It is with bitter jealousy that I recount my childhood cycling holiday exploits. Every time a family bike trip was thrust upon us, I - the most wobbly of cyclists - would fall off my bike repeatedly while my little sister, the rat, sat jeering in the trailer that Dad was towing along. Even our battered old contraption seemed like a regal chariot to me, and they've come on in leaps since my 80s childhood.

The top-notch trailers nowadays are, literally, Chariots - a Canadian manufacturer of models including the Cougar 2, which range in price from £330 to £600 (www.amba-marketing.com). Accommodating one or two kids from babyhood (though you pay extra for baby fittings), they come with ergonomic padding, have generous headroom (for when your 10-year-old begs to have a go) and even tinted windows. Pimp my trailer, indeed.

Once your little cherubs have tried one of these kings of the trailer world (which, when not attached to your bike's rear-wheel hub, can be converted into a pushalong buggy), the old-fashioned child seat may not quite cut it. What could entice them, however, is a tag-along bike for slightly older kids (four to nine years), which is attached to the seat post of your bike. These have a back wheel and pedals but no steering mechanism, so your child can pedal when they like - or, alternatively, they can relax and make you do all the work.

Tag-along bikes do give children a real sensation of cycling, hopefully increasing their boredom threshold. Just wrap them up nice and warm because, while you're sweating frantically up front, chances are they'll be freewheeling merrily (and giggling a lot) behind.