Transporting a Load 75 on road trips
In the summer of 2023, I started searching for a way to extend the amount of time I could continue to use my Load 75 as my kids grew. My (then) seven year old’s legs were getting long and it was getting a bit cramped inside the bucket.
I discovered the Follow Me Tandem and attached it to my Load, and then attached her Woom 4 to it. This solution worked, but then she started getting too tall for the Woom 4!
The Follow Me Tandem has a limit of 20" tires — meaning, I couldn’t just get her a larger bike and still have her attached to my cargo bike. After researching, I discovered the Woom 5 NOW — a variation on Woom’s classic bike that has a larger rear tire but still a 20" tire in front! In addition to the benefit of still being able to attach to my bike, the smaller front tires give her better handling on turns.
We had a planned trip to Big Bear for the kids spring break, and I certainly didn’t want to be car dependent despite us staying in a house on top of a mountain in a forest. I discovered U-Haul has a utility trailer with a chock (a place for a wheel) designed for motorcycles — and it fit my Load 75 perfectly!
Once up in Big Bear, I was using my Load 75 to go everywhere — I’m always amazed how, even fully loaded with 3 kids in front — the bike can climb grades of 9% without flinching.
It was too far and hilly for my daughter to bike to the bike path that goes around Big Bear Lake, so she squeezed in the bucket and I transported her bike using the Trucavelo Follow Me, and then she biked on the path on her own.
This won’t last forever, but the Woom NOW 5 should be good until my oldest turns 12. By then, hopefully she’ll be able to enjoy the safer infrastructure Measure HLA will bring, and ride on her own bike with me!