You wouldn’t know from this picture, but the younger one loves to ride in the Burley. It is getting so every time I open the garage when he is outside, he runs ahead of me, climbs into the trailer and starts pointing and making noises for me to put on his helmet.

His sister likes to ride with the screen open — I guess this is the 3-year-old equivalent of riding in a convertible with the top down.

The abbreviated version: While pulling my Burley D’Lite trailer behind my Bridgestone XO-1, I tried a sharp U-turn. Just before I fell, I thought: That’s gravel, and I’m going too fast. The front wheel skidded out from under me, and I went down on my left side.

Two things to note about this mishap:

1. There’s no reason on earth to attempt a sharp turn on gravel.

2. More significantly: While the XO-1 and I pancaked somewhat spectacularly on the pavement, the trailer was affected not a bit. This was possible because the trailer has a (very) flexible part on the shaft where the trailer connects to the bike. (My 3-year-old daughter was sitting in the trailer at the time of the crash.)

I wouldn’t want to replicate this field test, and I hope you don’t, either — but just know that the D’Lite
will stay upright even when you don’t. That’s one major advantage, in my view, that the trailer has over those child seats that attach to the bike’s rear rack. If your child is sitting in a seat behind you on the bike, he or she is going down with you.

****

I bought a used Burley D’Lite trailer off EBay, and it arrived two days ago. I put it together in the dining room. Even though I’m technically challenged it took only a few minutes. The assembly is intuitive, and the design is simple.

I love the hitch. It goes on and comes off quickly, and there is no part that has to stay on the bike. It’s also a very tight connection.

I fastened the trailer to my Breezer Uptown 8. The moment of truth came when Mary (3) and Jackson (1) piled in. It was a snug fit, but they didn’t seem to mind. Mary loved it right away.

Jackson had logistical trouble with the helmet, which was too big — we had to resort to Mary holding it up so it wouldn’t slip down over his eyes. He hollered the whole time while being buckled in, but once we got rolling he quieted down (as long as he could see). Caleb (7) rode alongside and gave me updates on Jackson’s facial expression, and most of the time it alternated between neutral and a half-smile.

(G picked up a Thomas the Tank Engine infant-size helmet at Meijer that looks like it will fit Jackson a lot better, so future rides should be less complicated.)

It was in the 40s, so I fastened down the plastic rain cover. It kept the wind off of them, and kept some heat in the trailer.

Today, I hitched the Burley to the Bridgestone XO-1 and took Mary with me to the bank and the library. It was about a 40-minute errand total, maybe 4 miles. I put a blanket on Mary and she was snug as a bug in a rug — her only complaint was that her helmet made her head itch.

Side note: When Bush set up the XO-1, it turned out that the granny (smallest) chainring wouldn’t fit. I don’t usually miss it, but I did today. Going up a hill, I suffered as I have never suffered before. Or at least as I have not suffered for a few months.

I will post pictures of the trailer later. Also watch for everyday-rider reviews of the new O2 3Flow rain pants; MKS-GR9 pedals; Carridice Nelson saddlebag; and the Bell Metropolis helmet.

Well, it will gather no dust around here. Mary (3) was too excited when the package arrived — she was looking out the window watching me leave for work, and if we could have gone for a ride right then she would have done it in a second.

I can see why Burley has a reputation for quality — the fabric and snaps are very heavy duty. The tubing is simply arranged and sturdy. The wheels go on with no fuss.

This is gonna be a blast. I will give a ride report ASAP, and it likely will be sooner rather than later, since the forecast calls for temperatures in the 50s tomorrow.

Nope, we’re expecting a brand-spanking-new-to-us Burley D’Lite bike trailer, purchased in an eBay auction by yours truly on Friday.

I have had a couple of cheap-model trailers with unacceptable designs over the years — notably some durable but (to me) untrustworthy InStep models.

The newer ones might be better, but ours attached to the bike with a metal part that had to go between the rear wheel’s quick-release and the frame. I did not care for that set-up because it could scratch the frame; because you had this ugly metal part always hanging off the dropout; and because it just didn’t look very sturdy. Plus, the trailers were hard plastic inside — quite uncomfortable, unless the kids had blankets to sit on. Still, we put a lot of miles on them.

The D’Lite has an excellent reputation (this review is typical), such that used ones routinely fetch more than $175 in auctions. (They are $450 or so new.) This one was “buy it now” for $150, with $55 shipping (GULP! Yes — I know.) So I am fairly happy with the deal.

Very soon, Maryboo (3) and her 1-year-old brother Stonewall will be happily joining in family rides, I trust. I can’t wait!

I will let you know how it rides.

I have taught two boys to ride, one at age 4, the other at age 5. However, I don’t consider my method to be great.

It is merely simple.

Our driveway runs through our back yard. A 60-foot section of yard, fenced on two sides, slopes gently away from the driveway.

I wait for the child to express interest in learning. When he gets on the bike for the first time, I situate him on the bike on the driveway, hold onto the back of the seat, take a few steps with the rolling bike, and then let the bike go into the yard.

The kid crashes. At low speed, to be sure, but it’s a crash nonetheless.

Then we do it again. And again. And again, until he’s tired of it.

Maybe a few days later, he will ask to try again. And we will.

Pretty soon, he is turning at the fence and then falling down. Then he’s turning at the fence and making it halfway back.

Then he’s able to ride almost a complete circle around the yard.

Now it’s time to move to a stretch of sidewalk. I give the bike with the boy on it a gentle push, and jog alongside to make sure he doesn’t meander across the treelawn into the street.

After about 25 feet, he crashes (usually onto the grass). Then we do it again, and again, until he’s tired of it.

Pretty soon, he is riding all the way down to the neighbor’s driveway. By that time, he generally has the hang of it.

We are able to combine the methods at a store down the street. A driveway goes all the way around the store. There is a nice-sized lawn next to the driveway. If you can’t make the turn, you can ride out into the grass and fall down.

After a good crash, I would tell the boys how great a crash it was, and how there is a certain number of crashes you have to have before you finally learn to ride. That is one less crash for you, I tell them. You are one crash closer.

I see a lot of kids riding with training wheels, but eventually the training wheels are going to have to come off, with crashes to follow. Why prolong the agony? Why not get the crashes out of the way at the beginning?

Both of the boys learned pretty quickly. Now there is a girl to train, and I will see whether the method is gender-specific or whether it requires a few tweaks.

Check this out if you are nervous about riding with children in traffic. I will post later about the route we took, which is my favorite urban ride here in Lexington, Ky.

The 6-year-old rode his Huffy single-speed dirt bike. We put some longhorn-type handlebars on it before starting out, so he was pretty excited. Also, I showed him the old using-hairspray-to-get-the-handgrips-on trick. More about this later, it will be worth watching for the post if you have not heard of this.

The 8-year-old rode his Bridgestone MB-6 mountain bike ($2.50 from a yard sale!). I rode my Breezer Uptown 8.

We rode on some pretty busy roads. Our route took us onto Harrodsburg Road, which is 5 lanes, for several blocks where it crosses under New Circle Road (a 4-lane divided highway). We also rode for several blocks on Lane Allen Road and on Clays Mill Road; both are narrow two-lanes that are fairly heavily traveled.

The boys are not rookies: We do a decent amount of riding around our neighborhood, which has little traffic. And they have ridden with me to church on several Sunday mornings, when not many cars are on the road.

I wouldn’t advise taking inexperienced young riders onto the roads we took that morning.

On the other hand, if a child is fairly confident and follows directions well, there is no reason to avoid such roads. Within reason, of course. Here are a couple of things we keep in mind when riding together:

• Ride in single file. I go first, with the 6-year-old behind me and the 8-year-old behind him. I keep an eye on them with a rearview mirror that clips to my helmet. I advise using a rearview mirror if you are riding with children. I especially recommend the Bell Metro helmet. Bike Nashbar is blowing these out at great prices right now (check here, here and here). If you need a helmet at all, or if you do much commuter riding at all, get one. You can buy a rearview mirror designed for this helmet. It is worth it as well.
• Stay together, but not too close together. The boys learned by experience to leave enough room so that they don’t crash into each other if someone has to slow down suddenly. When someone gets too far behind, I wait for them. This means I go a lot slower than normal. This is not a big deal.
• Take as much of the lane as you need. I tell the boys not to ride right on the edge of the road, because if they lose their balance a little they could go off the edge. When we are going past a parked car, or at any other time when I don’t want cars trying to squeeze past us, I tell the boys to “take the lane.” That means we ease out toward the center line, yielding no room to pass. Then we ease back over to the side of the road.
• Ride at a normal speed in a straight line. When a car slows down and stays behind you, you might feel the need to ride faster, or pull over farther to give the car more of the road. I advise the boys not to do these things. Since we have a right to the road, there is no need to “ride scared.” We try to keep our riding predictable, and the cars will eventually pass.
• Signal your intentions. The boys know the arm signals for left turn, right turn, and stop. This helps me communicate with them during the ride without having to holler over my shoulder, and it helps all three of us communicate with drivers who might know what the arm signals mean.
• Let the children know the route in advance. If they have some idea of the “big picture,” they can ride with more confidence. I stop from time to time to let them know what’s coming up next. (“OK, guys, we are going to take this bike path behind the houses, then we are going to turn right and go through the park.”)

One great thing about riding with youngsters is that it makes you analyze what you are doing, so you can explain it. This will help you find weak spots in your technique, and in your communication skills.

Is riding with children in a little traffic labor-intensive? Yes.

Is it worth it? Yes.