Penny and I went for our first bike outing yesterday and like the bike adventures I outlined in March, it was exciting. First of all, the disc brakes on my mountain bike, which I took apart this spring replacing rusty discs, need adjustment. (I miss my bike tech son, Rich) So the initial downhill was a little faster than I'd like. Got to learn how to bleed those brakes.
My system is called the Springer and it works quite well. The dog has room to run and a big spring tends to absorb most of the lurches and spurts -- but it does help if you're an experienced cyclist. So we launched down the driveway and down our dirt road and cruised up the rather flat dirt road that runs along the brook. Full of energy, she pulls like crazy and I hardly have to pedal. After ten minutes, we slowed down and I found a shady place and let her drink out of the clear water flowing down the ditch.
I've watched my Vizsla run a lot -- too often away from me ignoring my calls but that's another story -- and dogs tend to run in spurts. They cruise, sometime gallop, but then stop and sniff and explore. I try to simulate that activity by not running her continually -- but varying speeds and stopping fairly frequently for a break. I also stick to dirt roads or if on pavement, ride so that she can run on the shoulder. One of my favorite places is our local airport, during periods with no activity, where I can ride the edges of runways or taxiways and she can run along on the grass. (I'm a pilot so folks let me be)
Here's a picture of our camera shy Hungarian hound before we launched today. The Springer is hooked up and ready -- and while she doesn't look interested, once I put the iPhone away, she was raring to go.
On our normal route, the initial downhill ends up being a climb at the end of the workout. Penny slows down and walks and I have to pedal and half-pull her up the road. It's probably funny to hear me panting "come on, girl -- here Penny" as I try to coax her into a faster climb. What I need is a hot dog on a stick to hold in front of her -- we'd make it back up in record time.
For me, cycling with a dog is not really a good workout for me but it's a good way to get her some aerobic exercise. Dogs seem to love it and it's really is a lot of fun to fly down a dirt road with your canine buddy stretched out in a flat run. Carry water and a collapsible water dish and "bike like a dog."
If you enjoyed this article, then please subscribe to our RSS feed or via email to receive all the updates
eled and started running off, then wheeled and she screeched to a stop. Then they both were off again, charging up the hill, leaving me yelling and breathless, and scared witless for my dog. She looked pretty small behind the big guy.
Last week, it was a coydog. Running down the trail, I spotted some movement in the tall ferns up ahead as did Penny and as she charged off, a big shepherd-sized coydog scrambled away with the red dog right behind. I yelled as they raced off - hoping that the coydog would not turn on her and fight. After a ten minute disappearance, Penny came back tuckered out. Every so often she would stop and sniff the air as we wended our way home.
The maples are unfolding new bright green leaves and the ferns are unrolling from fiddlehead stage to leaf. As I walk along, checking trees to mark for next year’s wood supply, Penny cruises to and fro, enjoying all sorts of overnight scents on the wet foliage.
We pass some stacked firewood that I leave in the woods to dry over the summer and note once again that a couple of my carefully-stacked piles have toppled. That’s a project for another day.
, shown in the video below, is now called the K-9 Bike Jogger. It’s less expensive and while I have not tried one, the attachment and the connection unit look better designed. Do you know of others?
