Taking on the Wild Atlantic Way, with Kids
Four adults, four young teens and 2,000 km of tough roads
A trip down the west coast of Ireland is a challenge for any cyclist. Here’s how to tackle it with young riders.
If you’re thinking about undertaking a big bike tour with your kids and are frightened about everything that could go wrong, then keep reading. This past summer, my wife, Nicky, our two daughters, Arianna and Caitlin (age 13 and 15), and I, were joined by our friends Dave Diebolt and Brenda Ryujin and their two teens, Kai and Mika (age 13 and 16), on a 2,000-km ride down the wild rugged west coast of Ireland. The route we followed, called the Wild Atlantic Way, is considered an epic journey for a trained adult cyclist. For two families with young teens, who often craved beach time rather than saddle time, the journey was, speaking objectively, an exercise in crisis management. We made it work and had a trip of a lifetime. We followed these five simple rules to make it happen. If you’re thinking of hitting the road with your kids, you might want to consider them, too.
Bring your own bikes
IF YOU’RE RIDING long distances across multiple days, particularly with kids, do it aboard machines you’re comfortable with and not ones that you’ve mounted for the first time at the start of the trip. Using your own bikes will allow you to address issues before you start. I can guarantee you, there will be a lot of them. Who’s going to carry that? What are the kids going to carry? They don’t want to carry anything. How heavy can I load that rear rack before the bike starts to wobble out? Does it matter if we exceed the weight limit on the trailer? Discs or rim brakes? Flats or clipless? Road kit or mountain bike kit? The list goes on and on. The only way to figure it all out is to ride the equipment. If you do it beforehand, you won’t be doing it when the kids are asking, “How much farther!? I’m tired!”
The roads i n Ireland are very different from what we’re used to. They’re routinely uneven, scratchy surfaces akin to pea gravel spread atop a layer of tar and then let to set. In North America, it’s chip seal. In
Ireland, it’s chip seal’s tougher rural cousin. Think of crunchy peanut butter spread over hard toast. Some of it is smooth, some of it is bare and lots of it is jagged. It’s rough and sharp and wears tires like a belt sander. We knew this before going and chose our bikes accordingly. Dave rode a Felt FX4 cyclocross bike. The kids had Felt road bikes with beefy tires. Nicky and I rode Norcos, a ’cross and gravel bike, respectively. Brenda had the new titanium Knolly Cache, a super lightweight gravel bike, and had us all jealous for the duration of the trip.
Depending on the airline you choose, travelling with your bike can be very straightforward and not particularly expensive. Do some research before you purchase your tickets. We headed over to our local bike shop and picked up all the cardboard bike boxes we needed for free. Not only do they easily accommodate your bikes, but you can also pack in other odds and ends you need to bring, such as tents, sleeping bags, stoves and the like. Bring your own bike. You won’t regret it.