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Preparing kids for mountain biking adventures

March 29, 2016 By Amy Hagstrom

When it comes to mountain biking, kids and younger riders are often left behind. For many, the sport is viewed as dangerous and not fit for kids. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Mountain biking is a great sport for kids of all ages. While they may be limited to safer trails in the beginning, kids can enjoy the perks of off-road biking all the same.

Mountain biking offers a number of benefits that kids can take advantage of. Not only is it enjoyable, but it’s a great opportunity for kids to explore the world around them while getting some exercise. Families that ride together also have the chance to bond as they make their way through a trail.

Before you venture off, you should prepare your child for what’s to come. Mountain biking is very different from a casual ride through the park. Whether the child is apprehensive about their first foray off-road or excited to explore some trails, you should prepare them to make the trip safe and fun.

Get in Physical and Mental Shape for Mountain Biking Adventures

Depending on your child, you may have to do a bit of ongoing physical and mental preparation prior to your first ride. As with adults, being in great shape is a necessity. Even on smoother trails designed for beginners, obstacles will demand a lot from riders. It’s a good idea to do a bit of physical conditioning.

This can include fun and enjoyable workouts that appeal to kids. Instead of a staunch exercise regime, you can play physically demanding games that push the child’s body. The better shape the kid is in, the better they will be at biking safely.

In addition to physical preparation, you should speak to them about what they can expect. They should understand the types of obstacles they’ll face and how to get over them. If the child is a bit nervous, mental preparation will ensure that they face their fears safely. The same goes for a kid that’s overconfident in their skills.

Gather the Right Equipment

It’s crucial to choose the right bike for going through a trail. Kid bikes can be a bit tougher to fit than adult bikes. It’s a good idea to let the child be a part of the decision process. Not only will they enjoy choosing something they like, but you’ll be able to teach them how to properly fit the bike and what types of things they should look for.

A solid frame and large wheels are always a good thing to look for. This will make the bike easier and more comfortable to ride. Obviously, higher end components like brakes and shifters are a good idea. However, if you’re on a budget, a solid frame with basic components is a good place to start. You can always upgrade components as the child grows and improves.

The bike should fit the child perfectly. A bike that’s too small or too large can lead to falls and injuries. Make sure that the child sits on the bike and takes a ride on flat ground prior to making a purchase.

In addition to the bike, safety equipment is a must. The kid will need a high-quality helmet to protect them from bumps and falls. Protective clothing and guards will also help keep them safe throughout the ride.

Pre-ride Training

The feeling of riding off-road is something that requires a bit of getting used to. It’s never a good idea to just hit the trail and hope for the best. Children need to know what to expect in terms of terrain. Starting off on some grass will give them an idea of what to expect.

A park with numerous hills will expose them to the feeling of riding down a slope. Even something as simple as riding off of a small curb is beneficial. This will allow them to learn how to maneuver different obstacles and terrain as well as how to ride in different positions. For even more training, parents can set up a small course in the backyard that teaches them how to get through basic hazards.

Start Off Easy

Make the first trail ride the child takes an easy one. Simple trails with minimal obstacles will allow the kid to ease into the sport. Dirt roads or jeep trails are perfect for kids just starting out. These trails provide the feeling of off-road biking while allowing the kid to build their strength and comfort level.

Parents and experienced riders should hang back. Never stray too far from the child, just in case they need your help. By letting them take the lead, you can follow along at a comfortable pace and make judgment calls on when to rest. The child should be able to ride as please without feeling pressured to attempt something harder. Without being pushed, kids will naturally improve and move on to more difficult trails at their own pace.

Learning Techniques Safely

As the child improves, it’s important that you teach them how to ride technically. You can do this by introducing simple moves and techniques throughout the ride. Of course, you should never pressure them to try something they’re not comfortable with. While it may seem easy to you, a young child may find it terrifying.

Constant affirmation and praise will help them learn with time. Technical riding is crucial, and it’s good to start teaching children as soon as possible so that they adopt good riding habits in the future. Things like steering, riding positions, and obstacle maneuvers are all good things to learn.

As the child learns, it’s important to monitor them at all times. Kids are notorious for being overconfident. In the sport of mountain biking, overconfidence can be dangerous. They should learn new techniques while also being aware that of what can go wrong.

All in all, taking your kid out to the trail with you doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be incredibly fun and rewarding to ride a mountain trail with a kid. All it takes is proper preparation and patience to teach kids how to ride safely. Before long, the child will be your go-to riding buddy for all of your mountain biking adventures.

All Inclusive Resort Barcelo In Los Cabos

March 8, 2016 By Amy Hagstrom

Los Cabos is situated at the Southern end of the Baja California Sur, Mexico, which covers an area of 3,750.93 km2. It encompasses of Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo and the Resort corridor in between the two. Los Cabos is famous for its beautiful climate and geography with sport fishing, luxurious all-inclusive resorts and golf, which makes it one of the prime destinations for honeymoon or family vacations. Read on for the best places in Los Cabos:

Arch of Cabo San Lucas

The Arch of Cabo San Lucas is a three stories tall distinctive rock formation which erupting out of the ocean likes an arch. It is located at the Southern tip of Cabo San Lucas which is locally famous as El Arco de Cabo San Lucas. This place is a tourist attractions and one of the important places to visit in Cabo San Lucas. To reach here you can hire a boat taxi from Cao San Lucas Marina, where in the journey, you can enjoy the view of the arch along the way. Tourists can also witness sea lions here, as this place is a popular gathering area for sea lions.

Playa del Amour

Playa del Amour which is also famous by the name of Lover’s Beach, is an amazing beach situated several meters inland on Marieta Islands. The archaeology of Marieta Island is come into existence because of volcanic activities. This beautiful hidden beach is a unique natural wonder, which tourists must visit. It’s a great place for sunbath, snorkeling, swimming and picnic. The government of Mexico has declared this place as a Natural park, so it’s totally an uninhabited place. To visit this place you have to hire authorized boat service providers.

Playa Solmar

A beautiful wide stretch of white sand beach which faces Pacific Ocean, which starts from the rocks at Land’s End to the base of Pedregal to the west. One of very less crowded beaches in Mexico, which is a destination place for sunset lovers, whale watching and long walks except for swimming, the currents are very strong and dangerous, not suitable for swimming. In Playa Solmar you will also find some of the finest all-inclusive resorts alongside the beach.

Playa el Médano

Medano beach or Playa el Medano is the popular and the safest beach for swimming in Cabo San Lucas. It starts from east side of the harbor and extends all the way to Villa del Palmar. As its one of the closest beach to the town, this place is the prime location and the crowded one among all the destinations. This beach offers activities like jet skiing, kayaking, waterskiing, banana boating, parasailing, volleyball, you can also enjoy the beach parties or buy some local handicrafts from Chicklets, blankets, silver jewelry, sombreros and try some temporary tattoos or hair braiding.

Cabo Wabo Cantina

This is one of the best places for tourists who are looking for good live rock music. Cabo Wabo Cantina which is located in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which is part of a night club chain with same name founded by rock musician Sammy Hagar. The night club is not only famous for live rock music from top celebrities and music artists from all around the world but also serves outstanding seafood to Mexican food, Cerveza to Tequila, from bar to rooftop, there are plenty of reasons for tourists to visit Cantina in Cabo.. They also have their own tequila brand with the name “Cabo Wabo”.

San Jose Del Cabo

San Jose Del Cabo which is situated 32 kms from Cabo San Lucas, is a historic town full of beautiful architectures which have a very calm and charming atmosphere in comparison of her wild sister “Cabo San Lucas”. This place is best for tourists who want witness the Mexican culture more closely. This place is famous for its historic restaurants with beautiful courtyards, shops offering beautiful handicrafts and jewelry and varieties of art galleries. Other places in San Jose Del Cabo are “Estero San José”, a beautiful palm lined wild life sanctuary and estuary , which is home of many bird species, Reserva de la Biosféra Sierra de la Laguna, god for hiking and Iglesia San José, a landmark in the city with beautiful naval architecture.

Apart from above destinations, this place is also famous for its world class all-inclusive resorts and hotels, which make your stay Los Cabos definitely a memorable one. These resorts offer best rooms featured with all facilities and all-inclusive programs which takes care of tourist every single need. “Barcelo Grand Faro Los Cabos” is one of the finest all-inclusive Barcelo resort in Los Cabos. A premium 5-star resort in Los Cabos located near the spectacular waters of Caribbean Sea. The hotel 350 luxurious rooms and suites spread across 3 buildings: Luna, Estrella and Torre Sol. All the rooms feature a private balcony with scenic view of the Caribbean Sea fully equipped with all kind of features to make your stay pleasant and memorable one. The hotel also offers 5 restaurants and 3 bars (pool bar, lobby bar and sky bar) with variety of culinary options featuring international, Mexican and Italian food. Other facilities like swimming pools, spa, fitness centers, racquet ball court, lounge, kid’s club, shopping centers etc. Here are some of the other top resorts and hotels in Los Cabos, Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Resort & Spa, Grand Solmar Land’s End Resort & Spa, Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas, Marina Fiesta Resort & Spa and Melia Cabo Beach & Golf Resort.

Spot the differences! your all inclusive resorts vacations are waiting.

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The best countries for family vacations: where to go now

January 27, 2016 By Amy Hagstrom

The best gift every parent can gift to his child is the ability to travel. But to travel anywhere without much of the thought giving is not really considered being an excellent way to do it. To gift your children all the best, you should, at least, try to consider visiting these countries I am going to mention below.

The team behind the Travel Ticker helped me to find these countries, and I can’t wait to share the list with you. All of them are truly amazing, and just perfect for a fun, educational and pleasant family vacation!

Greece – for better history knowledge

This is nothing surprising – Greece is the mother of the whole western culture. From architectural to philosophical traditional and Greek mythology – everything originated in this amazing country thousands of years ago. So logically, the best place to learn all about what Greeks gave to us is in Greece!

The best destinations to visit with children definitely can be in Athens, the historical center of the whole civilization, also Crete and Rhode Island’s too. In Greece, you can even get into a tour about Troy war and visit all the exact places ancient Greek consider being holy. For example – a birthplace of the love goddess Aphrodite!

Tip: Hostel Bay Greek island hopping ferry routes are a great way to visit the Greek islands.

Belize – for the chance to meet exotic animals

Belize, a small country in the Caribbean should also be worth considering if you want to travel somewhere not that far away and full of interesting activities you can do with kids. The island is pretty isolated, so wanderings around here won’t be interrupted by tons of cars. And that also means that here you won’t meet millions of tourists too – so it can be a perfect place for relaxing and pleasant vacations with children for sure.

Kids here can meet real exotic animals like monkeys, crocodiles or turtles and have a blast while diving, snorkeling or just biking around this small country. Just don’t forget to apply the sun cream because you are definitely going to spend your whole time outdoors!

Bali – for another chance to meet animals and amazing local culture

Bali, a tropical paradise, can also be an amazing holiday destination for families of any size and age. Many hotels even offer special packages with events to entertain the little ones while you can enjoy yourself somewhere light and warm.

Kids here can also enjoy surfing, hiking, museum seeing, biking, sailing, animal visiting, elephant safari-ing, water slide riding or just hanging on the beach building castles. In Bali, you can also visit some traditional festivals and celebrations which all welcome kids too. So, Bali really has it all to make a perfect time with your family!

Japan – for unusual and exotic culture

As foreign visitors to Japan know, sometimes the locals will keep their distance. But not so when you are traveling with babies or children! In fact, everywhere you are going to visit you will always hear a silly Japanese word “kawaii” which literally means “cute!” And that always means friendly locals and a great place to be, am I right?

Traveling with children can also open some doors for you. It can be easier to negotiate the price in markets or even to hunt geishas in Kyoto to take some pictures with you. Every Japanese person will love to come by and check out your cute baby for sure. And that will actually erase the borders and let you experience a bit of the real Japan easier.

Netherlands – for active fun

And finally, Netherland should get an honorable fifth place in this list too, since this amazing country is super family and kids’ friendly. Filled with kid-friendly food such as French fries and pancakes, tons of kids’ parks and museums specially made for children to be able to touch and fell it is a real dream come true! You can really say, that both the capital Amsterdam and the whole country is just one giant playground for your little ones.

If that is not enough for you, then I can also add the fact, that here renting a bike and biking throughout the city and the whole country if you wish, is a piece of cake. Netherlands government really worked hard to develop one of the best bicycles infrastructures in the world, and it would be a sin not to try that out with kids too!

Children-Friendly Activities around Lisbon

February 16, 2015 By Sharlene Earnshaw

If one had to choose a single word to describe Lisbon, the amazing capital city of Portugal, chances are that, that word would be “charming”. There are many other words that spring to mind, such as romantic, picturesque, sunny and striking, with this city looking like something straight out of a Disney fairy-tale.

Thanks to the fact that this is one of the oldest cities in the world, Lisbon does a fine job in bringing stunning old-fashioned buildings and modern architecture together in a way that is guaranteed to take your breath away. When it comes to admiring antique buildings, learning about their rife histories, this is usually about the time that the children switch off, pulling out their cell phones. Luckily for families hopping on a plane, train, car or boat to Lisbon, you’ll be glad to know that there is an endless list of amazing experiences that will be fun for the entire family.

Before one can even take a step out into the charming streets of Lisbon, it is important to find the perfect accommodation that will keep the family entertained. Hotels are all good and well, but they take away from that warm, cosy feel of travelling with your loved ones. With most of the best attractions a short bus or cab ride away from city centre, why not enjoy a comfortable housetrip at the many cottages, both self-catering and B&B-styled, that are scattered across the city.

Sleeping with the fishes at Lisbon Oceanarium

Don’t worry, we mean sleeping with the fishes in an educational way, rather than the Mafia way. The Lisbon Oceanarium holds the title as the second largest aquarium in Europe, with over 8000 different aquatic species to admire and learn about. Families are able to book sleepovers, allowing you to doze off with massive Grey Nurse Sharks swimming gracefully nearby.

Feel like James Bond on the amphibious Hippotrip tour

Tell a child that you are going on a city tour, and they will not feel excited, tell them that part of the city tour takes them into the River Tagus, and they will lose their mind! This land-sea excursion is a must for all families, allowing you to learn about Lisbon in a way that is exciting and memorable.

Pull Strings at Museu da Marioneta

Everyone knows that when it comes to families, it is usually the young ones that pull all the strings, and at this amazing puppet museum, they can do just that. Founded in 1987 and set in an ancient convent, this place is home to a massive number of puppets from around the world, spanning across several centuries.

Post written by Jason Swindon

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