To the Next Level

It's been an eventful month on the bikes for our family. First, I wrote about returning to cycling after a long series of weeks stuck in the car due to a minor injury. I discovered that in the interim of not riding, my son (and nearly-constant riding tagalong) had grown and was bursting out of the comfy blue child seat he'd been using for the past two years.

(Above, Alton munches a snack in his seat - Spring 2012)

It was time to take the big little guy to the next level. When your ride is an Xtracycle, the progression for a kiddo who has outgrown the buckles 'n straps is a set of "stoker" bars! Stoker is the term used to describe the person who rides on the rear seat of a tandem bike, behind the "captain" who steers. Although longtail bikes are not true tandems (because the rear rider does not have pedals), you can still anchor a set of handlebars behind the saddle to allow a stoker to take a ride on that sturdy deck. Xtracycle (the maker of my longtail) also designed an attractive set of wooden platforms to give your kiddo a footrest. Last weekend, we hit our favorite local bike shop, Clever Cycles, for a set of those footrests, and a craigslist "stem" component and salvaged set of handlebars saw our son in a whole new riding position!

Bundled up for a chilly Sunday grocery store run, we swung by the home of our blog co-author, Fabi, to ask her to take our picture. You can see his booted feet on those wooden platforms, and his hands are wrapped securely around the new red grips he picked out. This seat behind the parent is meant for a child rider who has the capability and understanding to sit and balance upright with handlebars, but might not be riding his/her own bike because of speed or distance of the ride, or lack of visibility and safety on the road.

Our son just turned five, and is at an age where he can ride his own bike and enjoys it, but can't be a solo rider on these family errands just yet because he needs to stick to the sidewalks (with MUCH supervision from Mommy and Daddy) and gets tired out. Enter the stoker! He can climb aboard the deck, which lowers his center of gravity compared to the child seat, and hang on securely for the duration of our roam around town.

Alton reports that he loves his new setup! He requested a pad for his bottom (which I've already made, by the writing of this post!), and said he might need the platforms a little higher under his feet. But we're all loving the easy on/off of the stoker bars. Our boy is growing up!