I looked at my son and my heart melted.
Well done you! the lady at the first checkpoint congratulated him. You just cycled 5 miles!
I cringed and prayed that he hadn’t heard – I’d been telling him for the last ten minutes that he was already eight miles into his twenty mile charity cycle ride. He’d heard.
I upped my motivational skills. My daughter called me a slavedriver and refused to be motivated. With every hill I cheeredย “Walk, don’t wander! Make it count!”ย At the ten mile point Actually Daddy suggested that we downgrade our aspirations and make do with a silver medal. I told him the kids would never forgive themselves if they didn’t complete what they had set out to do. I got the jelly babies out.
At seventeen miles my son was crying and snotty. I cleaned his face on my t-shirt and handed him some dried mango. It took a while, but the sugar fix gave him back his grit.ย “I wish I’d never seen this stupid bike! I’d like to just explode it into a million pieces!” It wasn’t cheerful, but at least it was energy.
Another hill almost did for us, but by now my daughter was determined. She’d consumed 123 grams of carbs to keep her blood sugar levels stable, and she was going to finish what she’d started. I began promising my family a giant pork bap if they made it to the end. As we rounded a corner we recognised a roundabout.ย “We’re nearly there!”ย I practically squealed with relief. I pictured us limping our bikes to the end point and collapsing into a cold drink.
My son was having none of it.
Oh my God! We’re back! Whooooooooop!!! Yay!!!!!! We did it! You were right Mummy, I DO feel proud of myself!
His seven-year old legs pumped faster than they had all morning. I couldn’t keep up with him. One more hill saw him hop off his saddle, but he marched that bike right up there. Then he saw the bunting and the crowds. I groaned as I realised I was going to have to haul my bruised and sorry backside onto my own bike once more – he was totally riding over the finishing line.
An Adventure with the Brave Bones Club
Sometimes pushing yourself harderย is easier when you’re outdoors, on a group adventure, than it is at home. Sometimes you have no choice but to go on, when going back is more difficult. Sometimes you achieve more than you thought possible on that adventure, and gain the confidence in yourself to do even more next time.
Steve Backshall, wildlife expert and presenter of TV’s Deadly 60, has teamed up with the Brave Bones Club to inspire you to go on an adventure. Along with fun kids brands Cheestrings and Yollies, they have put togetherย a competition where the prize is an adventure of your own with the ultimate adventurer.ย Youโll get to spend four incredible days exploring the outdoors with Steve and star in brand-new Brave Bones Clubย video series!
To enter visit either Fun Kids, or First News, and take a watch of the video below, where Steve explains more aboutย what you’ll be doing in the big outdoors if you win:
THAT IS AMAZING! Well done to all of you! The anger towards the bike sounds like one of my friends. I’m learning that it’s usually just a rant and that she doesn’t actually really want to pack it all in! I hope.
Absolutely. Occasionally I had to get tough and tell them not to voice those thoughts – that worked too after a while and they focused on getting the job done ๐
Very well done to your kids! That’s a fantastic achievement. It reminds me so much of motivating my 8yo daughter to walk eight miles of the Cotswold Way last year (that’s a lot of hills!). There were some tough bits, but I managed to keep her motivated to the end.
My kids would love to do something adventurous. I, on the other hand, have watched Bear Grylls The Island and am quite happy not being adventurous!
Oh Bear Grylls is about as brave as I get normally, but this was such a bonding experience that I’m determined to have a few more adventures and challenge myself. My kids totally outshone me. Most of the post-exercise complaining came from me, not them!
OMG!! Well done all of you – you should be so proud of yourselves. That’s quite an achievement. xx
I have one adventurous child (6yr old) and one not-so-adventurous (10yr old), so that makes these adventure type things really awkward for me. I’m not really one for adventure either, I’d much rather sit at home and have a hot coffee! ๐
Great post. x
I’m afraid that’s me too Morgan, but actually I surprised myself with how motivated I was, as I was trying to motivate them. And there’s always a celebratory glass of fizz after something that major ๐
Well done to you all! What a fabulous achievement. It has to be said that there is nothing more motivating than a family supporting and encouraging each other ๐
He did so well! My son is really into cycling with my hubby I shall check out events like this.
Woo hoo, well done!
Very well done to GG and Bug for such an amazing achievement. And well done to you for keeping them motivated throughout – I hope you celebrated with a glass of wine (or two) once the children were in bed?
Are you serious?? After exercise like that?! The champagne got opened as soon as I was through the front door
Hang on, where’s the sweaty picture of you finishing? Well done to you all. I detest bike riding – can’t stand the numb bum it gives me ๐
It’s not a very comfortable sport, that’s for sure! I couldn’t sit down without a wince for 2 days ๐
Brilliant, amazing. The most we’ve done is 11 miles with our three. We’ve done some long hill walks and I use the same tactic of feeding them high calorie foods on route. It’s amazing how quickly they perk up after a handful of raisins and a rice cake. If only I had half their energy