It happened to usNear Inverness a boy had a tyre blow-out, and we delayed for an hour while he walked to atown where we ate lunch. There was then a long delay while we used a taxi to travel to acycle shop to get a new tyre. In heavy rain we then climbed a monster hill and after a longand slightly trying day, free-wheeled joyfully to our hotel. Sadly, the owner told us that

since we hadnt re-confirmed by phone a few weeks before the trip, he had no rooms forus. To our great fortune a hotel opposite happened to have enough space for the 16 of us.The extra luxury more than compensated for the extra cost of 10 a head.

In France, I had written twice, visited in person and sent a fax all to confirm a particularhotel. Id also changed my answerphone message to French to encourage any hoteliers toleave messages if there were any problems. Nevertheless when we arrived the hotel hadhad a much more lucrative booking and sold our rooms to a coach party. They claimed notto have been able to get through to tell us! However they had planned ahead and made

some alternative rooms available, together with their chef ferrying half the party to aholiday flat five miles away. This booking ended up being fine we all had a superb mealin the hotel and we all had somewhere to stay. Plus I took 20% off the bill in the morning

for their messing us around!

The moral of both stories is regularly to stay in contact with the hotels (and coach/ferrycompanies) to confirm bookings.


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Cycle CampingFor junior cyclists, I think twice before embarking on a week-long cycle-camping tour! The

problems are: Substantial extra weight tent, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, food, stove, fuel Nowhere warm, bright and dry to recover in the evening.

In general, the people Ive encountered over the years doing cycle camping have almostalways been adults.

Alternatively, slightly older children can cope well running their own camping tour ofrestricted duration. The Duke of Edinburgh Award provides a good opportunity for this, with14 year olds undertaking a two day (one night) trip on the Bronze Award. The Silver Award

provides a 3 day trip, and young people undertake a four-day trip in the Gold Award, whichyou have to be at least 16 years old to attempt. Longer trips for older youngsters are morechallenging since you may need to put on wet clothes in the morning in order to keep theevening set dry a discipline which beginners often dont keep to, resulting in a veryunpleasant experience in wet weather!

I have very limited experience of combining cycling with camping, so you may benefit fromseeking other sources of information on the internet for good advice.

TransportThis is a challenge, especially in cycle-unfriendly Britain. For a largish group we havegenerally taken the bikes by van and the cyclists by minibus or train. Recently we took 20cyclists in a coach with their bikes in the luggage compartment, using old carpet as shieldingto try to prevent scratching the frames. This worked very well. Our current coach company isvery accommodating: They take the back several rows of seats out of the coach, giving enoughspace for 28 passengers, and all 28 bikes can just fit in the luggage compartments under thecoach and in the space left by the removed seats.

A few coach companies have trailers which can transport bikes especially in areas wherethere is a popular cycle trail, notably Sustrans Coast to Coast route. Alternatively hire a boxvan, with a driver or self-drive, and pack your bikes into this, with the passengers travelling bycar, coach or train. Small groups can take bikes on trains, but the numbers are restricted callthe specific train companies well in advance to research the possibilities. Four people canmanage, but a dozen would be very tricky.

In Ireland we were able to carry 15 bikes on a single inter-city train, booked in advance, withno problem at all.

We travelled to Holland by overnight Ferry from Newcastle. I booked reasonable qualitycabins towards the front of the boat (ie away from the engine noise). There are cheaper cabins

much lower down aimed at groups but these are hot and very noisy so Id avoid them. We wereable to book all our bikes in advance and the cabins were excellent each had a shower andfour beds with clean sheets. We boarded at about 4pm and arrived the next morning at 9:30am,having had a reasonable nights sleep and ready to cycle for the day. We travelled toIJMuiden, which is about 20 miles from Amsterdam. On our return some of the group caughta small ferry from Amsterdam central station to IJMuiden to keep the distance down for thatday. This also proved very good.

In France we also travelled by overnight ferry to St Malo on the way out, and fromOuistreham on the return journey. This proved highly successful.

Support vehicles

Lets first say that you dont have to have a support vehicle! If you do have one, they serveseveral purposes:


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The process is fairly simple and you then carry this plus adult passports only. In somecountries you will need to carry small identity cards for the kids, supplied by the

passport office, in addition to the collective passport itself, although in practice theauthorities will look at the collective passport but never at the kids identity cards. InFrance, for example, identity cards are required, whereas in Holland they are not. For anapplication form for a collective passport, call 01733 555 688 and ask for the collective

passport department. VISA exemption. If you have youngsters who are not citizens of the European Union, it

may be that they would normally require a visa to enter the European country you aretravelling to. For a school party though, you can obtain a Home Office form free ofcharge, which needs only to be signed by your head teacher (rather than sent off). This

provides exemption from the need for a visa. Copies are available from the CentralBureau of Educational Visits and Exchanges on 0207 389 4004.

Reconnaissance visitsYou may consider riding some or all of the route as a recce. A recce is not essential thorough

planning is most important however a recce will definitely result in a safer, more pleasant

ride for your young cyclists. If you do check out the route in advance, you can either ride thewhole route, or just do the cities/towns. In my experience however, there are as many routechanges in the countryside as there are in towns/cities, so a full route-check is veryworthwhile.

You can cycle the route, or alternatively take a car with a bike, drive the road sections andcycle the sections of cycle path. This method takes less time than cycling the full route, and ifyou do have to make amendments the car makes it much less time-consuming to try these out.Ive tried this method very successfully in the UK and France. However in Holland if you do arecce youll have to cycle the route, since so much of the route will be on cycle paths whereyou cant take your car.

If you use a GPS, you can load your planned route into it and as you cycle / drive the recce,your actual route will be recorded as a track. In the evening you can then amend your

planned route on a laptop, so when your adults navigate the tour with the GPS they will havean exactly correct plot to follow.

It may be particularly handy to ride the route in advance in these circumstances: If this is your first tour as group leader If you are cycling off-road it is extremely difficult to plan off road routes which are

suitable for inexperienced riders unless you have ridden the terrain yourself. Inaddition you can't really assess the risks without riding in advance.

If abroad foreign trips are more complicated and benefit from a recce visit. If your route will pass through large towns, or any cities: in this case it is very useful

to visit in advance and plan the safest route through for your cyclists.If you are using a Sustrans cycling map in the UK, most of this work has been done for you.However, there are two areas in which Sustrans maps will fail you:

a) Route amendments Sustrans is constantly improving the network. When you buy amap it generally gives a date and says it is an interim edition. Sustrans often includea sheet of route amendments. However, this sheet is generally not the most recentinformation. In our experience, there are often changes to Sustrans routes which dontappear on their maps or update sheets. You then find yourself relying totally on theirsigns, and since these are occasionally missing, or you yourself miss one crucial sign,youre then off route and without a useful route map. If the party leader checks theroute in advance, hell discover all this.

b) Rough sections Sustrans does make use of tracks from time to time in their routes.Many of these prove to be virtually unridable for road cyclists. Disused railways, and

official paved cycle paths, are generally fine, but tracks are often not. LuckilySustrans tend to use relatively short sections of track, so youll just have to push on


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these sections. Weve also encountered sections of Sustrans routes in the summerwhich are only about a foot wide, with six-foot high grass/brambles etc either side!

Risk assessmentHaving read through all the tips in this document, and the it happened to us quotes, you will

be well aware that safety clearly needs to be at the forefront of your mind when you are ontour.

Most outdoor activities organisations in the UK now expect those running events to do a riskassessment in advance. Essentially you need to

think through every aspect of your tour decide what the risks are decide how likely each risk is decide how dangerous each risk is depending on the likelihood and danger, decide what measures to put in place to

control the risk

Your own organisation will supply their system of risk assessment to you. A few tips whichwork for me: The more care which goes into your advance planning, the more you will be able to

reduce risk. If you start to feel unhappy about a situation you are in, do something about it! Dont

just let things happen. The age and experience of your riders will make a big difference in what you need to

do as a manager of risk. Young, inexperienced riders need you to be aware of risksand to point them out, especially in the first day or two. Older and more experiencedriders need to be part of the team and share responsibility for risk management.

It happened to usOn a practice ride we came up behind a large vehicle cutting the road-side hedge. Themachine was moving quite slowly, so we were all easily capable of overtaking it. The

problems were that the machine had very nasty cutting equipment, which cyclists couldpotentially be seriously injured by; there was a lot of noise; on-coming cars would posea hazard to cyclists overtaking the machine, and finally the cuttings could cause

punctures. Each individual passed the cutter on their own. In retrospect it might havebeen better for an adult to overtake the cutter, signal for it to stop and then bring the

group past it, posting other adults to stop traffic approaching.

It happened to usWe had just arrived in Holland and got off the ferry. As soon as we passed through

passport control I stopped the party and warned them carefully about cycling on theright, and looking in all directions for traffic. Within a few hundred metres we had tocross a busy road. I allowed the kids to do this under their own control, ie decidingwhen they were safe to cross. Despite the warning seconds earlier, one 14-year-old hada close encounter with a large lorry, since he had looked in the wrong direction for theoncoming traffic. In retrospect I should have taken full control of this crossing, havingeach kid cross only under the orders of an adult, since they were clearly unfamiliarwith Dutch roads.

During the ride

Adults in the party and responsibilities

1. An adult should cycle at the front they navigate and make the regular stops to ensureeveryone is OK.2. An adult cycles at the rear they ensure that no-one falls behind un-noticed. This adult is


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generally the person who fixes mechanical problems and minor injuries, and thereforethey need to have the decent tool kit and first aid kit.

3. You may be lucky enough to have a third adult certainly on many of our tours we havehad three adults. This affords you more leeway if any problems arise.

There must be a team leader with clear responsibility for the whole party. Ultimately their

decision must always be respected. It is important though that every adult feels they havesomething to contribute ideas and problems should be shared with the other adults in the

party.

The team leader does not necessarily stay at the front. Anyone who feels confident withnavigation, and knows about the need for regular check-stops, can lead. This can be an adult,

but also as the kids in the party become more experienced and take part in a second or thirdtour, they can assume the role of front-man, with an adult merely in the front part of the grouprather than right at the front. This also prepares the youngsters for leading their own tours withfriends.

Adults may like to swap positions from day to day or during the day, by turns taking the lead

position and the back marker.

Route findingEvery adult with your party should have a copy the days route map with them in a waterproof

bag. The adult at the front will be the route finder, but the other adults need to stay aware ofwhere the party is.

At pretty much every place where you pass a road junction, leave a cyclist at the junction toensure everyone continues in the correct direction. They have to wait until the adult at the backcatches them up. It is amazingly easy for people in your party to take a wrong turn and end upcosting you an hour or more looking for them.

At major changes in the route, you generally wait for the whole party and check they are allthere and there arent any problems.

It happened to usWe had all stopped in a farm gateway on the second day of a tour. When we were all

gathered, I set off and after only 50 metres took a left turn, not bothering to leavesomeone at the junction since everyone could see the junction and we were all together.About 2 miles later I had a routine stop and found 5 people were missing fouryoungsters and the adult back marker. Something had delayed their start at thegateway, as it so often does, and the group had cycled straight on past the junction. Wedidnt have phones on this early tour (although they frequently dont work too wellanyway in the countryside). It cost us nearly an hour in all we went back the twomiles to the junction and waited until the missing party cycled back towards us, havingdone a given distance and realised we werent there. I learnt the need for regular stopsand for leaving someone to mark junctions.

StoppingWith a junior cycle tour, consider stopping: Whenever the group is getting very strung out Half way up a giant hill to bolster peoples spirits At the top of most hills, so that the people at the back can catch everyone else up before

you all shoot down the other side. At any place where you are turning off the road

If none of the above applies, stop after two or three miles anyway.These stops are not intended to be long. The main idea is to keep your party under goodcontrol and to ensure that kids dont get too far behind, otherwise they will get depressed. Its


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milk etc are very popular, and the sugary drink helps energy levels. The down side is thata large chilled drink will leave the kids rather cold, so jumpers will be needed and youwill have to set off again soon to warm up. Also it is easy to spend 3 a day at least per

person on the morning and afternoon snacks, so allow for this in your information letterto the kids.

Lunch at half way. The cheapest and quite satisfying method is to call into a

supermarket and buy materials for a picnic lunch, ie bread, ham, chicken, cheese slices,drinks, chocolate bars, bananas, apples. Then find a spot where you can stop and eat.

A mid-afternoon stop after another quarter of the days distance. Snacks same as in themorning.

A big dinner!

The mid-morning stop, in particular, is essential. Kids are often used to eating no breakfast atall, and if they have eaten only a little then after 10 miles cycling their energy levels will bevery low.

It happened to usOn the third day of a six day tour, we arrived at a town after 1 hours and 11 miles of

cycling. We didnt snack, but bought lunch materials for later. On leaving the town, aslight twelve year old in the party stopped and it became clear that his energy level wastoo low. The adult at the back fed him a mars bar. I arrived at this point, to watch thechild set off across a very busy main road, dodging cars and lorries with his bike. Thisthoroughly dangerous crossing was completely un-necessary he was already on thecorrect side of the road. When we asked him about the incident that evening, the boycouldnt remember anything that had happened. Essentially he had suffered ahypoglycaemic episode in exactly the same way that a diabetic person would. Thisepisode taught me the need for a decent mid-morning snack.

It happened to usOne hotelier was particularly proud of the chef in his three-star restaurant. The patron

addressed us all before the meal started to explain the care with which our meal hadbeen prepared. For the starter, he told us, the hotel had found three wild hares. Thesehad been boiled for twenty hours to reduce them down to the outstanding terrine delapin et petite salade he was presenting to us. Sadly, most of the boys could only thinkof their pet rabbit in a stew pot, and most didnt eat too much! Luckily the main courseof cod and pasta was more popular.

A typical dayThis is how a typical riding day is structured.8:00 Breakfast

Following this everyone finishes packing their panniers, digstheir bikes out of the bike shed, fixes their panniers on and generallychecks their bike is ready to go. You sometimes find you have to fix aslow puncture which wasn't obvious the night before. If you are using a support vehicle, the kit which people areleaving on it needs to be packed into it. Group leader needs to check out of the accommodation. One or more adults should check each room to see thatnothing has been left behind and the place is left looking tidy enough.Has everyone filled their water bottle and attached it to their bike?

9:00 Try to be getting away by now (you will be a bit later on the first morning aseveryone gets used to the routine).

Mid morning First snack / restLunch time Lunch

Mid afternoon Another snack/ rest4pm ish Aim to finish the day's riding by 4-5pm.


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5:00 If you can locate a swimming pool, an hour spent there is always very popularwith youngsters. In Wiltshire on a six day tour we swam on five days.Swimming was also very popular in Holland.

7:00 Dinner At some time in the evening riders need to fix any problemswith their bikes. If you put a new tube in as a fix for a puncture, repair the

puncture tonight. Fiddle with reluctant gears now. Riders need to get inthe habit of fixing problems in the evening, since you won't want to haveyour departure delayed in the morning. Younger or inexperienced cyclistswill need help from adults, or from any more experienced youngsters inthe group. These slightly older pupils can be a tremendous help withmaintenance. Young cyclists may be very tired some evenings in whichcase help will definitely be needed. The leader should try to remember any

problems which have arisen and ensure that they are dealt with. If you have had a lot of rain someone should oil everyone'schain. Kids will appreciate an opportunity to call home if possible.Mobile phones with large numbers of free off-peak minutes are very

handy. Abroad, the cheapest method is for the kids to buy a local phonecard very much cheaper than mobile calls. Try to make sure that the state of each youngster is monitoredeach day. You want to check if they are generally happy, any injurieshave been treated, maintenance problems fixed etc. You could considerdividing this task amongst your adults, so each is responsible for keepingan eye on a few children. It's a shame if someone feels unhappy and no-one knows about it. This principle could apply also during the cyclingday. Briefing meeting: It is sensible to have a meeting eachevening to brief the team on the next days ride. The information packyou provided in advance of the trip will have told them the expected

distance, but you could show them the map briefly. Staff may need a moredetailed discussion about the route, especially if there is a possibility thatthe group may split at any time.

10:00 Junior riders should be in bed by now. Cycle touring is tiring for them, so yougenerally have no trouble getting them settled.

It happened to us...On a walking trip to the Pyrenees, the second day was quite tough. One of the smaller

youngsters said that everyone else's legs were longer and they could walk that muchfaster. Half way through the day he suddenly reported that he felt dizzy and generallyunwell, but managed to complete the day. Throughout the week he continued to reportthis general malaise and told us that he was vomiting. We consulted a doctor. The

symptoms were sufficiently vague that the doctor said it was just a lack of energy andwe should feed him up but the boy didn't want to eat. He did manage to completeevery day though, and in the end it turned out that the symptoms (and refusal to eatenough) were largely being invented by the child in an attempt to control anenvironment he was finding very challenging. An easier first couple of days, and

greater willingness on our part to keep a sympathetic eye on him, would probably haveprevented all the fuss.

Every few days...Every three days or so you should aim to wash clothes cycle shirts etc will get unbearablysmelly otherwise. Adults / more experienced riders will need to organise this in the evening. Ifyou are very lucky your accommodation may offer a laundry service it's always worth

asking! Certainly when planning the tour ask whether they have facilities for you to dolaundry, so you can plan ahead.


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Also every three days or so it is worth your while going through each rider's kit. Call it aninspection if you wish, and tell the kids what you are looking for they can then: Empty out their panniers. Look for accumulated rubbish / food and ditch it. Check for any wet clothes and hang them up. Leave their stuff neatly on their bed for you to see.

This is also a good time to find any kit which they have 'lost' often it is just at the bottom ofa bag (or possibly has fallen into someone else's). This is another opportunity to see if therider is generally happy, have any continuing difficulties with panniers, etc. Check what theyhave laid out, and that their pannier is clear of rubbish, then they can repack. This is one ofthose tasks which could be divided between your adults, once everyone knows what you arelooking to achieve.

Youngsters cycling independently as a small groupOnce a kid has toured with you, they may be interested in completing some or all of the dayson the next tour without direct adult supervision. Invariably the kids love the challenge and

freedom which this offers them. You can share the accommodation and meals. The party cancome together again for any days which are especially tricky, notably if you have to navigatethrough a complicated city-scape where errors would force you onto dangerous trunk roads.Cycling independently is great practice for the kids after all, British Youth Hostels willaccept youngsters overnight without an adult from the age of 14. Cycling as an independentgroup but sharing accommodation is a perfect half-way house between following an adult and

planning their own independent tour.

I offer this option up-front as part of some of our tours. I then ensure that those opting for ithave sufficient experience and training the choice is usually only available to those whohave toured with us before, and I normally mount a special training day. This covers first aid / handling emergencies navigation repairs

Its important that parents understand that the kids will not have an adult cycling with them,and sign the consent form accordingly. I ask the kids to carry a few tools, some first aid items,two mobile phones and two maps between them. They are expected to contact me at leasttwice a day to keep me apprised of their progress.

Problems on tour

WeatherRain wont slow you down anywhere near as much as wind will, but will dampen spirits

(literally!). There are more safety issues with rain, so you need to keep your party in goodcontrol and in sight. The road surface will be slippery, so a more careful approach to cornerson any downhill sections is essential. Drivers wont be able to see your cyclists quite as easily.Junior children can cool down very rapidly so rainwear will be essential. You may be able tocycle with a t-shirt and waterproof, but younger kids may need a jumper also. If your grouphas to stop, make sure that the kids put a jumper / waterproof on, and try to get them intoshelter if possible.

Sun a combination of sun and wind can easily burn kids they are exposed to the weatherfor a large part of the day. Sunglasses are a very good idea since they protect the eyes bothfrom bright light and bugs / dust. Sun block is essential ensure your party applies it. Makesure that you arrange for them to refill their water bottles plenty of drink is essential. The

kids will be nervous about asking shop-keepers to fill their bottles, so encourage them or askon their behalf. In Holland with a large party I felt it was unreasonable to ask shop-keepers torefill 20 bottles! Instead we just bought water. It was well worth finding the large 2 litre water


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It happened to usA boy had a slightly infected foot, so he was feeling a bit under the weather. Wedsought an antibiotic but the local doctor lectured me: treat a local infection locally,so we had to make do with an antiseptic cream. The next day the lad seemed more thanwell enough. However, his trainers mysteriously went missing. We had a ferry deadlineto meet and searched frantically for hour before finding the trainers hidden under

his mattress! Once found he then told me that another adult had said he shouldnt ride,a conversation which proved never to have taken place! The kid was basically trying to

find reasons not to ride. In the end we persuaded him to go, and he was fine. Onceagain I learnt to try to stay alert and sympathetic to the needs of the youngsters, butalso be wary of psychological tactics they might employ! I also resolved to carry abroad-spectrum antibiotic on future foreign trips, but this is based on my medicaltraining and parental consent in advance.

What if a member of the party cant carry on?This can occur either due to a mechanical problem or an injury. If you have a support vehicle,it is an easy matter to summon it and have them continue in the vehicle. Lacking this,

You will need to call a taxi (or if injured, an ambulance) and take them to a cycle shopor surgery. Naturally they will need to be accompanied by an adult. A taxi may well be able to fit a childs bike in the boot, jutting out, with the boot / bike

secured by string, Try to cover the bike with something in order to prevent the taxigetting oil on it, and to prevent the bike getting scratched by the boot lid.

The adults bike, and possibly the childs bike also, will have to be securely locked at theroad. Do take your panniers with you though.

When the child, or their bike, has been treated by the shop or surgery, continue on eitherto meet your group en route, or straight on to that nights accommodation.

When the other adult(s) in your group are able to supervise the child, you can call a taxito go back to your bike and either fetch it or ride in on to the accommodation. As anadult you may be keen to complete the whole route on your bike, and you will be muchfaster on your own, so it is worth a try to cycle.

The day following an injury, the child either Continues cycling Stays in the support vehicle, if you have one Continues to the next accommodation by train / taxi, accompanied by an adult Goes home summon a parent to collect them. The adult waiting with them can

continue by bike after the child has been collected.

It happened to usA 12 year old was challenged by his friend to ride with his hands off the handle-bars,having watched the older riders perform a number of silly manoeuvres. He promptlyrode into a hedge and twisted his knee very badly. He managed to cycle 1 miles in tothe next town, although the knee was painful and he cried much of the way. I locked upmy bike and called a taxi which took the pair of us the 12 miles to the town were wewere going to stay, together with his bike in the boot. The rest of the party continuedwith the other adult. We asked at the accommodation about a doctor and the localdoctor was kind enough to open his surgery for us. There wasnt much to be done forthe boy except rest and he missed the final two days of the tour. Luckily his mother was

staying nearby and collected him the next morning at about mid-day. Cycling on myown I caught up with the rest of the party who had completed about two-thirds of thedays cycle.

What to do if someone gets lost

The first points to make are about avoidance. Do have regular stops, and do leave a marker ateach junction see earlier sections on stopping and route finding.


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Another top tip is to make up contact cards in advance. These have the adults mobilenumbers, plus the phone numbers of each nights accommodation (with dates). There is also a

brief paragraph explaining that the youngster is on a school trip and asking co-operation inhelping them if necessary. This is printed in English plus the local language if abroad. I printthese on credit card sized paper and laminate them in plastic. Each member of the party isissued with one and I carry spares. If someone gets lost or gets into some other kind of trouble,

they should use the card and ask in a shop for help in calling the staff. I check regularly thatthe kids have their cards they have a habit of leaving them in accommodation.

We have never had cyclists missing for more than an hour. If you find someone missing, dothis: Stop! Make sure the party is safe off the road and warm clothes. Establish who is missing. An adult should cycle back to the last place where the group stopped to try to locate the

missing people. It can easily take an hour to locate missing cyclists. An adult can ride back and forth

between the last stop and where the group currently is, and also investigate any likelylooking junctions where a wrong turn could have happened.

Stay calm!! The missing people WILL be found, and panicking wont help you need totake rational decisions and the rest of your party need you to stay in control.

If 1 hours have gone by, contact the local police to explain the problem. There is noneed to panic it is simply to establish contact in case the missing people are found andreported to the police. The main party should find a caf to stay warm and have somefood.

After 2 hours of being missing, you should contact your home contact to advise themof the problem and ensure that parents are informed.

It happened to usOn our third day in Holland we had cycled a long route in hot sun and were glad

finally to reach our destination town. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn and ended up

with all the kids except one. All the other adults had also dropped off the back and Iassumed the boy was with them. It turned out though that he had got lost on his own.The 12-year-old acted very sensibly: first, he got some Dutch people to try to call us onour mobiles, using his contact card. Failing to get through he asked for directions and

got himself to the Youth Hostel, arriving five minutes before I did! I learnt that Britishmobile phones sometimes need several attempts before someone gets through to themwhile abroad. I also learnt that youngsters are much better off when trained to act withinitiative: try the contact card, but also be willing to solve the problem yourself.

It happened to usOn a (non cycling) adventure trip to Southern France, a Birmingham school party wason the way home. They stopped at 10pm at a Lyons service station where a boy failed to

get on the coach in time. This was not spotted the teachers did a head count but withsleeping bodies everywhere, and after a tiring day, they missed him. 1000 miles laterthe party had crossed the channel on the ferry and were counted back onto the coach,where the missing child was revealed. Assuming the child had fallen overboard, an air-

sea rescue costing 100,000 was launched. Meanwhile, the police in France called thechilds parents to say he was in Lyons before they even knew he was missing!(This wasnt our school although by coincidence we had a party of 50 youngstersreturning from an identical trip, stopping in Lyons at the same time, only six dayslater!)

BehaviourThere are a few ways in which inappropriate behaviour can cause you problems on a cycle

tour.


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Dangerous ridingKids can sometimes ride foolishly, for example with both hands off the handlebar. Weve hadthis happen and although much of the time they get away with it, weve had a young lad ridehis bike into a ditch and twist his knee enough that he had to end his tour there, which was ashame. More risky, Ive witnessed kids happily sailing across a junction following the guy infront, without themselves stopping to check for traffic. This behaviour is really risky and I doworry about the prospect of kids being knocked over and killed. To help prevent this I willstage an adult watching a junction from a distance and if they see kids not looking for traffic,they admonish them. If we get repeated behaviour like this from a kid, I would seriouslyconsider calling their parents and sending them home.

Shenanigans in the eveningMostly, kids will misbehave in the accommodation when they are bored and have nothing todo. They will then find things to do jumping from one bed to another for example.Frequently excess noise is created, annoying other guests, and sometimes damage results tothe hostel or hotel. Either way your group will gain a very bad reputation; you may have to

pay for damage and the accommodation could even tell you to leave! Clearly you need to takesteps to avoid this. These include:

Have your adults make regular sweeps of the bedrooms and public areas in use byyour group to check on behaviour;

Make sure there are things to do: you could organise various sports, depending onavailability of space to play. Youth hostels frequently have games equipmentavailable at reception on request. Weve also been out swimming or to the cinema onsome evenings.

Luckily on a cycle tour after the first night the kids are more tired which helps reduce excessenergy in the evenings.

Difficulties when another youth group is presentThere can be specific issues when your group is sharing accommodation with another group it is possible for a slightly hostile atmosphere to develop between the children in the twogroups. Things which we have encountered include:

One group invading space which is the exclusive use of anothers Taking of kit belonging to the other group, commonly play equipment such as a

football Outright stealing of personal kit Fighting between individuals or even groups

When you arrive at the accommodation and there is another group using it, warn your kids tokeep out of the other groups area. Tell them that if they feel that members of the other groupare mis-behaving, they should tell your staff rather than taking matters into their own hands.Remind your group to keep their bedrooms locked and not to go into other peoples bedrooms.If there is a proposal for a joint event such as a football match, ensure that your adults aresupervising directly. As already suggested, have your staff make regular sweeps to check on

behaviour.

It happened to usThe worst behavioural incident which we have encountered took place on an overnight

ferry journey at the end of a tour. Having endured the strain of getting a young party tocycle 80 miles, a long distance for the age group, and to arrive at the ferry on time, I wasexhausted and retired to lie down. Other adults in the group chatted at the bar and had alook around the ferry from time to time, although it was a large vessel and it was tricky to

see where all the kids were. In the meantime an episode of silliness led to some quitedangerous behaviour.

Initially some of the kids decided theyd hold a sit-down strike outside the shop, inopposition to tobacco sales. The shop was virtually deserted at the time so they felt theywerent being too naughty! Some of the group ran excitedly downstairs to invite others totake part. A lot of noise was generated and one tired lorry driver in a cabin adjacent to

some of our kids got so angry that he punched a hole in the wall of their cabin!Chastised, the kids wandered off and met kids from another party in a lift. Insults


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were traded and our kids ended up chasing the other kids back to their cabin and tried toforce their way in. The other kids managed to slam the door shut, catching the finger ofone of our kids in the hinge and causing a serious cut and crush injury. We wereaccompanied by the security staff to the medical room adjacent to the bridge where aradio call for advice from a shore-based medical unit was put out.

In the end the child with the injury recovered with no long term effects but the

behaviour of the kids in our group shocked everyone. We resolved to patrol ferry journeysmuch more actively and to stamp down hard on silly behaviour.

The practice ride

A practice riding day is essential. The aims include: Getting their bike ready for a ride, and giving it a decent days ride to find any

problems Learning the way we ride as a group Giving clothing a try Having a long enough ride to show the riders what the level of difficulty is.

Every one of our tours has had a practice ride, typically two months before the main ride. Theride takes place in our local area to make transport as easy as possible. We meet at a railstation in the countryside outside the city, so riders have the choice of being dropped off bycar or arriving by train. Costs are limited only to transport, which the parents are responsiblefor, so we dont have to make any additional charge for the day.

It can be difficult to find a day which everyone on the tour can attend. In this event I prioritisehaving inexperienced youngsters on the day I dont mind if kids cant attend who have beenwith us before, but novice tour riders really must attend. To try to ensure this I announce thedate of the practice day at the same time as the dates for the tour itself and ask parents to keepthe day clear in their family diary.

Following the ride cyclists will know what needs to be done, if anything, to improve the stateof their bike, their clothing, how to attach their panniers and their fitness level. We have had

just one youngster drop out from a tour following a practice day since he found it toochallenging. If this is going to happen, although it is a shame it is much better for them todrop out now than cause major problems during the tour itself. Equally, we had a boy whofound a practice day really hard and set about getting himself much fitter before attending thetour, in which he proved to be one of the fittest. Years later he joined us on a tour of over 1100miles as a 17-year-old.

Here is a checklist of ideas to keep in mind for your practice ride.

On arrival at the startAdults in the party: let them have maps, if you have made them for this day, plus mini firstaid kids (wound wipes and plasters), plus your mobile number. Get a note of their mobilenumbers if they are carrying a phone.

Kids: Read out the advice from the trip booklet on cycling technique: Apply plenty of sun block Fill your water bottle regularly Adult at front and back; may be overtaken at a hill; cyclists wait at top of hill, well into

side Single file on busy roads; can double up on quiet roads when you can see; leave gap

between each pair so that you can break into single file Allow enough space to brake dont speed round corners downhill Look behind when overtaking; call ahead to say you are overtaking Get into the side of the road, or off the road, when stopping


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At end of ride Have post-mortem / feed back / congratulations. Are parents here yet? Do you need to call them on your mobile? They will be tired reassure them that they will definitely improve as the tour progresses Have they had any equipment problems? Do these need to be addressed before the main

ride? Any safety issues to reinforce? Comments on weather problems? Tell them the distance they covered and relate this to the daily distances planned for the

tour.

Final three reminders before you dismiss them Pack only the kit on the list dont be tempted to chuck in more. Make sure your bike is fully serviced and ready to ride before you turn up. Any problems, call us in advance dont wait until the first day. Tell them how to

contact you before the tour starts, especially if the trip is some days into a school holidayand they cant therefore reach you at school.

Adults: get the first aid kits back from them, and listen to any comments or questions theyhave.

Maintenance training day

For one of our tours we had a day indoors looking at basic bike maintenance. This wasgenerally looked on favourably. The only disadvantage is finding the time for a practice dayand maintenance day as well as the tour itself and the planning, and also finding days whichmost of your cyclists can attend.

The topics you can cover during the day include the following, although be aware that you

may well not cover the whole list!

Practical skills Basic bike safety check before going for a ride Cleaning and lubricating your bike inc. cables & chain Wheel and tyre removal. Puncture repair; how to avoid punctures Replacement of brake cables and housing Minor adjustment of brake cable and brake pad centering Replacement of brake pads Replacement of gear cables and housing. Indexing of gears Replacing chain. Correct chain length.

Demonstrations / discussion Demonstration of suitable lighting & clothing. Explanation of toe straps, clipless

pedals. Security of the bike. Racks and panniers. What to take on a weeks ride. Travelling on the train with your bike Types of tyre Food on a ride Road safety issues Contents of a road side tool kit (different content for school trips or for sole use)

Spare parts

You need to have a selection of spare parts available for the day. I asked a local cycle shop tolet us have a load of the following on a sale-or-return basis, and paid them the following day


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Kit for tour leaders

Packed2 Karrimor or Ortlieb cycle panniers, totally waterproof.

Camera: Canon EOS 300, 28-90mm Canon lens, LowePro bag, thin belt (can be worn on waist or packedin panniers when raining); films (or memory cards for digital cameras); camera batteriesToothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, soap, razorChange of clothes for evening / travelling: Trousers, trip polo shirt, socks, underwearFirst Aid Kit see laterPhone, charger, contacts card in ZipLock plastic bagDocumentation: Consent forms for kids; Booking forms for accommodation / transport; Transporttickets; Spare route map, other maps eg town plans, all in waterproof ortlieb A4 bagRoute map(s) in plastic bag.Guide book, if carried.Lightweight lockWarm micro-fleece topBreathable waterproof cycling jacket

Repair kit see laterSports sandles TevaTravellers Towel, swimming trunks, plastic bagMoney belt with credit card, cash card, YHA membership card, 3 blank cheques, cash, 3 biros, receipts,in ZipLock plastic bagTotal weight 7 kg including the pannier bags

WearingYellow cycle shirtCycle shorts, underwearCycle shoes, socksHelmet (I have a reevu helmet which has a hidden built-in periscope giving a constant view of the kidsbehind me)

Sunglasses & bag

BikeTouring bikeRear LED light, lightweight front lampWater bottleGPS unit

Extra for foreign travelPassportE111 health forms for the partyInsurance documents for the party

Phrase book or sheetGroup passport for kidsVISA exemption form for kids, if neededTravel power socket adapter

Group First Aid Kit (carried by one adult)2 10x20 melolin3 10x10 melolin2 7.5cm x 4m conforming bandage1 5cm x 4m conforming bandage1 5cm x 10m roll hypafix dressing retention sheet10 wound wipes10 fabric plasters

Pack 10 tissues14 Clarityn


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16 paracetamol1 tube germolene1 tube anthisan1 5cm crpe bandage1 medium wound dressingScissors

Tweezers

Group Tool kit (carried by one adult)Oil (Finish Line Cross Country)PowerPumpToPeak Alien Tool6 Cable ties3 Tyre leversPack Pre-glued Park patches

I share the following items between the other adults on the tour, who also bring a small tool kitcontaining their favourite items. Everyone on tour is expected to have a spare inner tube, tyre levers anda pump.

A few spannersScrewdriverCable CuttersCables

Each adult on trip carriesSmall first aid kit in ziplock plastic bag, containing2 small primapore plasters1 large primapore plasters10 wound wipes10 fabric plastersMicropore tape 2.5cm x 2m

Mobile phone, charger, contact card (all in ziplock plastic bag)

Credit card

Route map

Photocopies of the passports if we are abroad

Tool kit of their own design

Documents

Cycle Touring With School Children