Please tell me about your nursery/school run ride :)

[Hebe]

My daughter's nursery is a two mile round trip from home - across a roundabout against all the incoming commuters, through a busy industrial estate then down a quiet-ish lane (I say quiet-ish as there is a building materials depot at one end and a small lorry park at the other). Nursery carpark is deep gravel (horrid getting a bike and trailer over that) but they have promised me a lockable space on the other side of the building. So hopefully my little trailer won't be boxed in by Mercs and 4x4s for much longer.

B rides in an Adventure AT-3 trailer, and I tow her with my Specialized Hardrock mtb, as the road surface on the estate leaves quite a lot to be desired. She enjoys it, and is a very vocal back seat "driver". I'm hoping to continue towing her once she starts school in September, but that will depend on the location of the school that she is allocated. So tell me about your nursery/school run please. Trailer or trailer bike or seat or tagalong? How helpful are the school/nursery ? Any tips ? Thank you

 

[summerdays]

My child is older, but he seems to be well ingrained in the school run by bike - not sure if that will continue next year when he moves to secondary - shorter distance, nicer walk. He's done the last 7 years by bike (though initially on the pavement for the first few years - I think that until they are on a 20 inch bike they are too small to be that noticeable on the road - perhaps if we had nicer drivers!!) Our school has a decent bike shed.

He has had to deal with a large number of lorries on our route which has led to some incidents over the years - the last one was when they were digging up the road. He knew to wait to catch their eye, but didn't realise that he only caught the eye of the one facing us and when behind the dumper truck when the driver misinterpreted his colleagues nod of the head and reversed backwards!! That particular pair seem to be treating us very nicely every time we pass them now and often turn off their engine or move out of our way (and yet I've seen them make cars wait quite a time). Hopefully they will have finished digging up that bit of road soon - they are gradually moving along!.

Some of the worst drivers that you will meet on the school run though are the other parents - I'm always amazed - I can't imagine how they would explain to their child(ren), that they had knocked down a child or parent from school. Cars stopping immediately outside school blocking the road, 3 point turns, children getting out into the middle of the road without looking, or even driving on the pavement to get past another car.

 

[subaqua]

I use the trailgator with my 4 yr old. means i can leave his bike at nursery locked up ready for when i collect him in the evening. he loves it and cars seem to give more room than when i am on my own.

 

[amasidlover]

My 2 (almost 3) year old son sometimes comes to nursery by bike; he goes in a Halfords trailer; we take fairly quiet roads and its about 15 mins each way. I leave the trailer there with the pushchairs and carseats and then cycle on to work.

He enjoys it - apparantley now he's a bit more verbal he tells his little friends about it at nursery!

 

[Hebe]

Thank you! I feel less alone now and very encouraged

Some of the worst drivers that you will meet on the school run though are the other parents - I'm always amazed - I can't imagine how they would explain to their child(ren), that they had knocked down a child or parent from school. Cars stopping immediately outside school blocking the road, 3 point turns, children getting out into the middle of the road without looking, or even driving on the pavement to get past another car.

Thanks Summerdays, it was actually seeing the traffic outside a local primary school that made me resolve to use the bike if I could. The school is on a busy road, and they have a pedestrian underpass, yet you still see the road all parked up and push-chairs and children emerging from between the cars, or opening the door straight into the traffic. That must have been a heart-in-mouth moment with the digger.

My 2 (almost 3) year old son sometimes comes to nursery by bike; he goes in a Halfords trailer; we take fairly quiet roads and its about 15 mins each way. I leave the trailer there with the pushchairs and carseats and then cycle on to work.

He enjoys it - apparantley now he's a bit more verbal he tells his little friends about it at nursery!

I use the trailgator with my 4 yr old. means i can leave his bike at nursery locked up ready for when i collect him in the evening. he loves it and cars seem to give more room than when i am on my own.

B is 4 too, but I'm not sure that I could trust her to stay holding on at the moment, and there's a couple too many places where I really wouldn't want her coming off. That must be a lovely way to do it.

My 2 (almost 3) year old son sometimes comes to nursery by bike; he goes in a Halfords trailer; we take fairly quiet roads and its about 15 mins each way. I leave the trailer there with the pushchairs and carseats and then cycle on to work.

He enjoys it - apparantley now he's a bit more verbal he tells his little friends about it at nursery!

That's great that they have covered space for the trailer and buggies B always shouts "ya hoooo!" as we pass her little nursery friends, which makes me smile.

Thanks again for the replies, much appreciated.

 

[I like Skol]

Just getting back into the cycle school run after the winter lay-up. My 6yr and 9yr old sons love to commute by bike so we try to do it at least once a week in the summer. Luckily I have a good route that cuts across the pedestrianised town centre and then onto quiet cycle tracks so most of the 2.5 mile route avoids the roads altogether.

It was damp and trying to rain this morning but because the road outside the school is being resurfaced over the next few days we were warned parking anywhere near the school won't be possible so bikes were the obvious choice.

 

[Hebe]

It is all about the route, isn't it?

We had our school allocation through today - B will be going to a school that's down a busy and narrow A road, there's cycle lane down each side and a right turn (from a right turn lane one car long)) into the road that the school's on. I don't yet know how bad the congestion will be there, as the school only moved to the current location at Easter. On the bright side, it's less than a mile away so we can cycle, walk, or scoot, or B can ride her bike while I walk. Lots of choices.

I've also just taken the nobbly tyres off my mtb and put something a little slicker on to make crossing the roundabout on the way to nursery a bit quicker. I'm also going to email the council about the road surface on the way to/from nursery.

 

[Hebe]

I've done a couple of test runs to her new school, and am now wondering if a tagalong would be better, especially for a couple of places where the trailer will be a snug fit. On the bright side, the route is almost entirely flat

 

[Butterfly]

I have a Circe tandem that I have the 4 year old pedalling and a babyseat for the 2 year old. Last week someone stole my seatpost (which has the handlebars for the stoker on it) so until I get a replacement I have a mountain bike with the bike seat and the 4 year old is riding his own bike to nursery - along the pavement, this is Brixton. I usually have a 5.5 mile school run to pick up the 7 year old in the afternoons, and today I'll probably do it with the 4 year old in the bike seat (I don't have the 2 year old on Mondays), but I'll be stuck after today until the new seatpost and bars arrive - it's a bit far for the 4 year old to manage on his own bike.

The Circe is totally brilliant - I drop the lad at nursery then do anything up to 10 miles with the babyseat and no stoker! It is about the most versatile bike ever! At the weekend clarion (my husband) can ride on the back.