Now THAT's a rack.

I am babysitting the triplet. It's on the new super duper heavy duty rack Marc had made up, and is on the roof of the Commodore. He just dropped it off at home (on his way to Grafton for a work job - it was an opportunity to do a test drive, with work mate following to observe.) He is picking it up on the way back through, to add a few more things to it later this afternoon. Not sure quite what... though he will need to find something stronger/thicker to tie the wheels down with.

He didn't like the idea of me going out and leaving it sitting there in the front yard (supermarket trip thusly postponed) so I figured while I was babysitting it, I may as well take photos and post them up. (There are people out there who might be interested, you see.)





Possibly over-engineered.. but he's having none of that 'shearing' thing that can happen with light aluminium sections with flexing and fatigue. (See the Spring Cycle write up for details on the problems we had.) I joked last night that now the weak point now will be the roof bars.

He still has to make some decisions about the properties of rubber padding on the clamps. It needs to be gentle on the bike, but not soft enough that it will wear through.

Coffs BUG ride.

So we decided to do another Coffs BUG ride.. this time a Medium grade one, a bit of a drive (1.5 hours ) south down the highway. Scotts Head to Stuarts Point, start time 9.45am for a 10am departure. Approx. 35 km return.

We decided it was worth going to a) test the trailer set up, b) a different way to get us riding that sort of distance, and c) it would be more social than just us trying to clock up that many km by ourselves. (We ended up joining up to Coffs BUG... at the end of it. I am pretty keen to help out in any way I can with bicycle advocacy.. more bike paths I say!)

We arrived to find that Bob and Barbara (who live about 100 metres from our place in the next street, and who we met on the Big Ride) were there. Barbara had apparently considered knocking on our door during the week to ask us to go on the ride (but hadn't.) The mental telepathy had done just fine instead!

The ride was pretty cruisy.. we had no problems keeping up, and didn't even get overtaken on the hills (a nice change from the Big Ride.) It was a smaller group than the Breakfast ride, so it was easier to talk to people, and this time we got to learn a few names. Riding with the BUG is a safer way to ride on roads - a case of motorists seeing a few riders, and (hopefully) being more alert as to other riders ahead. The leaders are very caring, so less experienced riders are well looked after.

Needless to say there was a little bit of interest in the triplet, and how we got it. I guess if you can't confess to a bit of a mad-sounding jaunt overseas to pick up a special kind of bike while you're in a group of bike riding enthusiasts, then where can you confess to it?

So, around 13 km to Stuarts Point. Stop at the local takeaway, order lunch for a bit later, sit down and have a snack.. then zip the 5km out to Fisherman's Reach and back. Pick up lunch.. coast down to the park, and eat burgers by the river.

Anyway, here are some photos of the day...

The group at Fisherman's Reach .

Caitlin did her 'pillion photography' thing; this one is taken from our bike, looking behind (yes, we did get ahead of the triplet a couple of times), while Mum tries to keep the bike steady, on the road into Stuarts Point.

Fisherman's Reach.

Stopping after a hill to regroup and wait for the slower riders. A good excuse for a rest.

Us at Stuarts Point. Team Blue.

Awww....

And this is how the bikes are travelling.

There were a few other photos.. As the Blogger in Charge here, however, I retain the right not to publish any unflattering ones of me. (And believe me there were a few of them... I should ride 35km every day ... and not eat rubbish in between.)

Test rides, and a whole lot of tinkering...

Finally, the weekend, and a chance to take the new machine for a proper spin. Friday night we made grand plans to go riding in Coffs, after Marc had done an hour of training for Touch. By midnight he realised that neither of his two ideas for transporting the triplet were going to work.

One idea, using its convertible features, had been to pull it apart, reconnect it as a tandem, and put the middle section on the Mac Rac (where we'd previously carried the trailer bike.) He pretty quickly decided that that wasn't going to be practical.. couldn't be good for the bike to be pulling the connectors apart frequently... never mind the time involved (removing the chains etc as well.)

Next he decided to extend the racks we were already using. (He had come up with a very clever system of overlapping, and screwing together two bike racks, for carrying the other tandem. - more details about that some other time...) It was strong enough in the middle, but hung over the roof rack too far at the front, and the clamp was thus moved too far back, so that wouldn't work either.

Hmmm.

Looks like the only option was going to be to use a trailer... and that was going to take some tinkering to set it up. Just another bike related project.

Meantime we have a backyard full of tandems:

To get the 'Tank' (which is what I've now dubbed the green tandem), operational again, he had to borrow the back wheel from the purple one while we get two broken spokes replaced. For now, he's also had to borrow the pedals from the purple one as well, for the CoMotion. So it's sitting there, cannibalised for spare parts at the moment.

Anyway, we finally got out... basically in our old configuration (Marc, Cait and Zoe on one, Alison and me on the old faithful green one) because we were running out of time to muck around with seat heights. (Alison is due for a turn riding with gung ho Dad, and not stuck with Mum... 500km with Mum is probably more than anyone deserves...)

We headed north on the same route we did with the Coffs BUG breakfast ride, and ended up at Mullaway for a quick icecream from the general store, then hightailed it home before it got dark. Clocked up 26km, and Marc had only praise for the CoMotion. He confessed that he'd been just a bit anxious about whether it was going to be as good as the hype (and the money!)

Even I could tell it was good.. they were leaving us for dead - even faster than he was when they were handicapped by the trailer bike! He said it handled like a dream at higher speeds as well. And the gearing was great.. didn't even hit granny gear. - stayed on the middle gear, even up a couple of short sharp hills. He had the grace to feel a bit guilty that he was riding such a nice bike, and two of us would still be on the Tank. [*Well, to be fair, maybe I could ride the Santana, but I will need to wait till he is able to change the gear levers on it... Or maybe I could just play on the conscience factor, and get me a nice CoMotion tandem as well. It wouldn't be as pricey as a convertible triplet! At the very least, I demand a lower geared cluster on the Tank!]

I just wished I had helmet-cam or some such, to record the reactions of people we passed. Some would do a double take just after the CoMotion whizzed past them, when they realised it was a triplet. The funniest was the person on the tennis court, serving, who stopped, mid-toss, to gape. "Take it again!" we heard their magnanimous opponent say.

At least we all felt pretty good after 26 km - like a walk in the park. Must be some residual bike fitness left over from the Big Ride. A new experience for Zoe having to pedal along with the pace Marc sets, but she is all positive about it all, acknowledging that she has to get used to it, but keen all the same.


Much of Sunday Marc spent working on the trailer, which is a bit of a rust bucket. We are really due for a new one, but it will have to do for now. New lights were needed; there had always been a problem with the earth on the old ones.

I went out to pump up the tyres on the Tank, and just as I was asking Marc if the triplet would need pumping up too, I saw that its back tyre was flat! Another job... this time patching. And the realisation that we didn't have the correct spare tubes for it!

So we decided with this ride we'd have to stay close to home.. just in case. We headed out with new combos... Caitlin and me on the Tank, and Alison on the triplet. Pretty quickly I realised that Cait wasn't just a pretty face.. (or just a pain in the bum - trust me, most days I feel like strangling her at least once.) She had learnt a lot from riding stoker to Marc... , had good 'stoker intuition' and was giving me instructions on how to get into a rhythm! And it certainly evened out the ledger... Marc was struggling a bit more with Alison, who, to be fair, still has to get used to the way he rides. Plus she also tends to be more erratic with her riding... either full on turbo, or clocking off! Caitlin, meantime, has the benefit of age (maturity?) and the fact that she has never ridden enough solo to get used to doing her own 'thang'.. unlike Alison who has clocked up 387 km on her own bike, riding to and from school, since she got her bike computer last christmas!


I suggested to Caitlin that she might have to do these next two rides with me... we'll be even faster if she's not taking photos as we ride along!



Might be harder for Marc, (the CoMotion didn't seem quite so fast!) .. but at least I won't be left behind!

We only managed just about 20km, doing 2 circuits of the same route... but it's better than nothing. Listen to us... "ONLY 20km" !!!

Twice during the weekend's rides, the CoMotion had two near misses, which is pretty damn scary. On Saturday, we were barely a block from home, when a car just about sailed out of a side street into the triplet. Both Marc, and I following on behind, could see that he looked right, past both of us... a road train of bikes, and was about to sail on out till Marc yelled. At least he had the grace to acknowledge the near miss as he passed us... and it was a reminder of the importance of making eye contact with drivers, so that you know they know you are there.

On Sunday, just whizzing around the local streets, a guy picked up a big chair or something out of the back of his ute, and just stepped out into the street without even looking, only a few metres from Marc. I suppose he expected that he would have heard a car, and wasn't expecting a triplet bike in stealth mode. Again Marc yelled, and the guy jumped back just in time. Could have been nasty.. never mind the injuries to the people.. it'd be impossible to replace any bent bike parts in a hurry.

Anyway, back home, and Marc was back out in the carport tinkering on the trailer. No rest for this boy over the next week or so... It's tough being the bike mechanic and general handyman and resident technical expert.

Locked in...

We decided, what the hell, what's a thousand kilometre drive, twice, only a fortnight apart. We are going to the Sydney Spring Cycle on the 22nd October. The Gong Ride is only 2 weekends later.

We figured we should test drive the triplet on the 50km route before embarking on the 90km Gong route. (Plus there are some people from the Big Ride that we'd like to meet up with on the Spring Cycle.)

And we are a bit crazy.

So then come the logistics!

We decided, in the end, to stay at Wollongong the night before and after the Gong ride. We discussed many variations, including staying in Sydney the night before, but as Marc will have to catch the train back to pick up the car, (unless we can find someone willing to drive the car down for us, and make their own way back) we would have needed to pack the panniers up with clothes to change into, ra, ra, ra.

Accommodation for 2 nights starts getting expensive, particularly when you have 3 kids. Only people with 3 or more kids would know what it's like to find that most 'family' accommodation only accounts for 2 children. (Mr Costello should consider that when he urges families to have 'one for the country').

When a cabin at the caravan park was going to cost us $135 a night (for a cabin that takes 5 or 6) as opposed to $85 (for a cabin that only takes 4 people) we decided in the end (after revisiting the 'stay in Sydney Saturday night option') that if we could camp on the Big Ride, we could manage to camp for two nights in a holiday park resort.

Fingers crossed it doesn't rain, eh.

We have this u-beaut canvas touring tent now, which we bought so we can start doing some serious touring/camping trips with the (finally acquired) 4WD. Problem is, we haven't yet sorted roof racks for carrying bikes on the landcruiser, and we won't have the time to sort that in the next couple of weeks. (There will also be a height issue involved in getting tandems onto the top of a landcruiser!!) For now the tent touring and the bike touring won't mix, but that probably won't stop Marc working on it.

So it's the old faithful Commodore again for these two bike adventures, and so we have a space issue with the canvas tent (plus all the bike gear). Back to using the two domes we took on the Big Ride. At least we are flexible!

The kids won't mind if the trade-off is getting to go SWIMMING after the Ride (and, indeed, the afternoon before!)


That weekend's sleep sorted. Next is to hassle some relos for somewhere to sleep before the Spring Cycle. And sweet talking my Dad to do the car shuffle for us like he did last year.

Things are just that bit more complex when you're carting round tandems!

And exactly how are we going to transport the triplet? Lucky it's a convertible... plan is take out the middle section, put it on the mack rack (where the trailer bike used to travel).. make the triplet into a tandem, and carry on top as before. Easy. (Just trying not to think about the time we will have to get up on the morning of each ride so as to stick it all back together before starting off!)

Road test for everyone...

Monday afternoon after more twiddling.




And you're not seeing the one of me on it... till I lose about 10 kg. I am resigned to the fact that it might be some time before I end up getting a seat on it on any long distance ride.

Still a few things to fix up on it.. a few issues to decide. Thinking we might put Zoe in the middle. Still have to fix the front brake. Marc wants to replace the cable ends.. and a chain. More stuff that wasn't done properly in Lithuania.

Oh yeah, apparently Co-Motion do supply instructions.. and a CD... but no sign of them.

Road test time...

Yesterday afternoon (just before we were due to go out) he got it ready for a quick road test.


No, it's not got a great turning circle! - but hey, you can't have everything!

Pedals now required for the back two.. (plus a shopping list to be made of 3 new sets.) Meantime will have to borrow from our other bikes.

Plan today is for us all to go riding... short straws to be drawn for who gets to go with Mum on the other tandem.. or rather, one of the other tandems.

Pity I'm not quite confident enough to captain the Santana... With zilch experience in riding a single road bike, and not being comfortable with the current gear shift set up, for now I'm happy with my stoker status on the back of this one.


Marc intends to change the gear shift set up. Just something else on the list!

What instructions?!

Had a Special Request from a certain friend, to show blow by blow photos of the triplet as it is assembled. So E. This is for you. (Would have done it anyway, but I like to make people feel special!)

No, there weren't any instructions! (Foreign language or otherwise!) I suppose the US company that shipped the bike to Lithuania for this beer company competition assumed that someone would know what they were doing when they put it together.
Marc discovered during the dismantling process, that the Lithuanian bike shop that had been called upon to help this guy put it together didn't really know what they were doing and had made a few mistakes. Lucky it never got ridden anywhere!

Anyway... Saturday 30th September:

Marc arrives home with the precious cargo. Barely time for the 'welcome home' hugs and kisses - he was straight into it (in between, as you can see from the streamers out front) watching the Swans lose the AFL grand final by one point... *sobs*


The wheels went in one half of the case... he even had to let tyres down to fit them in! (The case, incidentally, was one a mate at work was about to take to Vinnies (full of old clothes). The clasps were broken, but it was certainly useable, especially as Marc intended to tape it shut anyway.)


Tubing in the other half.. (and at KL he had to repack it with the few extra clothes he had taken for work.)


And the frame, and seats, and more bits, were in the carton... complete with screwed up Russian language newspaper (some of the pages raising Marc's eyebrows because of some rather raunchy photos - think Page 3 girl but more so). Sergej, the guy he was buying it from, helped him. They managed most of this without an interpreter - as Sergej's wife's friend (who had been helping out a lot with interpreting and translating leading up to this moment) had to go back to work. They did pretty well - despite the fact that Marc came away thinking Sergej had never seen electricians tape before - when it turns out he actually just wanted to know what it was called in English! Doh!

Hmmm.. looks like it could make a bike...







By dusk, he pretty much had it all together.. just waiting for daylight on Sunday (and getting it back out of the shed) to take a decent photo. Marc is on a mission this morning to get a couple of new cable connectors (the dude in the bike shop over there hadn't assembled the 'travel agent' correctly (info for all you bike geeks out there)... and so when done properly, the cable came up short. So we weren't keen on taking it for a spin with only the front brake 'sort of' working.

Also missing is one little spring that went 'boing' off some cable and got lost in the grass. And he needed to get a bigger allen key for tightening up some other part... (Techo talk from Tracey here: could be revised when He proof reads this!..)

More photos to come today!!

Triplet in Transit

It's a packing marvel!


And this stuff went in hand luggage: stems, seatpoles, derailleurs, headsets, brakes..


Countdown till he gets it home: 7 days. Estimated time to reassemble: at least one day.

'My Precious... my Precious..'

Marc got back to KL ok with his precious bike cargo. Vilnius -> Helsinki -> Hong Kong -> KL. Bit of an epic. It will be interesting to see how it is packed... he put a lot of thought and research into how to do it, (never mind the flights and connections) and it all worked out, with only a couple of minor changes. He has a few bits and pieces in his hand luggage as well, and as it went through the x-ray machine as one of the airports he did get asked "What on earth are those things?". Bike parts. They shrugged and let him go.

He was also asked what was in the carton. "My bike frame". They scanned it, and probably wondered what the hell kind of bike it was, because (I think - he can correct me on technicalities if I'm wrong) it was just the back end of the triplet - so it can't have looked much like a normal bike. No problems though.

So he has to endure another week of it sitting packaged up in the apartment in KL, when he is just busting to be able to put it together and take it for a spin. I have this mental image of him sitting there, Gollum-like, stroking the case and muttering 'My Precious.. my precious' (Of course he is too pragmatic for that, but why let facts get in the way of a good analogy.)

The whole thing still feels kind of surreal and bizarre. It is going to give the bike that extra character... and judging from the weekend he had there, we might well continue the Lithuanian connection by keeping in touch with the guy he bought it from. Marc had dinner with him and his family, and spent the Sunday doing some sightseeing. We are going to send something Aussie over for his young kid, and send him some photos of us riding it.

Back to Basics

One of the downsides of having a trail-a-bike is that Zoe (who is almost 8) has managed to avoid riding her own bike for quite a while. She's never been that keen, to be perfectly honest. Not a natural daredevil. Anything new or different has had to be introduced very carefully, and any physical challenge, or anything involving adrenalin, has required advance notice, psyching up, and gradually getting her to realise that it is a) possible, and b) either a bit of a hoot, or it gives you a sense of accomplishment!

Riding in the bike seat used to scare her, particularly if she wasn't psyched up for it. I learned to call ahead to preschool to prepare her if I'd decided to come and pick her up on the bike, after much screaming and tantrumming when I once turned up on the bike as a surprise. (With no alternative to getting her home, how bad do you feel physically strapping your child in to a bike seat, and setting off down the hill with her screaming her head off!)

Teaching her to ride without trainer wheels was an excruciating process. We'd been spoilt with the other two who only needed a few sessions on a deserted netball court to get the hang of it. (Alison needed only the one.) All of that was a Daddy job, as my back would never have coped with the bent-over running-alongside-bike action required. I remember one time them coming home in a right old state after a clash of wills, and Zoe refusing to try what she had already accomplished earlier.

She finally could do it, but then avoided riding. (Most kids find the release from their trainer wheels their finding of freedom; not so our Zoe!) Meantime we went the trail-a-bike option so we didn't have to wait till she was 13 or so to join us on family rides!

She outgrew the 16 inch wheel bike throughout this period of procrastination, and so the move onto Cait's old 24 inch bike has been a quantum leap for her. and fraught with all her anxieties.(Admittedly the others were a teeny bit older when they were bought those bikes new - but I also think Zoe has had an earlier growth spurt than they did. Certainly she was way too tall for the old bike, and it was particularly an issue because she couldn't/wouldn't stand up on the pedals (and still can't.) We have tried to get her out on it, because it is practice, practice, practice she needs, but all the other riding has taken priority a bit, and to be frank, it's a very frustrating process.

Today I decided it was time to revisit this. Earlier I declared that today was riding day. (Rule 1. Give advance warning.) Surprisingly she didn't argue when I gave the 'shoes on' order. And out we went (after a tyre pumping session that Daddy would have been pleased to see.)

And, oh boy, it had been too long. The old 'one step forward, two steps back'. Plans of practising the route to school were quickly shelved, and it was back to getting used to starting off again...

We clocked up around 5 km in the end, just going round the local streets. I wish somebody could invent a patience pill. While she is not a natural on the bike, I am not a natural at being patient and encouraging! To be brutally honest, you've never seen a kid more awkward at handling her bike - getting the pedals in the 'right' position to start, stumbling around half tripping if she had to pick the bike up after 'overbalancing' - ah poor Zoe. I did only get cross once.. and I did get better with her, especially when we "lost" the other two, who were basically just a distraction she didn't need.

We spent some time trying to explain the gear changes for her. Seems a bit silly, when we realised more than a year after Alison got her bike that she'd left the gear stuck on one ring, and just stood on the pedals when she needed to go up hill! No way in the world is Zoe going to stand on the pedals.. not yet.. so I figure she needs the assistance of the gears to get up and down the 'inclines' we might come across.

She did do better by the end. Lesson for Mum - she is going to have to be taken out way way WAY more often.

I am not sure how to teach her how to stand on the pedals. Marc and I disagree on the merits of riding on grass. Today I took her across the park, because I thought the different surface might help. (Maybe spongier grass might stand in for a 'hill'.)

I will have to content myself with the knowledge that some parents struggle through things like the process of getting their kids to read or write, and Zoe just took to that like a duck to water. And who am I to talk. Here I am in a tizz about a 7 year old's bike riding, and I never got a bike, or learnt to ride one, till I was 12 !!! How times have changed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Text from Marc 10.30 this evening (3.30 pm Lithuania time) - while I was editing this post! - Bike is packed. She's a beauty. Looks like he has a day of sight seeing in Vilnius tomorrow. I had never heard of Vilnius before this!!

A bit of a ride at least.

Chalk up 12 km to my "time in the saddle" register, and a big tick for actually doing what I promised myself. Only 6km/22 minutes to get to lunch, and the virtuous feeling of having done so outweighed the 'feel like a dag in my bike shorts and shoes' look. Proved to myself I could use the bike as transport.

As I left the tavern, there was a short uphill bit, and I overtook a bloke riding up himself. "G'day" I said, and zoomed past him, but, as I slowed near the top (pretty typical of me), he caught me, and we exchanged a few words. He managed to tell me that he probably shouldn't be riding because he has Muscular Dystrophy! Whoa. (But his car was out of action.) Wasn't sure what to think! To be cheesed that I'd been caught by by a guy with MD? Or just impressed that he was out there on the bike himself.

Either way, it emphasised the camaraderie bike riders tend to feel.

And I felt good. Like I'd done some exercise! Funny that. I backed that up with my usual one hour adult swimming squad at 5.30, and am now hyped up on endorphins and making plans on fitting in a bout of exercise after a planned slothful morning! (I do like a good sleep in!)

Grand plan for tomorrow is to get Zoe out on her own bike and chalking up some solo kms herself. She has managed to avoid it because she is scared. Not a natural at bike riding like her older sisters, she got spoilt when we bought the trail-a-bike, and has used it as a 'get out of riding my own bike' card. I have to be in a very good - in fact, excellent - mood to deal with her procrastinations. Fingers crossed I manage that tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~
Marc should be arriving in Vilnius, Lithuania, soon. Fingers crossed that little adventure works out as well.

Training rides... and triplets!

I have all the best intentions in the world, but unless I have someone to lead me by the nose, I don't tend to get out riding like I should. I decreed (to myself.. and promised Marc I would) that I was going to use my single (mountain) bike to 'just get around'.. Ride to Woopi... ride to the school... whatever. The whole notion of getting around by bike rather than car appeals to me.. despite the lack of suitable bike paths around here. Only problem is I haven't got around to it.

Tomorrow is the test, if a planned lunch date at the Seaview Tavern at Woopi is happening as proposed, and hopefully it will enthuse me! It is only about a 12 km return ride from home. Only problem is the issue of getting around in bike gear once I get there. (And, yes, to the uninitiated.. it is absolutely more comfortable to wear!).

I bought (with some birthday money) a pair of Undinix, but they weren't that comfortable under what are pretty much the only pair of shorts that fit me comfortably at the moment. Perhaps if I ride more, lose more weight.. then they will work.

The other issue with riding around solo is that it is a hard thing, mentally, to slog away along the road on a mountain bike. Perhaps our purchases of mountain bikes (rather than hybrids) a few years back weren't that sensible.. but back then we hadn't imagined we'd be riding tandems in 9 day long BIG rides! There are the forest roads beckoning as well, only a few kilometres away from here - just not something we can all do together just yet, with Zoe's solo riding still at a very elementary stage, and the others' bikes being more hybrid than 'mountain' and probably not so good on dirt. And Marc and I haven't made the time (yet)to do that without the kids. I have one bike riding friend who is prepared to (and capable of) venturing onto dirt, but she has even younger children babysitting issues and had to cancel this week. Maybe next week.

~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, if all goes well this weekend, we will own a triplet.



It is a Co-motion Periscope Trident Convertible.
(On that link, scroll down to see the convertible).

There was one for sale on eBay. In Lithuania. Didn't bid, but made contact with seller. It passed in.. he agreed to sell to us. Brand new, never ridden.. he won it in a raffle/lottery. *[Edited 6/10. Actually it was a competition run by a Lithuanian beer company - the sort where you have to collect coupons and send them in to enter.. this guy likes his beer, although the particular brand turned out not to be his favourite!] Marc made contact with Co-Motion, and, yes, indeed, they know that bike, and sent it to Lithuania.

After the freighting experience from the US, plus knowing that this guy knew nothing about packaging up a bike, Marc worked out that it would actually cost less for him to make a 'side trip' to Europe from KL (while he was there for work) using FF points, plus a bit more. He has allowed the weekend in Vilnius to dismantle it enough to package up.. He left here with a huge suitcase that happened to be hanging around work!, and cardboard packaging. And having studied up on how to take this and that off it!

He is going through Helsinki.. and we just happen to have friends who are living there for a year! So they will meet him and keep him entertained on Monday while he happens to have a long stopover on his way back.

And then we have to wait till around the 29th for him to get back from his work stint in KL.

To be honest, I'm a bit reticent about writing this here, because there will be people (particularly family) who will think we have really gone bananas with this.

But we rationalised it as follows:
Do we want a triplet? Yes - if we are going to continue riding as a family. Zoe has just about outgrown the trailer bike.
But the price!! Well.. this one is a couple of thousand cheaper than buying from the States, with freight or retrieval costs factored in for both. Yes, it's a few thousand.. but hell, some people spend thousands and thousands more than we do on buying new cars. (We don't.) And.. you only live once. Life is short.. so a few thousand for what will be a sensational family bike... the price we pay for having 3 children and wanting to do this sort of crazy, family bonding, challenging type stuff!