Summer has come round yet again and it’s time to consider the family summer holiday if you haven’t already before and you therefore come to the decision that a mountain bike holiday is a great plan. This makes the children happy and your wife also believes it to be a good plan. A mountain bike holiday for the family pleases your wife who would otherwise not see you for days on end because of your favourite pass-time.
You stuff the back of the car with the children and help your wife settle into the front seat. You then quickly go back inside to collect all the bags that have been stuffed with whatever clothes and equipment has been collected from around the house and throw them too into the back of the boot.
After finding the mountain bikes in the shed, you attempt to attach them to the roof of the car before getting into the driver’s seat and setting off.Is this right? – The short answer is of course, no, it isn’t. Mountain bike holidays need a little more preparation than that if they are to be successful.
Firstly, it’s important to remember that mountain bike riding isn’t just a case of hopping on and pedalling off. The bikes themselves need lots of careful preparation and maintenance before a holiday like this. Without it, the bikes may be dangerous to use, especially if they’ve been sat in the garage for long periods of time. Who knows what condition the mountain bike is in after long periods of time sat in the garage. Like all machines, if they are left for too long they can begin to seize-up and suffer from rusty moving parts. It makes great sense to make sure that the mountain bikes are not rusted up and that the moving parts are loose and well oiled. If the kids are with you too, you should really make sure that every mountain bike is in the best condition.
It is also vital that other kit such as puncture repair equipment is packed to include spare inner tubes, patches and of course a bicycle pump. Water supply when riding a mountain bike is also absolutely essential to ensure and so taking enough water bottles really important too. Other kinds of emergency products that would be wise to take on a mountain bike holiday would be batteries and spare bulbs for the bike lights.