Trail-A-Bike oddessy Parte Deux
My kids and I took bike errands to the next level today with a 13-mile round trip to the library (returning books lightened the load considerably :), the post office and Bubble Island (snack and rest period, including time for Jenga and Othello), Burns Park, Trader Joe's and back home, total time about five hours. I successfully unhitched and rehitched the tagalong three times in order to lock it up next to my bike at various stops. I had a moment when the bike and tagalong almost went over as I was dismounting, with M still on the trailer. No harm came to M; I banged my own knees up and drew a little blood in the execution of keeping her up, which was my own fault for trying to dismount on non-level pavement. If I keep this up, taking long trips with M in tow, I will definitely be increasing my fitness, because it's the next level of difficult towing and carrying all that extra weight. My thighs especially got a major workout. And I really want panniers or maybe a handlebar basket *now* because I don't like the way in which the backpack affects how I deal with heat. I. e., I was all sweaty when we got home, especially my back. I was especially proud of S for completing the entire 13-mile loop. I guess it's good cross-training for her soccer.