Advice to Scouts

[Kirstie]

My brother in law is a scout leader and some of his group are interested in doing a cycle tour. A couple of the older lads did the coast to coast and so want to do some more, which is great. B-I-L fears that they are over-reaching themselves.

They want to ride from Newcastle - Edinburgh 'the scenic way' and have a route in mind which will amount to over 200 miles over 5 days. They are looking at 50 miles a day. This might not be so bad except for the fact that the age range of the group is between 12 and 17, none of them have road or touring bikes, and none of them have particularly cycled before, and they want to go in April. On the plus side they will have a sag wagon carrying their stuff. Another plus is that they live in the peak district and so will have a chance to get some training in.

He's asked me if I want to go and give a talk to his scout group advising them about cycle touring. Apart from the fact that 'I never work with children or animals' and so don't have a clue how to approach a group like this, how do I instill a sense of proportion into them and what issues should I cover? Do I suggest that they contact their local CTC rep?

I'm guessing I don't need a CRB check to do it?

 

[Black Sheep]

i'd go and talk about cycle touring and stress the importance of training rides.

might be an idea to suggest to your B-I-L that they do a practice ride, similar kind of roads but trying to cover about 20-30 miles per day just for a weekend or something, just to see how they get on / show that they are capable of the planned trip.

 

[Milo]

I got dishonorably discharged from the scouts.Happy days.

 

[Aperitif]

tdr1nka's your man for cycle group advice...he'll be along in a minute - once the shooting stops in South London.

 

[trustysteed]

i gave it up cos i didn't like to be cubby-holed

 

[Cubist]

Kirstie. Our pack combined with another local pack to do the C2C last year. 50 miles a day is very ambitious as the majority will turn up on heavy MTBs. 30 is far more of a sustainable distance, hence 150 mile C2C over 5 days.

Do the talk, but stress the benefits of training and a decent bike.

 

[Kirstie]

Kirstie. Our pack combined with another local pack to do the C2C last year. 50 miles a day is very ambitious as the majority will turn up on heavy MTBs. 30 is far more of a sustainable distance, hence 150 mile C2C over 5 days.

Do the talk, but stress the benefits of training and a decent bike.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

50 miles/day for a few days at 12 years of age. No way. Realism is certainly required. Even 30/day at 12 will find them out. B-I-L is correct to be concerned.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

Tell them that because of the cycling heritage, all 'cyclo-touristes' always talk about distances in kilometers. Then while they're still still confused trying to multiply everything by 8 and divide by 5, they'll readily accept that 50 km/day was in fact what they were thinking of all along.

 

[ufkacbln]

The "Coast and Castles" route is fun, but "idustrial at the Newcastle end as you go through Blyth et al

Some excellent stopping places and camp sites..... could you even arrange to be put up by other Group's HQs?

As to the rest ... as above, planing, map reading and navigation, along with (light hearted) tales of disaster and mayhem always go down well.

One way to cut down the ambition is to explain the importance of catering for the "weakest link" when planning with groups.

 

[ufkacbln]

Oh.... and you have to exclude anyone who does not have a Martlew-hat!

 

[trustysteed]

I'm guessing I don't need a CRB check to do it?

you just need first dibs!

 

[dellzeqq]

I reckon the thing is won or lost in the preparation. The Kid did 36 miles at the age of 8 without too much difficulty, but her bike was in good shape. I'd suggest that somebody gives their bikes a good going over. Every time one of them unships a chain or has a spoke go then the whole group will stop and that'll take it out of them.

50 miles a day isn't much on quiet roads. They should go for it. It'll be a great teamwork exercise. What's the worst that could happen?

 

[Danny]

If the "scenic way" means over hills then 40 miles a day sounds quite ambitious for 12 year olds.

Most kids that age are going to have heavy mountain bikes which will be tough to pedal for long distances - particularly if they are carrying gear.

You could suggest that the Scout group try a couple of day trips first so that they can get a feel for the kind of distances the kids can comfortably do.

 

[Paulus]

The coast and castles route, sustrans route 1 looks reasonably flat, ish,http://www.cycle-n-sleep.co.uk/elevation/elevcoast.htm, and with some training rides should be do-able for the kids. The pace won't be fast, and 50 miles is only really 5 hours in the saddle, at an average of 10 mph, allowing for stops for lunch ect. should be done reasonably in 6-7 hours total per day. One would hope that as they are in the scouts already, they would have some level of fitness. With Kirstie giving the troop advice on how to go about things they should have a good time.