1 September 2007
3 Bears on 3 Wheels!
Posted by Brad Hefta-Gaub under: Cycle; Daughters; bike train; cycle; kids; tandem bikes; trailer bike.
We’ve been kicking around the idea of trying to attempt a family STP ride next year. Imagine that… Dad, two daughters ages 6 and 8 (by next summer), Mom, maybe we can even convince Grandpa to come along. Of course all of these other victims (er, I mean riders) are only willing to ride with Dad if he’s willing to ride slower than 15 miles per hour. Hmmm… how can we slow Dad down?
How about 3 bears on 3 wheels? Could we either rent a 3 seat Tandem for Dad and the girls? Or maybe a normal 2 seat tandem with the half bike attached? Would mom be willing to ride along on a single bike? Would Grandpa dust off his old recumbent and get in shape?
Saffron, my eldest, has been getting into the idea lately. And so today she said “Dad, I’ll ride a tandem with you today!”… Ok, let’s give it a go… So we rented a tandem bike, hooked up the “half bike” and Dad, Saffron, and Zola went for a ride on the Burke Gilman Trail.
The bike setup took a little hacking. Although I didn’t actually cut anything, I considered it… we had to swap out seats until we found one that would go low enough, we had to adjust handlebars to make it reach. Still, even though the bike was a “medium + small” tandem, Saffron was barely able to reach the pedals and the handlebars. Zola had no problem on the half bike since it had already been adjusted for her.
We made it out and back to Mathew’s Beach Park… Nearly 14 miles total. We’ve done this trek a couple times this summer using the half bike and a trailer… although no one likes riding in the trailer anymore. I can honestly say it is much easier riding the tandem + half bike, than it is riding a bike + half bike + trailer. I’m assuming its because there is less dead weight… although the tandem isn’t exactly lightweight.
When we got to the park we played at the playground for about half an hour. We all got a little dizzy on the tire swing… then it was time to head home. Once we got home we made home made macaroni and cheese. Yum!
Tomorrow we will take the bike out for another spin before returning it to the shop.
Workout:
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 09/01/2007
- Time: 15:00:00
- Total Time: 1:18:09.00
- Calories: 594
- Distance: 13.5 miles
- Average Speed: 10.36 mph
- Max Speed: 15.6 mph
6 Comments so far...
Lisa Sabin Says:
STP with the family would be something for your kids to remember. I’d recommend a sag waggon for extra support.
kimayars Says:
You know, we’ve been toying with the same idea. If you’re interested in doing it together, let us know! We might be able to work something out with a support vehicle… (Especially since my desire to ride a bike in traffic is still amazing low.)
Hobbes Says:
Unbelievable! 200 miles @ 15 mph = 14 hours-ish. Could the girls really spend that much time in the saddle? If they could it’d be one of those experiences they’d never ever forget. And the big advantage is that with Mrs ZappoMan & Grandpa in the team, you’d have enough to set up your own pace line. Heck, you could even end up beating this year’s time 
momgaub Says:
Hey, You know I am up for the Support wagon role… Hey, Sheba you game to train too???
Hobbes Says:
You might like to take a look at quickrelease.tv’s article about their recent touring holiday in the Netherlands. Seems that kids can do long distances / carry heavy loads!
