Riding the Hiawatha trail was an unforgettable experience. As a family we soaked up the fall coloured views and whooped through all 10 of the train tunnels. The 7 Trestles (train bridges) provided an incredible view of the valley. A view that we obviously had to stop on and take a family picture. The small downhill grade the whole way made it easy to complete as a family. But, I want to be realistic and share the full experience. While most of the ride was majestic it was not without a challenging moment.

The Truth Behind Biking with Kids: Riding the Hiawatha Trail (+Video)

We were at a standstill. There was no way we were going to keep on going unless we could figure out a way to keep her moving. She was mad. My 3 year old was insisting on biking on the tag along bike. The only problem was that we only had one tag along bike and two kids. One had to go in the trailer. My husband and I had already discussed with the kids that they would take turns biking on the tag along for our 15 mile bike ride on the Hiawatha Trail.

It was too early in the ride to bring out the bribe. The sucker I brought in case of emergencies might be needed at the 13 mile, NOT the 2nd mile in. Our 3 year old had just finished her turn on the tag along and she was not understanding the whole need to take turns with her sister.

We ended up forcing her into the trailer. She was not happy and I felt kind of bad because all she wanted was to experience more of the adventure. About 5 minutes of riding and some screaming I looked at my watch. It was about 30 minutes past lunch time. Oops. We pulled aside on the trail. I cuddled our 3 year old while feeding her some carrots, cucumber and cold cuts. Slowly her mood brightened and getting into the trailer was not so bad. I had just made an extreme rookie mistake. Hangry had taken over and luckily we combatted the feeling without ruining the whole ride.

After sorting out our tummies we were back on the trail. There was so much beauty that I could not help but take a video. Check out this short video of our family riding the Hiawatha Trail.