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So thus equipped we set off into the sunset, it poured with rain for the fortnight, we got soaked, we wrapped Arthur in an old cycling cape held down with arno straps and he loved every second of it! The biggest problem was trying to keep the little sod off the bikes at camp, he had a one track mind - he just wanted to get back in that babyseat! On the way of course he'd get covered with oil and we'd have kittens as he tried to pull the bikes down on top of himself.
Ten months later found us tackling the Pyrenees again, yes with Arthur on the babyseat. There was one tiny extra load, Kate was five months pregnant (what a woman!). It was harder than I remembered, maybe it was steeper, but Arthur was in heaven, shrieked with laughter as we hit fifty coming off the Tormalet, and Kate cured her morning sickness...
The arrival of Sam, complicated matters of course.

The credit card glowed red hot as we bought a still bigger tent, another child's sleeping bag and of course another baby seat. Things were getting a bit out of hand on the pannier front by now and so sinking further into debt we bought a Yak "Beast of Burden" trailer, BOB for short. I could eulogise for pages over this piece of kit, but to keep it short, it made cyclecamping possible with two babies in babyseats, and performed faultlessly, it is a product beyond reasonable criticism and I'm eternally grateful to Mr Yak. It also had the side effect of taking much of the load off my long suffering touring bike.

Thus equipped we set of for a wonderful fortnight in the Loire valley, by now pace was slowing and we were down to about 30 miles a day, but the kids loved it and the lovely safe French campsites meant they could burn off their energy in the evenings and sleep like babies. So we had it taped, until Rosie of course. This ray of sunshine was not exactly planned, but we, and the credit card took it as a challenge and we hit the shops again. Arthur was now four, and demanded a trailerbike. At vast expense, and in the knowledge it would last at least three (what do you mean at least!) children we bought one of Islabike's trailerbikes. Arthur was ecstatic, and Kate got a bit of help up the hills. I on the other hand had a Burley D'Lite trailer attached to my poor bike. Comments on Mr Burley and Isla Rowntree's offspring are as for BOB - thanks.

So with Arthur pedalling, and Sam and Rosie tucked up we set off again, this time to The Mayenne for a fortnight. Now down to 25 miles a day and my bike and legs under serious strain we cycled to the first campsite, which is where I started this tale of our travails. Later that morning, 6.30 am to be precise, Sam got up and decided to be miserable. Half an hour later we were all up. The sun had still not risen, everything was covered in frost and it was so cold I couldn't get the lighter going to start up the Trangia.

Sam was crying and Kate had lost her sense of humour. Arthur on the other hand realised that this morning was the make-or-break, the car was only 20 miles away. He did a passable impression of a Butlins Redcoat on a rainy August bank holiday, desperately cheerful and willing, hopping about trying to cheer up Sam (who wanted to go home) and helping pack up his tent - he and Sam had their own by now... Bless his heart, he kept us going, and half an hour later we were sitting in a bar drinking hot chocolate whilst the other clientel wondered whether to call the police.

A few days later and we were in the groove, our camping routines remembered and all of us happy. And that really is the point of this article, Kids LOVE it.

You get time with them away from the telly, and through ups and downs you learn a lot about yourselves, right now I can't think of anything I would rather be doing, and that goes for the rest of us.

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