After our daughter’s birth, we could hardly wait to get out cycling with her. We dreamed of the day that we could share the joy of cycling as a family. Once she was sturdy enough, we went from snowy trails with skis, to road with trailer, then to bike seat. Now at the age of 3, we’re quickly realizing how fast kids grow out of gear. It’s hard to believe that one day not too long ago, I thought she’d be in her baby carrier forever. Clearly, that’s not the case.
We’re quickly approaching the point where the trailer and seat are becoming a bit snug and limited. There’s probably another year before she’s really outgrown either, but we know with our tandem we’ll have options.
When we decided to build our tandem this year, riding as a family was a huge consideration for us. We wanted everyone to be able to ride it. David 5′ ll”, Me (Emily) 5′ 3″ and Ada by the time she’s 4 — probably 3′ 6″. It was also important to us, that I be able to captain with Ada. Being able to reconfigure our riding will give us the freedom to ride together in variety of ways. And yes, perhaps one day we’ll build a triplet. But while our little one still fits in a trailer or seat, we’ll pack in as many outings on our Chinook tandem as possible.
Here’s how our family has grown with gear (I’ll continue to update as we grow):
The Thule Chariot Cheetah 1 has been our main ride since our daughter was born. With various attachments (skis, jogging, bike, stroller) we’ve used it a lot. Below you’ll see our first set up with skis. We used the infant insert, skis, and fat bike on flat “smooth” rail trail at about 5 months old.
Upright seat.
(Lunenburg, Nova Scotia 2017) Our Chinook tandem: we use both the seat and trailer with our tandem and pretty soon our little on will be able to ride as stoker.
(Bay of Fundy, N.S.) 2017 Clearly comfortable. We opt for the reclining seat on longer rides or when a nap is likely.
The full set up.
Kid configuration.