What You Need

I realized belatedly that maybe I jumped the gun a little when I haven't even covered what you may need to purchase should you want to traverse across all of Fort Collins( and hopfully into Loveland and Windsor soon) via nothing but trail.

First I am a huge proponent of using the bike for exercise.  I hadn't really ridden a bike since I was in Junior High School.  So when my husband casually mentioned that it may be a way for me to work in exercise with the baby,  (ain't that a nice way of saying I needed to loose that baby weight) I was a little reluctant.  Really I was scared.  Getting back on a bike was scary.  And getting on a bike and then pulling my most precious cargo was even more scary.

So we went bike shopping and trailer shopping.  I am also a huge fan of local businesses, and try to support them whenever possible.  I would rather spend a few more dollars at Clothes pony, than go to Toys R Us or Target for birthday gifts.  We ended up purchasing me a nice ladies bike, with gears from Full Cycle (now located on College near Whole Foods).  The gears frankly intimidated me, but I am not one to shrink from a challenge.  ( I mean who here had gears as a kid?)  Not that you need gears, but I have learned that they are invaluable while climbing some bigger hills.  A fixed gear will do you okay, but WOW to gears.  You don't have to spend a bundle, you can even look on Craigslist for a used bike.

We went to REI for our trailer.  We love JAX, too, don't get me wrong, but we had a good coupon for 20% off at REI, and frankly you can not beat their return policy.  When it comes to our kids, we are willing to scrimp elsewhere in order to get the safest.  My hubby was in charge of making the trailer decision, as he is in charge of everything mechanical, or electronic for that matter.  Narrowing it down to two choices, the Burley or the Chariot.  The sales person at REI was very nice but had my husband at "shocks" on the Chariot.  The best thing about buying a Burley or Chariot is they have great re-sale value.  I will admit that I lost the battle over buying a single or double trailer.  At the time we only had one kid.  She was about 4 months old and hubby would be doing most of the pulling at first.  He did not want to buy the double.  I argued that should we have another child, a double would be a wise choice (even if it was $100 more).  We purchased the single Chariot and with it the infant harness, jogging kit, and bike attachment.  For the budget minded you do not have to get anything as fancy as the Chariot, you can buy an In Step at Target or Walmart and it will get you from point A to point B just fine, although I don't think it is as comfortable a ride as the Chariot which also has a nice storage bag on the back to carry everything you want to bring.  My friend Carrie blogs about trailing at  http://thefamilytrailhead.blogspot.com/p/biking-with-kids.html

Single Chariot with bike arm

We struggled with finding a small enough bike helmet for our daughter's abnormally small head.  We had to wait until she was almost a year before finding one to fit her.  But I do suggest you buy one, we had one mishap while riding where, Hubby had to stop quickly and turn to avoid getting hit by a car that just was driving stupid and he ended up flipping the trailer, which rarely happens.  But we were relieved to see that our daughter was just fine, strapped tightly in her harness, cover shut, and wearing a helmet.  Hubby, on the other hand was scraped up.

When I got pregnant with number two, I gave my hubby the "I told you so" speech.  We were able to sell our single Chariot on Craigslist after only a year and a half of use for $50 less than what we bought it for!  We had so many inquires minutes after it was put up.  The girl that bought it drove up from Boulder to get it!  We switched to a double and have loved it. 

We are now squeezing our five year old in with our almost three year old.  They tend to fight or squabble if it is too hot, or they have chosen to pack themselves too much stuff, but overall we love our Chariot.  I also use it as my jogging stroller on the trails.  I do not like the jog attachment, as it encumbers my ability to turn, but use the regular stroller wheels and it works great. 

I also suggest you purchase an extra hinge if your spouse and you are going to switch off pulling.  It makes transfer so much easier.  You will also need to carry with you spare tubes, a patch kit and a travel pump.  Any of the bike shops in town will teach you how to change a tube and make a patch.  Trust me, you don't want to be stuck miles from home with two kids and a flat tire that you can't change. I have gotten stuck off trail, with a flat, broken pump and my husband's tubes, not mine.  Hubby was out of town and I was besides myself at what to do.  I have always carried my cell phone, along with a $20 bill or a $20 Visa gift card for moments like that.  I was lucky to have a nice fellow biker (and you will see that most bikers are awesome) help me out.  She got my too narrow tube pumped and changed it...and then, let me leave the bike and trailer in her garage while I called a friend to pick me and my youngest up (oldest was at preschool).  She even left me her garage code in good faith.  Fort Collins my friends is awesome. 

Happy Trails