We are mostly carless, with a 2 year old and another on the way. I take my 2 year old to daycare in a back of the bike seat (Yepp Maxi). If you have your child on daycare close to where you live, it is a nice way to ease into it. For us, having a short and safe route probably helped with the easing into it. I like the back seat of the bike for several reasons, although if technically easier to do with an over 10 kg child I would like a front carrier. I don't feel as safe with a trailer due to the low, out of sightline nature for drivers and decreased manouverability.
I got a front rack and basket so that I can throw my stuff in there when the kid seat is on my bike. I do wish I had a Cheviot or something with a lower top tube for kid hauling due to lower step over, but my city bike is what it is, and likely won't be upgraded till it dies or is stolen. It took me a while to get comfortable with having my daughter on the bike, and it still makes my wife nervous. I don't go everywhere that I would go myself, but I also think about all the people who drive on expressways with their kids in back of a car and am pretty confident we are probably less likely to be seriously injured riding on a bike on quiet streets. On the subject of how to do carless with kids I think it helps to live in a place where things are close enough to be able to do what you need to do without a lot of travel. I know this seems like a dodge on the question, but I am surprised at how many people arrange their lives (where to live and work) and then manage the logistics around those choices. I am lucky in that my wife and I both work in the same vicinity, but we have also considered those logistics in figuring out where to work, and where to live. Daycare close to home is probably the best accessory for riding with your young child. The other thing that helps is to just not be a wimp about it. I have walked my daughter in her stroller halfway across the city, in rain and shine, winter and summer etc... It usually doesn't take as much time as people think it would, and is a good way to get some exercise in and let your kid see the world. I think relying on cars gives people a false sense of how difficult it is to carry stuff and get around without them. Now that we are biking more it is the same, though I think icy conditions might make me more nervous. Toby Toronto -- 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 rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
