DallasSoxFan

My wife went away for a girls weekend and left me with my two year old son. I have a short, 4 mile commute that is nothing to me.

I decided to make a bike day of it with him. We left at about 7:30AM, got back at 3:00PM. According to my computer, I spent about 3 hrs pedaling and went 31 miles. I know, pretty slow, but remember I was pulling a trailer (read: sail) loaded with about 40 pounds of kid and gear. There was a bit of breeze to hurt or help.

If you know Dallas, I went from north of the LBJ down to White Rock and back.

Observations:

1. Layering is good.
2. Breaks are good.
3. Stretching along the way is good.
4. Now I know why people wear cycling shorts. This doesn't mean I will be one of them, but at least now I know.

My quads are sore, my feet and calves hurt, and I've suprisingly got no appetite.

DataJunkie

My appetite tends to shutdown for a bit after strenuous rides. It will come back shortly.
I used to take my son in our trailer on 50 miles all day rides. Very very tiring. I feel for you.

making

One of the things I have learned. Buy the shorts, you can fight it but it will just cause you pain. I never thought I would buy them either, now I would not dream of riding my road bike without them.

girljen

Oh my god. You should get a trophy! I get tired after hauling my kid 6 miles (with long breaks to stop at the playground and see the ambulances at work).

That ride was full of win.

Good luck with the rest of the weekend, by the way.

bikrbikr

Very true, the shorts make a world of difference

Thomas Brock

Definitely get some shorts. They don't have to be the roadie lycra deals, either. I've got something like these and they're definitely worth the comfort without the look...

BigDaddyPete

If you don't want to wear a superhero outfit, get mountain shorts...they look more like normal shorts. And for that ride, you win, the most I've done with my 2 in the trailer is about 8 miles each way with a break for lunch. Have a great weekend.

reedie

Eat.

Even if you don't feel like it, you need to eat. You will feel better. Trust me.

Grim

That was a work out for sure. Never pulled our trailer that far in one shot. It scares the hell out of me to have the kid with me on the road at all around here. No bike lanes. 40lb sound close to the point where you can go to a "Trail-a-bike" and share the peddling. My 7 year old and I zip along the MUP at 15mph effortlylessly. She can handle 20 miles without much problem. She can rest as she needs to and just coast but more often then not she is peddling with me.

The Bonus is no fight at Bed time. Out seconds after he head hit the pillow.

DallasSoxFan

40 pounds... The kid is about 30 (I think) trailer, plus some cargo for the other 10. My 2 year old won't have enough balance for some time. I stayed on the MUP most of the time.

I'd be knocked out by now but the freaking sox are taking FOREVER on this one...

recumelectric

Wow. That's a long day. I am impressed.

VolGirl

You shoulda taken your camera.

riddei

What's even more amazing is that your two year old allowed you to strap him in the trailer for those 30 miles. I tried that, and after about 12 miles my 2 y/o was screaming bloody murder. I'm sure people thought I was kidnapping him as I raced as best as I could back home. Of course I also had his 4 year old sister strapped in next to him. She probably elbowed him or something. My bike trailer has low miles...

BigDaddyPete

And that's exactly why my trailer trips are all under 5 miles. I have the same ages and spread as well, just in reverse, my boy is older. Pretty sure his sister beats him up.

GV27

Now in a couple of years he'll be ready for a tag-along. THEN the real fun starts. Me and my son go on 10+ mile MTB rides, all single track. It's great. Take some Odwalla bars and some extra clothes for him as he ALWAYS wants to get in the creek at some point!

DataJunkie

In my case I did the following:
1) Slowly worked our distance up
2) Brought toys along
3) Planned my route along a MUP that connected many parks together. We stopped whenever he started getting restless.
4) At the end of the ride we stopped at an ice cream store.

The end result was him wanting to go on a ride every day. That and 50 mile rides.
Now that he is 5 we still take 30-40 mile rides with a trail a bike. The kid barely pedals and it is attached to a heavy mountain bike with 2.1" tires. Another fun workout.

.Jared

...sounds like a lot of fun. I'd love to do that with my kids (once i have them)

harleyfrog

+100 on bike shorts, even if they're the baggy mountain bike kind.

teacherbill

I used to do that, dragging a trailer with a child and with their bike with training wheels hanging off the backend. We would take off and he would ride about 2 or three miles then climb into the trailer with his bike attached, then ride for a couple and we would repeat the process. It used to take 5 to 6 hours to ride about 25 miles. (I was a lot younger then.) Bought a trail-a-bike for him, but now he is not interested, so I am transforming the trail-a-bike into a trailer with BIG panniers in case I get permission to go on a long tour. I retire from school in a few years after 30+ years.