Welcome, Bullitt!

4/17/2013

7 Comments

She's here, she's here, she's here!!!

My two lovely bikes :)

Sigh...

Practical Cycle for the win, again!

We made it home in one piece.

They arrived today and Tim was nice enough to get it all put together for me so I could take her home immediately. The Mundo stayed at the shop to get her recall wheel skirts installed. Bullitt and I bulleted home! It is quite an adjustment, especially from the Mundo. I had a hard time doing my usual no-foot stops and had a couple of swerves. Nothing nearly as bad as Jose's initial ride...as seen below.

Yes, I was pretty bummed about the bike at first. Jose's doing well, thanks for everyone who was kind enough to worry about him :) He's a bit sore but the good news is that the Bullitt is fine!!! Jose's riding a little better, too.

I wish the boys were here to enjoy the bike already but it does still need a couple of adjustments and another screw for the box since one was too short. We also need to figure out how to train our dog to get in. He's too big and wiggly to pick him up and too shy to jump in. Thoughts?

7 Comments

Sarah

4/17/2013 01:51:51 pm

For our dogs, we've trained them to target our hands. You do this by putting your hand out and clicking/"yes"-ing/triggering when they touch their nose to your hand and then giving a treat. We can now get them anywhere in the house by putting our hand where we want them and saying "touch." Once you've got the dog comfortable with that, ask him to touch nearby the bike. You may be able to get him into the bike by just putting your hand in the seat and asking for a touch, but if not here is what I would do: when he touches the bike with his nose instead, click and set a new word (like "bike" or "get in"). Once he has this reinforced a bit, stop reinforcing until he paws at the bike a bit and then reinforce more. Keep asking him for more interaction with the bike and reinforcing that new level of interaction once he's got it, and you'll likely eventually get to a point that he just jumps in. To keep him safe, it may be a good idea to get a dog car seat harness to buckle into the seatbelts you have, especially if he's the type to try to jump out to chase squirrels.

seth

4/17/2013 02:26:40 pm

nice! i saw some one who retrofit their bakfiets with a doggy door on one side of the box... basically just cut out a portion of the side panel, reinforced it a bit and reinstalled with hinges and latch. i could imagine a sliding panel instead of a hinged door. might be tricky (and sad) to cut up yer fancy fancy box. also, i highly recommend installing an "o" lock (cafe lock) if it'll fit on the bullitt. i use mine all the time when i'm just running in to grab a coffee and can keep an eye on the bike. so much easier than finding a lockable spot every time. anyhow, looking forward to our first drag race!

Megan Gray link

4/17/2013 02:35:00 pm

Yay! Poor Jose. It's a definite learning curve. I still fall/crash (as the kids like to say) from time to time with the bakfiets. Strong wind plus rain canopy equal diasater trying to get started on an incline LOL! Don't worry the kids are usually fine, but my ego gets a little bruised and then I call my husband haha!

4/18/2013 01:42:37 am

I would definitely put an eyelet in, so you can clip the leash. You don't want the dog jumping out unexpectedly.

Sara @ Full Hands link

4/18/2013 07:05:14 am

Felicidades! You are going to have so much freakin' fun with this bike and it's just going to add to your adventures. The box is beautiful.

I dumped our bakfiets once with the boys inside. It was totally my fault-- I just turned weirdly out of our driveway. The boys were totally fine. I ended up with a bloody knee and a huge sense of embarrassment. Other than that-- once I became accustomed to have the front wheel so far out ahead of me, it has been smooth sailing.

Kimberly link

4/18/2013 09:52:43 am

Cool bike! My family and I were actually in Old Sac for a bit on Tuesday... I recognized Practical Cycle from your blog and we took a quick walk (kids sprinting..) through. Guess I was one day too early to see your Bullitt. Hope Jose gets the hang of it... We love, love, love our box bike :)

Dale

4/22/2013 01:10:59 pm

Dog drugs or a very soft rubber mallet? Either with a very short leash secured to floor and training wheels for all. Wee!

Welcome, Bullitt!

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