FLCC> Child carriers

[Bob Nunnink]

HI Kelda,

I rode with my daughter when she was 10 months old. This was ten years
ago.  I never liked the idea of a trailer. I felt it made me too wide
and on busy streets I  felt I might be rear ended. I looked at the
rear mounted baby carriers and felt it made the bike off balanced and
the child would be stuck looking at my back .  I ended up with a front
mounted carrier.  The model I bought seems to be out of business but
if you search on the net you will find many examples.  Here are two

http://www.nextag.com/front-mounted-bike-seat/search-html

This system is very popular in Europe.  I found it when I saw pictures
of Dutch commuters with their kids.  One strong Dutch women had a
child in front and one behind. My daughter loved it and we did many
miles together on my hybrid. My son was born 2 1/2 years later  and my
daughter moved to the tagalong behind at 3 1/2  with my son in the
forward baby seat.  This worked great!  When he was too large for the
baby seat I got a tandem that fit my five year old daughter and he
moved to the tagalong at three.   Bicycle built for three! At ten my
daughter is on her bike and my son at eight is my stoker.  This summer
will be the first year when we will all ride our own bikes.  My kids
are great cyclists and I credit the tagalong and tandem experience to
being able to teach both them to ride their own bikes in five minutes.
 I kid you not.  I remember my own nightmares of my father pushing me
endlessly up and down the street.  My kids could balance becuase of
all the riding we had done together. I gave them a push down a gentle
hill and we have never looked back.

Good luck

Bobby



On Sat, Apr 26, 2008 at 9:34 PM, Kelda McGurk <satyagra at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>  Hello everyone.
>
>  I am interested in trying to cycle with my young daughter. She is just
> turning seven months, and though her head support is very good I will be
> waiting until she is a little older. However, I am trying to investigate the
> safest possible means by which to carry her.
>
>  I am an experienced cyclist, and we would be riding primarily country (and
> hilly) roads. I have heard a few different opinions, and so would like to to
> open up a discussion here to learn a little about your experiences. I also
> am open to the opinion that children should not participate in cycling
> because of the risk, so please share in that case as well.
>
>  One option that interests me is the Sidecarrier made by Chariot. Has anyone
> used or known someone who has used this system?
>
>  Thank you for your input.
>
>  Kelda
>
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