Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

Bike Commute w/ Kids
Quote | Reply
Anyone do it? I want to start commuting to work a few days per week by bike, it's about 30 miles round trip. I need to pick up my 4 year old at daycare in the evenings, so she will be with me for the last 4 miles of the journey.

1. Bike setup- i'm thinking road bike with rear child seat... The Horror!!!
2. Route with child- In order to get home from daycare I have no way to avoid about a mile on a road with ~50mph traffic

Good idea or bad parent award?
Quote Reply
Re: Bike Commute w/ Kids [wbattaile] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I've contemplated doing this, but I haven't figured out a good way to get my laptop, lunch box, workout bag, daughter and her diaper bag (she's only 2) all my bike.

Also, my commute is much much shorter (5 miles round trip).

As far as route, a lot more goes into if you feel comfortable on the road that just speed limit. I personally feel a lot more comfortable w/ my daughter on 55mph rural roads around me than the 35mph city roads.
Quote Reply
Re: Bike Commute w/ Kids [wbattaile] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
wbattaile wrote:
Anyone do it? I want to start commuting to work a few days per week by bike, it's about 30 miles round trip. I need to pick up my 4 year old at daycare in the evenings, so she will be with me for the last 4 miles of the journey.

1. Bike setup- i'm thinking road bike with rear child seat... The Horror!!!
2. Route with child- In order to get home from daycare I have no way to avoid about a mile on a road with ~50mph traffic

Good idea or bad parent award?



These discussions make me semi-sad as I realize we live in very different world than when I was a kid even if it is just perception. Of all the things I can say about my parents, they always gave me the opportunity to bike all over Madison and it gave me a sense of tremendous amount of freedom. Even though I got hit by a car in 8th grade I feel like the lessons I learned from surviving the experience were invaluable and probably helped me avoid getting cranked numerous other times in life.

If I look at that identity it is no surprise that still at 35 I literally bike every where. I even will bike 120 miles to a family gathering. Commuting has defined me as a person and having a destination to go to is so easy mentally in terms of racking up miles.


Save: $50 on Speed Hound Recovery Boots | $20 on Air Relax| $100 on Normatec| 15% on Most Absorbable Magnesium

Blogs: Best CHEAP Zwift / Bike Trainer Desk | Theragun G3 vs $140 Bivi Percussive Massager | Normatec Pulse 2.0 vs Normatec Pulse | Speed Hound vs Normatec | Air Relax vs Normatec | Q1 2018 Blood Test Results | | Why HED JET+ Is The BEST value wheelset
Last edited by: Thomas Gerlach: May 2, 17 7:26
Quote Reply
Re: Bike Commute w/ Kids [Thomas Gerlach] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I agree with you on many levels, and had a similar amount of bike freedom as a kid. We now live in a world where parents get in legal hot water for letting their children walk to the playground unsupervised.
Quote Reply
Re: Bike Commute w/ Kids [mgreer] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
mgreer wrote:
I've contemplated doing this, but I haven't figured out a good way to get my laptop, lunch box, workout bag, daughter and her diaper bag (she's only 2) all my bike.

Also, my commute is much much shorter (5 miles round trip).

As far as route, a lot more goes into if you feel comfortable on the road that just speed limit. I personally feel a lot more comfortable w/ my daughter on 55mph rural roads around me than the 35mph city roads.

If you have a short commute, a cargo bike would suit your needs perfectly. I don't think that would work for my commute though.

The road that I worry about is 2-lane, suburban, and carries lots of traffic. It's not a road i would prefer to train on. That's the issue with commuting vs training... 99% of the time you're going to be forced to ride in areas with a lot of cars.
Quote Reply
Re: Bike Commute w/ Kids [wbattaile] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Why not leave your car at daycare even if you aren't the parent dropping the kid off?
Quote Reply
Re: Bike Commute w/ Kids [Harry] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
This is what I do, we drive to daycare and commute from there we do this year round. The other option over a rear seat is to look at a trail a bike, I think we got my son on his around 5 he didn't do much peddling but at least you won't hit the kid with your backpack, before we used the trail-a-bike we just used a trailer which worked great, it was nice and stable and I could pack all of my work stuff in it as well.

Ben
Quote Reply
Re: Bike Commute w/ Kids [abies] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
abies wrote:
This is what I do, we drive to daycare and commute from there we do this year round. The other option over a rear seat is to look at a trail a bike, I think we got my son on his around 5 he didn't do much peddling but at least you won't hit the kid with your backpack, before we used the trail-a-bike we just used a trailer which worked great, it was nice and stable and I could pack all of my work stuff in it as well.

Ben

Definitely could, but don't want to; i'd like to make the commute 100% by bike. At some point i'd rather simply drive and ride the trainer later than jump through additional hoops.

I do own a trail a bike, bike trailer, rear bike seat, and front bike seat already. Out of all these items I should be covered :-)
Quote Reply