Times and bikes change, but the fun increases!

It seems like a month ago I posted about the three bikes we use for fun, well it probably was. But it seems some of the bikes have been swapped to fit the girls needs, especially with Vee's bike being too heavy and tall for her and Lissy's being too small and lightweight (I kid you not!)

Change was needed fast and came thanks to volunteering, swapping and safety checks the girls have new old bikes, the sort of bikes that have been around the block a bit but still raring to go, similar to Grampsbike the Raliegh.

It may be 2 degrees but they like their bikes!

On the left we have Lissy's Bronx Dinosaur bike. It's a 14 inch wheeled affair kitted out with a 2014 Selle Royale Lollipop seat and lightweight Kalloy components to help reduce weight but retain strength. There's the odd scratch here and there but when in the mood she can blat twice as fast with little effort, even hills are a breeze for her right now.
This bike is called:


On the Right we have Vee's Universal Typhoon in faded orange a 16 Inch wheeled bike with an older 2010 Selle Royale Lollipop seat and funky tyres. This one has been a tad more well loved in comparison to Lissy's but it's doing well for it's estimate age. It's bought Vee's confidence out so much in just over a week so it's a win in my eyes.
This bike is called:

While both will have some minor work done work done to them they're both ready to rock and already providing hours of fun for both girls, even on cold days like Saturday! Bring on the #SchoolPedal!

Bike Week. School run fun!

Morning all.

As part of bike week and bike to school week  I've teamed up with Sustrans to talk about their campaign for safer streets and why I think it's important for safer streets as a cyclist and also explain how I do the school runs using the bike and trailer.

Where I live we're fortunate to have Travel Choices, a joint project with Central Beds Council and Sustrans and together they actively work within the community to get more people out and about and trying to educate the wider community to make the streets safer, while some of the changes have been a tad annoying to the town it's not going to be an overnight conversion it's a darned good start.

Our school runs are usually a mix of bus, Bike/trailer or and scooters depending on the girls moods and the state of my knees and back. The bus being reserved for the more extremes of weather or pain levels.

We spend the majority of the school year cycling and scooting to school, the benefits of this being less hassle for the girls and I lose a bit of belly in-between!

On bike the girls jump into the trailer and gabble, argue while i make the mile journey to school.

It'a an awesome little trip which can be (for the girls) epic depending on the route we take, being the Luton and Dunstable busway or the main road.

The busway path is a crushed lime which needs to be replaced with tarmac or a hardcore and sand mix as it can be unstable and with the trailer on the back I've wheelspun and bashed the trailer and nearly the kids with loose stones spinning off the tyres, It's not the preferred choice mainly due to it's exit on an active and very busy industrial estate, if the pathways were upgraded It would improve things there. So we go the main roads mostly.

The main road takes us down two busy roads, but set out well with comfortable and wide dual use pathways so there's less risk of getting in the way of anyone here and lots of good light too. The girls use this to sing lots of Frozen songs, Hug Roo and Tigger (Not Boo, Roo and Tigger Too! D'oh!) when they're having a grumpy day and gabble like awesome little monsters do!

What I love about riding and scooting with the girls is how happy they are when out riding and scooting with me to school it's an instant grump fix, no matter the cause of the grinch!

You should try it as it's fun. Yeah it's a learning curve but awesome experience.

If there's anything you want to know. let me know.

Paul, the kids, Naughtybike and grouchotrailer