Essential Tools You Need For a Family Cycling Holiday

Posted on May 31, 2010 | Category: Sports Trivia, Travel Trivia

If you are looking forward to the opportunities of better weather to start cycling a bit more.  And if you have decided that you want somewhere more interesting than spinning the roads around your neighbourhood, then you might already have considered whether or not a cycling holiday is for you.

A cycling holiday is a great opportunity for you and your family to get out into the country, get some exercise, and cover some quite significant distances.  Best of all, the kids might actually be tired out at night!
So what do you need to take with you?

First you will need a cycle carrier of some sort to get you to your start position.  You can choose from roof mount, tail mount or even tow bar mounted systems.

Secondly, don’t forget the pump!  Better still, invest in a foot pump.  I did and I haven’t looked back since.  You will need to carry one on the bike too.

Third, a good set of bike spanners.  Make sure that you can fit all your spanner ends to all your nuts and bolts.  If you can afford it, get a bike specific torque wrench.  There are times when I have had to fight with some nuts that were put on by the shop with a wrench and I am sure that they were put on too tight.

Fourth, tyre levers (and it goes without saying a puncture repair kit)

And finally, a screwdriver set that will fit all the screws.

It’s worth trying to fit in all these larger items of kit because if you are away from your base, you don’t want your holiday cut short really early on because you forgot to pack something.  Also, you could do with duplicating these items as far as is reasonable in miniature so that you can put them onto your bike.

And finally, before you throw your bike on your roof mounted cycle carrier, don’t leave it too late to know what some of those tools actually do. I am so grateful that every now and then I take some time out just to refresh my mind on how the bike is put together, and how much you need to turn a particular screw to get the result you are looking for.

» Filed Under Sports Trivia, Travel Trivia

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