Riding with the kids

[hebe]

Hi. I don't have kids but I think it's great that you're riding with yours. I see more and more people taking their kids to school on trailer bikes and trailers now on my daily commute and I get to chatting with them sometimes at traffic lights. On the whole, the kids seem to love it. There's even a mum who rides a cargo bike and the kids and dog all pile into it. It's a brilliant sight.

tinyhelmets, I had a look at your website - what a great set-up you've got. Hebe, the lorry run sounds awful. I'm in the UK too. Worth a letter to the local councillor? I know many are still stuck in the dark ages where cycling is concerned. A number of them are latching onto the 'Cities fit for cycling' campaign launched by The Times though. Anyway, good luck with it.

A question: What's it like riding a trailer around hills, especially downhill?

Thank you. I decided to try again, as generally lorry drivers are pretty good here, and a two mile round trip is really too short to do in the car especially with fuel prices as they are, and cycling there is definitely safer than walking, even with the traffic and potholes. I will talk to my councillor, who is very pro cycling. Part of the problem is that a good chunk of the estate is private roads rather than council-owned so there doesn't seem to be any rush to fix the road surface or enforce parking restrictions. The Times campaign is interesting, do you think it extends to "Sleepy Wiltshire market towns fit for cycling?" I've got a session booked with the cycling instructor who taught me to ride, so I'll ask her for tips on the best way to ride there too.

I haven't done any really steep hills with the trailer, but it's a case of dropping into the right gear early and counting or singing my way up.

[limewave]

We recently purchased a weehoo for our 2 (almost 3 yo). He didn't like riding in a burley trailer anymore, he wanted to be riding and pedaling. He LOVES the weehoo. Attached to my bike is a burley piccolo for our 6 yo and attached to THAT is the weehoo. It's a very long train. I use it to take them to and from school/daycare and to soccer practice, the park, etc.

If I'm going to get groceries, I leave the kids at home and take the burley trailor.

[hebe]

That's an excellent set-up, limewave!

Can I ask how you find the handling of your bike with the Piccolo attached please? I'm starting to think about the next step on from the trailer, though it will depend on what school we are allocated and how long I can encourage Small Girl to stay in the trailer.

[limewave]

How old is your daughter now? I think we started my daughter on the tagalong when she was an old 3 (as in she was about to turn 4 that fall). She could barely touch the pedals, but she could balance and hold on alright.

We started with short rides, 2-3 miles and built up from there. Last summer we took her on a couple 15-18 mile rides on the tagalong, she was 5 years old. Although, she did nod off at the end of the 18 mile ride--somehow she managed to hang on while asleep. This summer we have plans for 30 mile rides.

It's an adjustment riding with the tagalong. You can definitely feel them moving about and you'll find yourself yelling at them to stay still! Or Don't lean to the side! But, you'll get the hang of it. You'll also have to take wider turns and stopping will is more of a challenge. You'll want to slow down earlier as you are towing that extra weight--it can be like trying to stop a freight train.

[hebe]

Thank you! B turned 4 in February. She rides her own little bike with stabilisers, but there's only one possible school with a safe enough sidewalk route. I'm sure she'd be ok holding on to the handlebars on something like the, but I wouldn't want to take her on the nursery run for example as there's too much risk if she came off. The Burley piccolos have a good press here because they are rack-mounted rather than seat-post mounted. I really struggled with a child seat on the bike, but am absolutely fine with the trailer.

[limewave]

Thank you! B turned 4 in February. She rides her own little bike with stabilisers, but there's only one possible school with a safe enough sidewalk route. I'm sure she'd be ok holding on to the handlebars on something like the, but I wouldn't want to take her on the nursery run for example as there's too much risk if she came off. The Burley piccolos have a good press here because they are rack-mounted rather than seat-post mounted. I really struggled with a child seat on the bike, but am absolutely fine with the trailer.

I really like the piccolo because of the rack mount. It's very convenient to attach and detach. And it puts less stress on the bike. We've bought higher end child trailers and tagalongs--I have not regretted a single cent I've spent for the quality and ease of use.

[hebe]

Thank you . Sorry for all the questions, but do you keep the Trek set up just for towing, or do you use it off-road too with the rack still on?