Route Planning

Planning your bike route isn't just about getting from point A to B. There’s a lot of personal choice that goes into what type of ride you want to have and there are many things to consider when it comes to planning your two-wheeled journey.

Choosing a comfortable route for you will depend on a number of factors. Parents out riding with kids will have different criteria than those making a daily dash to work. Consider your personal preferences, comfort with traffic and available time. A meandering route through a trail network may be great for a Sunday cycle but may be too time consuming when you have to pedal it out to make a meeting.

One of the first steps to planning a route includes finding the cycling infrastructure that is available near you. A quick Google search for "[municipality name] cycling map" should help you find trails, bike lanes and cycle tracks in your neighbourhood. You can then use those when mapping out your route. 

You can start to map out your route by using the bike function on Google Maps. When you type your home and school addresses you can tell Google how you’ll be travelling. Click the bike icon to get the route best suited to someone riding a bike, which will sometimes give you the option of riding on trails and multi use paths. 

The altitude map on the bottom left hand corner will also tell you if there are any hills on the route. You can hover your cursor around a spike in altitude and it will show you where on the map the hill is located. That way, you can find a way to avoid the hill.  

Once you have an idea of what the route will look like, try testing it out on a day when you don't have anywhere to be so that you can take your time. You can send the Google Maps link to your phone or you can print it out so that you can mark down any potential problem areas along the ride, if it's a route that you'd like to take regularly. If you're looking to establish a route to school with your child, try checking in with your kid while you’re riding to see how they feel about the route. If they say they feel uncomfortable try a route that might use more familiar or quieter residential streets. If there are any fun landmarks along the way like an interesting statue or a brightly coloured house, try incorporating them into the route so your kid will know to look for them if they try the ride one their own. When the route is finalized you can ride a few more times with your kid so that they know what to expect before they start riding on their own. 

In Ontario, children under the age of 18 must wear a helmet but adults are not legally required to do so. That being said, it’s never a bad idea and it sets a good example for others. A properly fitted helmet should sit snug and straight on your head (see image below).

Helmets should be replaced 3-5 years after they’ve started wearing it, unless it suffers an impact (like if it’s dropped) in which case it should be replaced before they ride again. 

A good guideline for helmet fit is the 2-V-1 rule. You should be able to fit 2  fingers between your eyebrows and the helmet, and 1 finger between the chin strap and your chin. Make sure that the straps form a "V" around your ears. Wearing bulky hats like tuques or baseball hats can affect the fit of a helmet and render it less effective. You should also consider your hair style when it comes to helmet fit, keep ponytails low and if you're going to have braids in their hair, try shopping or a helmet while the braids are in so that you can make sure their helmet will fit over them.

Being Heard

Image courtesy Corey Davis

Having a bell or a horn on your bike is not only required by law, but is also a great way to make cycling more fun! There are lots of fun designs available at your local bike shop, hardware store or dollar store. Bells and horns start at about $5. 

If you’re riding with a child, you can have them practice ringing their bell when they’re approaching pedestrians on the sidewalk. It’s always good to let other road users know when you might be coming close to their space and so that the pedestrians can let your kid pass them. When you’re riding with them, it’s also good to practice ringing your own bell more often to help teach your kid when they should be ringing their own bell. This would include when you’re passing another cyclist or when you’re riding next to parked cars and you think that someone might open their door into your path. 

Being Seen

If you're going to be riding their bike 30 minutes before sunset or 30 minutes after sunrise, you legally have to have a white light on the front of their bike and a red light or reflector on the back of the bike. 

Light sets start at around $20 and come in battery operated or rechargeable versions. Rechargeable lights tend to be more expensive but are usually brighter and save you the burden of having to buy and dispose of batteries. 

When you’re shopping, you may notice that the packaging will include a lumen count. This is the unit used to measure the amount of visible light that a light produces. The more lumens it creates, the brighter the light. Really bright lights can make it hard for others on the road to see. You will still be able to see and be seen if the light is pointed down slightly out of courtesy to the other people on the road. 

If you're riding with a child and they are still small and ride fairly low to the ground, it’s not a bad idea to attach a flag or a balloon to make them more visible in a driver’s mirror. 

Child seats

Biking with your kid in a seat attached to your bike is a great way to get to school! Front-mounted child seats are generally intended for younger kids since they have a lighter weight capacity (usually around 30 lbs) than rear-mounted seats. You can get seats that attach to the top of a bike rack or ones that attach directly to your frame. Some are removable and others are more permanently attached. Your local bike shop will probably be able to give you a good recommendation as to what will work best for you, your kid and your bike. 

If you’re using a rear-mounted seat, remember not to wear a big backpack as it might squish the child. Make sure the seat provides a good way to secure their hands and feet so that no extremities can get caught in the rear wheel of the bike.

HOT TIP: A center-mounted double-legged kickstand will help the bike stand up on its own and can make it a lot easier to load and unload the child.

Bike trailers

Another versatile option is to get a trailer that can attach to your bike. Many modern trailers also convert to strollers so that they can do double duty. These can also allow you to carry more than one kid with you (or a kid + one large dog, or one kid + groceries or any combination thereof). Just remember to attach a flag or balloon to the back of a trailer to make it more visible to other road users. 

Cargo bikes

Two or three-wheeled cargo bikes (the ones with the big buckets in the front) are the minivans of the bike world and can be a great way to commute with your kids. They can even be equipped with winter tent-like kits that help you and your kid riding all year long! Though, cargo bikes can be a more expensive option (when compared to other bikes but not when compared to a minivan) and can be more cumbersome to store given their greater weight and size. 

Trailer bikes and tow bars

If your kid is almost but not quite ready to ride on their own, you can get a trailer bike that attaches to the back of your bike, that way they can contribute to the forward momentum of riding but don’t have to worry about steering or braking. You can also find tow bars that attach an adult bike and a kid’s bike and have the same principle as the trailer bike.

Kids bikes are sized based on the diameter of the wheel, they range from 12 to 24 inches before they are probably ready to try a small adult-sized bike. If you aren’t sure what size they will need, have them sit on a few different sizes to see what would work best. You want them to be able to comfortably reach the handlebars and be able to touch their toes to the ground when they’re sitting on the seat.

They should also be able to straddle the top tube of the bike (the part of the frame between the seat and the handlebars) without having their groin touching the top tube. If when the seat is at the best height for your kid, it is raised as high as it will go, it’s probably best to look at the next size up as that bike probably won’t last them very long before they grow out of it.

Proper seat height

If you’re an older kid or an adult, proper seat height means that when you’re sitting on it and the pedal is in the 6 o’clock position, you want to maintain a slight bend in your knee but not have the joint straighten out completely as you pedal. However, younger kids are usually most comfortable when they can safely touch the ground. You can start with the seat at the height they feel most comfortable with and gradually raise it up so they can get proper leg extension as they become more and more at ease on their bike. 

If your kid appears to be in between sizes and is still getting comfortable riding their bike, it’s usually best to go with a bike that’s a little bit too small versus one that’s a bit too big as smaller ones will be easier for them to handle as they develop their skills. 

When shopping for a bike, try prioritizing the quality of the bike versus the bells and whistles that come with it (not literally). Most kids ride their bikes in a single gear and don’t need any suspension (shocks) but a good quality, simple bike can be reused as younger kids grow up or more easily resold. 

Buying a new bike for your kid every time they have a growth spurt can be expensive but there are more cost-effective used bikes available on Craigslist, Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace. You can also speak to the people in your neighbourhood about swapping bikes if the sizes work out.

Riding skills

An emergency stop is definitely up there on the list of more important riding skills that your kid should know. Have them practice slamming on their brakes suddenly so that they understand how much force they have to apply to get their bike to stop on a dime. If their bike has rim brakes (the kind that you need to pull the lever on the handlebars to engage), have them practice applying force to the front and back brakes evenly. They can also practice moving their bodies forward off the seat so that they can easily put both feet on the ground. You can also have a conversation with your kid about what kind of situations they might have to use their newfound emergency braking skills (pretty much anytime you see something entering your path, whether it be a squirrel, a person or a car). 

Signaling can be tricky for younger kids to learn because it requires them to take a hand off the handlebars while they’re riding. It’s also something that they won’t need to know until they are older since they will probably be riding on sidewalks and crossing at pedestrian crossings. Though it’s never a bad idea to start practicing while they’re young and you can demonstrate them as you ride together. 

Older kids who are more comfortable on their bikes will probably be able to pick up the hand signals without too much trouble. You can take turns quizzing each other before your next bike ride. A hand signal should be made with your left hand (unless you’re practicing the alternate right turn signal). If your kid is anything like me and has trouble telling their left from their right, you can try putting a piece of coloured tape on the left side on their handlebars to help them remember. 

Remember to teach them to check over their shoulder for oncoming traffic before they begin executing their turn or lane change, then they should signal and shoulder check once before making their turn. You can have them repeat the sequence a few times so that it sticks in their head: shoulder check, signal, shoulder check, turn.

Traffic lights and stop signs

Teach your child that when you come to a stop sign, it’s best to stop and put a foot on the ground so that you don’t have to worry about staying balanced while you look for people walking or driving who may be entering the intersection. 

You’ll also want to teach them that green means go, that red and yellow lights mean stop, that the person walking icon means it’s ok to walk through the intersection and that the red hand means you have to stop and wait. 

Where to ride on the road

If your route to school has sidewalks, that will probably be the best place for your kid to ride their bike. In Toronto, kids aged 13 and under are allowed to ride on the sidewalk though it’s different depending on what municipal bylaws are in place where you live. Just remember to teach your kids to be courteous to other people using the sidewalk; slow down and ring your bell when passing people, give extra space to people using mobility devices or walking pets. 

Instruct your kid to slow down when they’re riding past a driveway. A car that has it’s engine running or someone sitting in the driver's seat might pull out of the driveway quickly, so try to teach your kid to make eye contact with the driver so that they are sure they are seen. 

If there aren’t sidewalks on your route to school, you’ll want to ride on the right side of the road (always with traffic) and leave about a meter of space between you and the edge of the road. This will make it easier to navigate around potholes and other road obstacles. Other people using the road are legally required to give you at least a metre of space when passing you.

Maintain a straight line while riding. Keep a good distance from parked cars and resist the temptation to ride into gaps.

Remember that people riding bikes are listed as vehicles under the Ontario Highway Traffic Act and therefore have just as much of a right to be on the road as anyone else. If you’re on a particularly narrow road or if there are obstructions (like construction), it’s fine to take up the entire lane by riding down the middle of the lane. This will also help stop people driving from passing you too closely. Just remember to signal, shoulder check and signal again before moving into the middle of the lane.