Sometimes the Best Family Rides are off the Bike

Planning rides with my friends is second nature. Especially a morning commute. I can rattle off times, distances, and secondary options with little thought. But for kids? Almost impossible. I mean, I know the requirements. Give me all dirt or a mix of paved and dirt. Preferably light on the cars. Scenic vistas are a plus but don't even think about climbing more than 600 feet. Altitude? That's fine, we can just spin it out in granny. Got it? Let's go..but where?

The tips you find on the Internet say you should call local bike shops for recommendations of where to ride. Well that's great and all if they're not too busy to talk to you. Even better if they are open at midnight while I try to plan for a ride near our Dunsmuir, CA vacation spot. Fortunately for me, my wife grabbed one of those 102 things to do in Siskiyou County tourism mags. She handed me an article describing a 9 mile loop around Siskiyou Lake. The author (Paul Boerger) clearly knew the riding requirements of my kids. So much so I told my family that momma found us a ride. (note, this mag is not on the internet nor is Paul's article. But you can find out more about the loop here)

As we started off on the lake trail, I reminded the family we can stop and explore anywhere we wanted. The trail was wide and not crowded at all. People were friendly, the views were a plenty, and the difficulty was moderate to easy. Along the way we took advantage of a well placed picnic table with a scenic view of the lake and Mt Shasta in the distance. The view was outstanding but the local cinnamon roll we packed from Dunsmuir's Dogwood Diner stole the show. Yep, nothing like a good dose of energy supplements (ok sugar) to keep your kids riding. 

I was well stocked. My backpack was heavy but had everything. Pump, kid tire tubes, adult tubes, CO2s, gloves, sunglasses, hats, sunscreen, the magazine, cinnamon rolls, graham bears, and even a spare ice cold water bottle to compliment the water on the bikes.

But you can't plan for it all. When we got to around mile 3.7 of our loop, our kids were treated to a most spectacular site. Bouncing among the reflections of Mt Shasta in the background was the largest water toy playground (Reynolds Resort Splash Zone) they had ever seen. And after a few minutes of soaking in the possibilities, my wife lead the kids over to me. "So, we were thinking that perhaps you could ride back to the car, and drive back here with the kids suits". 

I looked at my kids but it was too late. They were gazing into the lake watching the other kids swimming and jumping, dreaming of what could be. I knew those looks. It's the same look I have when I drive up towards Oregon and imagine what a ride through the back highways must be like. 

It took us 90 minutes to get to that point with the stops we did. It took me only 20 minutes to get back to the car. Upon my return, I was welcomed with smiling kids. They decided to swim in their clothes while waiting. Boy were they happy. We spent the next four hours playing at this water park. 'Saturn', pictured in the photo was the kids favorite. Think of it as a spinning bucking bronco for the seas. They liked the trampolines, and the 20 foot tall iceberg, and moonwalk as well but Saturn was the best by far.

On our drive home our kids were exhausted. I don't think they've ever had so much fun on a bike ride. Sure, we swam more than we rode but it was simply part of the adventure. We didn't plan for it but we pounced on the opportunity when it presented itself. Riding leads to good things. My kids have experienced it first hand. So as we continue our road trip, as we see another lake, another volcano, we can all gaze out and wonder what fun awaits us next.