Before the school year started, my neighbour was wondering how she would manage the daily logistics without spending all her time rushing the kids around. Because the whole point of stepping away from her career for a year was to create a more relaxing family life.

My neighbour's five year old is an excellent cyclist and wanted to ride to school. A fast five year old rider definitely reduces commuting time. But my neighbour wasn't sure how to transport her three year old -- who had outgrown her bike seat -- at a pace that would match.

Over the summer my neighbour borrowed my Kona Ute a few times to transport her kids and absolutely loved how easy it was to pop both kids on the back and ride farther afield at an adult pace. But being a creative soul and always up for a good project, my neighbour decided that instead of buying herself her own long tail cargo bike, she and her husband would convert her city bike into a modified long tail that could carry one kid.

A sanded piece of wood anchored to the seat post and the back rack is the long tail platform. A generous piece of fleece makes the wood comfortable to sit on. Pink handlebars are easy for the three year old to hold on. And some handy Paul Dewar campaign signs left over from the federal election were quickly converted into foot guards because little feet and spokes should never mix. 

Now the only thing that holds my neighbour and her kids up when they are on their way to kindergarten or nursery school are admiring cyclists who stop the family to snap photos and hear about the great long tail conversion.

Brilliant!

Got family biking stories to share? Contact Kathleen: familiesonbikes[AT]momentumplanetDOTcom