Planning the new wave of transport, and other ways to spend money you don't have.

The serious question of how we are going to get around was discussed by husband and me at length last night. This came after he and eldest son (9) took a trip into the nearest town (3 miles, lots of hills).
"He is going to need a new bike." He said grimly.
He got his bike for Xmas last year, its a good one, a rallie, but it only has 6 gears and they are the handle bar rotation type which he finds difficult (stiff) to use.
Consequently up the big hills husband had to reach across and push him because his gear-adge wasn't low enough.
This home truth also meant a serious look at how the littlies (6 and 5) will cope. Middle boy is off his stabilisers and very competent on his bike but won't be strong enough to peddle the hills on his small un-geared bike, and youngest is still on stabilisers and likely to be so for some time.
After sifting through some catalogues and looking online I think we have made a decision on what to do.
For one, eldest will need a better, more sophisticated road bike rather that just s good "toy" which is what he has now.
For the littlies we are going to buy two "Trail Gators", poles that attach their bike to yours so they can still sit and peddle (vital for these hills!) but won't end up too tired or in danger of veering into traffic.





I also think it would be a good idea to invest in a bike trailer, the kind designed for younger children. This could have a myriad of uses. For example if one of the littlies need a (none urgent) trip to the doctor they could be bundled in the back of the tailer and taken into town in comfort. We also have pets who will from time to time need a vet. Due to the new car-less-ness we are changing our vet for one in the nearest town rather than the usual further away one, even so a dog or cat will need to be transported and a child's trailer would be idea for this.






I really want to get out for some longer walks with the dog once the children start back at school and the trailer would mean I can transport my dog to some really beautiful walking areas with a few miles of home.
And of course, a trailer would be invaluable for those times when you want to pick up more than a back packs worth of shopping from town.
Well.....I hope we covered everything....fingers crossed!