Originally Posted by
livedarklions
Slow down there, Scooter, I'm not looking for a fight. I was just curious how fast a person can ride with one kid standing and another in the seat. I've never seen anyone ride like that and am curious. I'm not arguing they shouldn't nor did I imply "too fast", just noting that there's no way they could do that in the US, so I can't get a chance to observe it or know how the balance feels.
I did my kid seat riding in the '90s and early 2000s, and found that it did change the balance of the bike, but it took all of about 5 minutes to get used to it. I've ridden with another person on my seat, pony ridden a second bike down the streets of New Orleans, stood on the seat (many years ago), ridden with my baby on the back down the El Camino Real in the Bay Area and in San Francisco, but I have never ridden with someone else standing on my bike. Obviously, they can turn or they wouldn't be doing it, but I imagine it requires a bit of skill. You said you saw them, I was curious if you had seen them turn. Does the standing kid have to do anything?
When *I* was a kid I did that with a friend on the back of a bike. In the US. It took all of a few minutes to get used to it. Yes, they did not go off into the horizon in a straight line, they turned. The standing kid has to - stand. When she gets a bit older she'll have to DUCK under some of the bridges.
Originally Posted by
livedarklions
Not sure which is worse, the horrible prose style or missing the obvious point that an adult on the back of the bike can choose whether or not to be there while the small child cannot, so yeah I think you owe the kid some extra modicum of care when you choose for them.
Is it really that long ago that you've forgotten? The first time I took my child on the bike they were no more puzzled about it that the most recent time I took my child in my car. It's a seat, you belt them in. The first time I put a helmet on my child they were no more hesitant than the most recent time I put a hat on their head.
But once we rolled out they were clearly so terrified that within twenty minutes - they - were - soundly - asleep.
After the first time, they would flash the universal toddler "up" sign while saying "bike!"
The biggest change when we moved to a trailer bike was that they couldn't sleep anymore. Once they started to "pull" their own weight we had to learn how to be a captain and stoker.
-mr. bill