A Frantic Copilot
I took the Raleigh M-30 out this morning, primarily to determine whether I wanted to simplify things by removing the front derailleur and smaller chain rings. 
Ilsa was frantic that I might leave without her, and insistent that I required her skills as copilot. Looking into those pleading brown eyes, I relented.
It took only three spins of the pedals before I knew I was correct in my theory that a coaster braked cruiser style bike with wide handlebars is the preferred bike for riding with a large dog. As soon as I reached an intersection, I saw that I must release my pressure on her leash to brake the bike. Not good. Not to mention the twitchy rake of the mountain bike combined with the reduced leverage of more narrow handlebars.
Thankfully, Ilsa was very well behaved, and we rode on to the river to take a little swim. Still, not being able to brake and control the dog at the same time made me realize that a coaster brake is a must for riding with a dog on a leash.
Yes, I know about the Springer attachment. No, I don't want or need one.
I decided to keep the front derailleur.
In other news.......Guess who bought a bicycle........
The bike snark cometh. BSNYC aint got nuthin' on this 'un....
Ilsa was frantic that I might leave without her, and insistent that I required her skills as copilot. Looking into those pleading brown eyes, I relented. It took only three spins of the pedals before I knew I was correct in my theory that a coaster braked cruiser style bike with wide handlebars is the preferred bike for riding with a large dog. As soon as I reached an intersection, I saw that I must release my pressure on her leash to brake the bike. Not good. Not to mention the twitchy rake of the mountain bike combined with the reduced leverage of more narrow handlebars.
Thankfully, Ilsa was very well behaved, and we rode on to the river to take a little swim. Still, not being able to brake and control the dog at the same time made me realize that a coaster brake is a must for riding with a dog on a leash.
Yes, I know about the Springer attachment. No, I don't want or need one.
I decided to keep the front derailleur.
In other news.......Guess who bought a bicycle........
The bike snark cometh. BSNYC aint got nuthin' on this 'un....
Labels: Bike Journal
posted by Xavier at 7:50 AM
1 Comments:
Xavier, you don't want a springer attachment because you've got more bikes than some of us have underpants, so you can just pick your favorite coaster-braked one for running Ilsa. most of the rest of us have only one bike each, and most of those bikes have squeeze-handle brakes, so we've got to find some other way of controlling any dog we take along.
plus, some of our dogs aren't as trainable and obedient as a German Shepherd. my huskies, for instance, only have two settings --- asleep, and full tilt forwards --- and that's exactly what they were bred for. i can tell 'em which way to go, but slowing down is something they do only grudgingly and with the encouragement of a braking pull on the harness. really i need a wheeled cart for exercising them, but a springer arm is much cheaper.
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