I only have three kids on the ride home. Flat Tire and her sister are tossing their bikes in the back of Dad’s pick up. Sweet relief! I so agree with you on the parents needing to take some responsibility. I’m going to talk to Raleigh Girl’s mom first because her family will probably not bat an eye at paying for a new rack or a new bike. The other family will be more difficult. I’ll have to choose my methods carefully…
John, one does not ride another bike when one has The Best Bike in the Whole Wide World! No matter how ill-equipped! Haha! Patrick wanted more photos, and I’ll get those this week, Patrick, but every one I took today had identifying info (street names, school name), and since they aren’t my kids, I won’t post those. I’ll get some more anonymous shots this week, I hope. But here’s a photo of the cars trying to LEAVE campus this morning. Flat tire or not, we got the less frustrating end of the deal! > On Aug 29, 2016, at 12:54 PM, dougP <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hope the afternoon run goes well, but you still have that bike with the flat > tire waiting for you. I think each family needs to be responsible for their > student's load carrying as well as bike condition. Just digging their old > bike out of the cobwebs & pumping up the tires isn't enough. If you're on > the street with this group, the bikes need to have been serviced (cables? > brakes? chains?) and the kids need to have some idea of what their supposed > to be doing. With a wide disparity in ages will come a wide variety of > average speeds, esp on that uphill run home in the heat. Maybe a Saturday > get together with all the families? A couple of practice runs? All things > considered it's a great idea and you're doing a good thing by shepherding > these kids to school. > > dougP > > On Monday, August 29, 2016 at 9:16:46 AM UTC-7, Surlyprof wrote: > I would tend to agree with the trailer idea as well. We used a Chariot for a > while and it worked quite well and several friends use the BOB Yak. The BOBs > are nice because they easily hang in a garage when not in use but it is > expensive. We bought the Chariot at one of the REI garage sales for a > fraction of the retail price (maybe $75?). Later, we sold it on craigslist > for a profit (Not profiteers... we honestly forgot how much we had paid for > it.) Worked for kids, dogs and errands. The nice thing about the trailer is > that it doesn't effect your pleasure riding. There is often a simple > attachment piece that attaches to the axle or seatpost depending on the > brand. It was very easy to take on and off. I'd do a little research to > identify a few trailers that would work and then surf your local classifieds, > craigslist or online sales. A quick search of the REI Garage (previously > Outlet) showed no trailers but they might in the future > (https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/search?q=trailer&pagesize=84&queryRule=outlet-only&ir=q%3Atrailer&outlet=true > > <https://www.rei.com/rei-garage/search?q=trailer&pagesize=84&queryRule=outlet-only&ir=q%3Atrailer&outlet=true>). > > Good luck with the school year. > John (also back in the classroom after a pleasant summer) > > On Friday, August 26, 2016 at 2:27:25 PM UTC-7, LeahFoy wrote: > School begins on Monday, and we have before us a number of challenges. The > school is in its second year, and it has exploded in population. There was > nearly no parking to begin with, and with the second school in the > neighborhood also convening in the morning and with the canyon's whole > workforce trying to get out for their 25 minute commute with but one single > road that we all must share, biking is a NO-BRAINER. But nearly no one, > excepting us, has done it. The school is 2 miles from my door (too far to > walk), all downhill to school, and all uphill on the way home. The hill is so > steep that a child really needs brakes of good quality for the downhill, and > a bike that isn't too heavy (these are just kids, remember) and has GEARS for > the way uphill. Also ideal would be a bottle cage for water since we live in > Vegas and a rack. But a rack is probably asking too much. > I mentor the junior high girls from church (I heart teenagers!), and one of > my little favorites, L, will attend our school. She and her little sister > plan to use their electric scooter and bike to join us. She babysits a boy > who will ride with us on his own bike. Another family I'm acquainted with > asked if their 5th grader could join us. As I was leaving campus after the > meet and greet today, I heard L yell, "Leah! We have some more coming!" > > "More what?" I asked. > "More girls!" she called. > "Riding bikes?" I asked, incredulous. > "Yes, my mom's getting all their information, I'll tell you later!" > > So, there you have it. Leah's Bicycle Bus is born! > > You might imagine I have some anxiety about the logistics. Even more about > the liability. I have a plan worked out, and I'll tweak it as need arises. > > Now, for the question. > > My only-5th grade-son has been reclassified as a middle-schooler. He must > carry all his books/folders/etc in his backpack. They tell me, "Oh, and > here's his Chromebook for the year. It goes home with him every night." > > SERIOUSLY? > > My Betty Foy has a Nitto Big Front Rack with the biggest Wald they make. The > back has a lighter duty rack that was acting as a support for my medium > Saddlesack. This is not going to carry both sons' bags and lunches now that > my "middle-schooler" must schlep around everything he owns. Also, what > happens if one of the neighborhood kids needs me to haul something? I called > Riv and Will listened and we both thought I would need the Big Back Rack, so > I ordered it. Now, I wonder if I should continue to use my medium saddlesack > or if I should order the large. Or maybe just add Back-a-Bike-bags, which are > out of stock for now. Will suggested: > http://www.carsickdesigns.com/products/large-pannier-set > <http://www.carsickdesigns.com/products/large-pannier-set> but I don't love > them very much. > > Someone chime in and tell me what's the best way to carry all this weight. > > Thanks once again! L > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google > Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/y1-Q4VoxMaM/unsubscribe > <https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/y1-Q4VoxMaM/unsubscribe>. > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch > <https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout > <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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