Family Friendly Off-Road Touring? Katy Trail

[indysteel]

Please don't let me totally dissaude you. I want to emphasize that other people love the Katy. But still, I have to wonder if there are other places to go that might be more scenic and interesting for you and the kids. Do you plan to camp?

[tulip]

My first thought was that while YOU might be able to handle 50-60 miles a day, your kids might go bonkers. It might be better to keep the mileage shorter and incorporate more stops and fun things.

[indysteel]

Maybe this will give you some ideas.

[Sky King]

Great idea Indy, and with a fully supported family tour there would be other families so the kids would probably enjoy meeting other kids, who knows could be life long cycling buddies in the making.

another idea is to check out something like cycle oregon weekend - not a tour but another great way to spend time on bikes with the kids and perhaps DH

Maybe this will give you some ideas.

[indysteel]

Limewave, even if the family tours themselves don't appeal to you, you might find some great route information to work with. Idaho, in particular, is quickly moving up my list of places to go.

[limewave]

I haven't thought too much about accomodations yet. Camping, while awesome, means carrying a lot of supplies. I'm at the early "research" stage. I'm open to all suggestions! :-)

[out_spokin']

+1 to considering Idaho and browsing Adventure Cycling for ideas. I remember this article got me thinking about how touring needs to be different to be fun for kids but how everyone could benefit from those changes...

I toured most of the Katy several years ago. I think it can be a great first tour -- pleasantly off road with a very good trail surface and fun to do all or most of a trail in not too long a time commitment. The website is super helpful and fun to use for planning. And there were definitely some nicely scenic areas - especially the sections around Rocheport and McKittrick. I didn't find anything unsettling like indysteel, but I also was underwhelmed in that there are some really long sections with nothing but tree tunnel and sameness of not exciting scenery and agree that the town eating options were pretty dismal (keep in mind that I'm a veggie, like to eat healthy, AND we went in October when a lot was closed.)

The thing that surprised me, and was my knee's undoing (I stopped a day before the end in pain), was that the mileages were much harder than I thought they would be. Partially I undertrained for being the person who hauled the trailer, thinking that 40-60 miles a day with slower riders wouldn't be that hard. And the other thing was that the combination of the very steady grade and the limestone surface meant that you were ALWAYS pedaling. No coasting. Almost ever. It drove me a little nuts actually, and made me rethink the grand plan to tour all the rail trails in favor of doing more rolling hills and regular roads. I still want to do the GAP/C&O, and I still appreciate the traffic-free qualities and if riding with kids would prioritize them, but I would definitely revise daily mileage downward and put in more training with the equivalent load.

Great idea though -- I'm plotting to get my 16 year old nephew to tour with me next summer!