Testing Times

Less that three weeks before we set off for this year’s tour and I’m already getting myself into an early last minute panic trying to avoid any last minute hitches! Things have been complicated this year by the need to introduce a new bike to accommodate the growing team with Hannah being upgraded this year from buggy rider to full time stoker. Or as we put it, you can ride in the trailer until you’re four but then we’re expecting something more!

Three on a bike?

It’s meant upgrading our old second hand Thorn MenU2 triplet from a ‘ride to the shops’ machine to something more suited to expedition riding; fitting racks to carry all the luggage; upgrading the gears to make sure we’ve got something low enough to get us up the hills fully loaded; fitting a drag brake to make sure we can stop going downhill; adjusting cranks, pedals and saddles to make it fit the kids. But it looks like it’s all coming together. And if it works it means we can get any combination of adults and children on the bike for maximum riding variety.

The triplet bicycle test ride

Judging from our test ride, aside from the attention seeking squeaky brakes (which the kids thought were quite fun) I think it may just work out. Maybe we should forget the Moomin theme for this years trip and replace it with The Goodies