As a parent, the things I worry about include:

• Screen time.

• Sugar.

• My bike falling over with my daughter strapped in.

After all, bikes can’t stay upright on two wheels without assistance.

When the stakes are low, leaning a bike against a wall works well enough.

When the stakes are high, when a bike falling over could injure the child on board, something more is required.

Yet most bikes I see on the street don’t have a mechanism to prevent this, even though the solution already exists: a kickstand.

Why don’t all bikes carrying kids have kickstands? Why aren’t kickstands sold with every child bike seat? Why isn’t anyone talking about kickstands?

I’m not sure.

In my case, I knew that a good kickstand was a non-negotiable before I ever bought a child bike seat. What I didn’t know was how hard it would prove to find a good one.

I thought good kickstands were ponies: ordinary, safe, sturdy, and made for children. Turns out they’re unicorns.

To be clear, I wasn’t looking for an engineering marvel. All I wanted was a kickstand that was:

1. Strong: enough to handle the weight of the bike, the child seat, my toddler and her carry-on items (wipes, snacks, extra clothes, shovels, buckets, and rocks)

2. Wide: enough to keep the bike stable even when my toddler wiggles (especially if she also thinks it’s great fun to make the bike wiggle under her)

3. Compatible: the kickstand’s mounting bracket (the part that connects to the bike) must be small enough to fit a standard bicycle and, when folded, the kickstand must not interfere with pedaling, the wheel or chainring

It took a year of searching, buying three different kickstands, repeatedly being told that what I was looking for didn’t exist and pure luck before I found my unicorn.

How I found my Unicorn Kickstand: An 8-Step Adventure

(Hint: Skip ahead to step 8 to achieve the same result!)

1. New Bike Comes With A One-Legged Kickstand, Bike Lacks Stability: I bought a new bike to fit my new child bike seat. I noticed the bike came with a one-footed kickstand. While marginally better than nothing, it couldn’t keep the bike upright with a passenger.

2. I Buy A New Two-Legged Kickstand, Bike Still Lacks Stability: I told the bike store I needed a better kickstand: at minimum, one with two legs. They were happy to sell me their best (and only) double kickstand: the 49N DLX Double Leg Kickstand 24-29.

   

   Pros: It had 2 legs

   Cons: It was narrow, unstable, and boasted an “improved” design where the legs folded to one side when not in use. In theory, this meant the kickstand was less likely to interfere with the chainring. In practice, I was somehow always standing on the opposite side of the bike from the kickstand and had to awkwardly hold the bike while walking around it, in order to use the kickstand. I hated it. I had to use it temporarily because I was already riding with my daughter but I immediately searched for better options.

3. Cargo Bike Kickstands Don’t Fit: Of course, the cargo bikes I saw in store, meant for passengers, came with beautiful wide sturdy kickstands built-in.

   

   Why couldn’t I just get one of those? Staff at two different stores told me they were proprietary. I asked them to sell me one anyway. Then, they also pointed out those kickstands are custom made for specific cargo bikes and wouldn’t fit a regular bike. Sadly, that was true.

4. The Internet Is No Help At All: If you do an online search for kickstands, you’ll find details are… sparse. How sparse? Try searching for the first kickstand I bought, the 49N DLX Double Leg Kickstand 24-29. The limitations I encountered while using it aren’t mentioned anywhere. The weight limit sounds high but turned out to be irrelevant. The width of the kickstand when open, which is one of the keys to stability, is not available. Whether the connection point is compatible is anyone’s guess. Despite the lack of information, I did try ordering another kickstand off Amazon I thought might work. It didn’t fit my bike.

5. I Buy A Second Two-Legged Kickstand, Bike Still Unstable: I like my local bike store. It’s close by and staff are friendly and helpful. They seem knowledgeable. So I kept going back to them, asking for suggestions, sure that there had to be a better kickstand for my bike. A good, strong, wide kickstand couldn’t just not exist. After months of this, they finally agreed to order me their “hardcore” kickstand. They couldn’t guarantee it would be any better, but I was clearly willing to take that risk. When it arrived, the 49N Double Kickstand for E-Bike 24-29 was only marginally more stable than the 49N DLX Double Leg Kickstand 24-29. Unfortunately, it also still had all of it’s defects, including folding to one side of the bike.

   

6. I Make Do With A Sub-standard Kickstand: I was frustrated but I was also out of options. So, I managed as best I could. I tried to never let go of the bike when baby was on board. I leaned the bike against the wall or locked it to a bike stand to add stability. I straddled the bike between my legs when moving baby on and off the bike for added security. Even with all that, the bike did slip once, while I was straddling it and desperately trying to hold it up but the angles were off and it was too heavy for me. Thankfully, I managed to slow the fall with my body. I was rattled and bruised but baby was uninjured. I kept looking for alternatives but couldn’t find any.

7. I Get Lucky: After nearly a year of riding with a subpar kickstand, I was checking out the 1st Annual Femme Friendly Bike Fair for the Bike-Curious with my family.

   I’m at the fair, chatting at one of the booths, when my husband suddenly walks up to us and says “You have to see this, I found your kickstand”. I immediately excused myself and ran across the room to the bike he was pointing at. After all, I hadn’t spent this long searching just to ignore the sighting of a unicorn.

   

   The kickstand was indeed a unicorn. It was strong. It was very very wide and stable. It was installed on a regular bike which meant it would surely fit mine. Both legs folded back like a fork (one side on each side of the wheel), which meant I could engage the kickstand no matter which side of the bike I was on. Once a quick search helped us find the bike’s owner, he generously shared details on how I could get my own unicorn.

   

8. The Right Kickstand Changes Everything: My unicorn kickstand is the Ursus Jumbo Evo Kickstand. Its legs are 50 cm wide when expanded. Its load capacity is 80 kg (176 lbs). It’s not perfect. The bolt is committed to slowly loosening over time, allegedly because of the weight it carries, so it regularly needs to be tightened. Sometimes it touches my rear tire as I ride and I have to kick it a bit to fix it. But, regardless of the maintenance it requires, it is awesome and the closest a kickstand has come, yet, to doing the job. I can actually walk away and take pictures of my daughter on the bike without worrying about her safety.

And that is the tale of what it took to keep my bike from falling over when standing still.

Before you read this, did you think it would be that hard to find a good kickstand? Maybe that’s why, when I see other parents riding with their kids, their bikes rarely have kickstands. Because we don’t talk about kickstands. We don’t talk about why bikes with passengers need them. We don’t talk about what to look for. We definitely don’t talk about where to find a good kickstand or even that it’s hard to find in the first place. And maybe, because of that, very few places actually carry kickstands that meet the needs of parents riding with kids. Maybe we should talk about kickstands more.

I bike because it makes me happy.

I bike because I feel free when I bike.

I bike because connection is intrinsically built in.

Connection, I’ve learned, starts with opportunity: it grows when compatible people find themselves repeatedly sharing space. In my life, I chose to consciously weave in moments that allow for its possibility, including how I get places. That’s where bikes come in. In a car, there is a literal steel barrier between me and the world. On transit, people keep themselves apart with earbuds and screens. On a bike, there’s no physical or metaphysical wall keeping the world out.

I’ve made new friends on my bike. I’ve had unexpected conversations with strangers, like the couple who rolled down their window to compliment my bike sign (see picture below). My daughter’s daycare classmates chant her name when they see us ride by.

It turns out biking is also the best way to connect with my co-pilot. On a bike, I can meet her needs in ways that aren’t possible while driving - where we’re physically distant - or on transit, where I’m busy managing her interactions with everyone and everything.

On a bike, we’re close enough to touch, exchange toys, negotiate snacks, and chat.

On a bike, we’re each other’s captive audience, almost in our own little bubble.

On a bike, she can cover my back in stickers also looking for connection.

On a bike, when it’s set up right, the magic happens. But the right set up is more than the child seat. It’s also about the view: one where I can see my daughter as I ride.

I need to see her to know:

• Is she looking where I’m pointing?

• Is she talking to me or singing to herself?

• Did she or didn’t she tuck her head under the blanket to block the wind?

• Is she safe?

That last one is big. It’s top of mind in every choice I make about our rides. For me, not seeing her isn’t safe. I need to check how she is doing and if she needs anything, while also riding in traffic. I need to see her when she’s behind me and I’m looking straight ahead. How? Mirrors, of course!

Except… there’s one thing I kept noticing when setting up my bike to ride with my daughter:

Not only was the right gear usually hard to find, even when it was readily available, over and over it seemed like I was the only one looking

Bike mirrors are a perfect example of this because they’re easy to find at most bike retailers. Yet…

• When I see other people riding with children, I rarely see mirrors on their bike.

• When I bought my rear child bike seat at a bike store, no one suggested I pick up a mirror as well.

• I’ve never seen bike mirrors sold as a way to keep an eye on your child. In stark contrast, baby car mirrors exist for exactly that purpose.

• I had to identify both the problem and the solution before finding a handful of people online who mentioned using bike mirrors the way I do.

Maybe not thinking of bike mirrors as parenting tools is the natural result of an environment where very little information about biking with children exists. It’s one of the main reasons I started these posts, so other people could learn from my experience.

That said, if you’re as interested as I was in seeing your child as you ride, here’s what to keep in mind!

Practical Things I Considered when Choosing my Mirrors

1. On the bike, not on me: Riding accessories go on the bike, not on me. This ensures I don’t forget the essentials.

2. Mirrors on both sides: A mirror on the left can’t capture my daughter’s face when she looks right. The only way to always see her face is to have mirrors on both sides.

3. I’m not transparent, mirrors have to see around me: To see directly behind me, the mirrors have to be at the very end of the handlebars. It makes the handlebars wider, which can be an issue in narrow spaces.

I got Mirrycle Handlebar Mirrors (if you use the associate link, I earn from qualifying purchases). Other handlebar mirrors may work as well, but these were the ones available at my local bike shop.

With these mirrors I can watch my daughter wave at friends and strangers, throw her hands in the air as we roll downhill, and turn her head to look when I point at fire trucks. I can see her nod or shake her head. I can make sure she has what she needs and that nothing has gone overboard. It makes the ride better for both of us and I wouldn’t ride without them.

If you decide to give mirrors a try after reading this, I’d love to hear from you. If you’re looking for more suggestions, stay tuned for future posts on the rest of the gear that can help keep your ride with kids onboard safe and enjoyable!

Freedom has always been one of my core values. Bikes have always been a way for me to access that freedom.

Bikes take me farther, faster, than walking. On a bike, there’s no cost per ride. On a bike, I don’t worry about missing the next bus. On a bike, I’m never trapped in traffic. On a bike, I am free.

Off a bike - great for the journey but best locked at the destination - I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl almost 3 years ago.

Turns out raising a child limits freedom - at least it has for me so far. Going to the bathroom is a group activity. So is taking a shower. Mealtimes require my full attention. I’m either on the menu (breastfeeding) or air traffic control- tracking my toddler’s food en route to her mouth rather than the floor, the table, her hair, my hair, or other places I hadn’t realized food could go.

Unsurprisingly, real conversations with another adult — the kind where I get to finish a sentence — are nearly impossible when I’m with my daughter. This is true at home, at the park, on transit, in a car and pretty much anywhere in between.

Except on a bike.

On a bike, she’s charmed by the scenery and the people-watching opportunities. On a bike, she waves at strangers and throws her hands in the air to feel the wind as we roll downhill. When it’s just the two of us, we chat about what we see. When we’re riding with friends, I get actual stretches of conversation between checking on her.

The real magic happens when we’re riding with friends and she falls asleep. I velcro her SleepFix pillow under her chin, and suddenly it’s one of those pre-baby magical adventure rides again, filled with exploration and deep conversations.

And yes, technically, if we’re talking sleep, I also have moments to myself when my daughter falls asleep in the car or at home. However, I usually end up nap-trapped in those scenarios (nap-trapped, in parent-speak: parent moves, baby wakes, end of days). Or, if I do have freedom of movement, I either collapse into my exhaustion or half-heartedly attempt to tackle that long list of to-dos. Neither of which fills my cup. On a bike, all I can do is ride and chat. So that’s all I do. And it’s wonderful.

Wait a minute. SleepFix pillow? What’s that?

By now, if you’ve read my previous posts, you know the recurring theme: finding the right tools for the job - biking with baby - is rarely straightforward.

I first discovered that child bike seats aren’t set up with sleeping toddlers in mind when I was pregnant. Thanks to an impromptu conversation with a mom riding by with her toddler, I learned:

• Mom never went on long rides with her toddler

• Mom timed all rides around her toddler’s wake windows

• Mom did everything to avoid her toddler falling asleep on the bike

Why? Because when her toddler fell asleep on the child bike seat:

• toddler’s whole body would slump forward

• toddler’s neck would dangle at an awkward angle; and

• toddler’s head would bounce every time the bike went over uneven terrain

Her logic resonated with me, and I added one more thing to my must-have list of baby bike gear - something to protect baby’s neck and keep it stable so baby could sleep safely and comfortably during a ride. Someone had to have figured it out, right?

Once I started looking for a solution I discovered:

1. The way a child’s bike helmet juts out in the back, pushing the child’s head forward, exacerbates the problem.

2. While the issue was commonly acknowledged, there was no consensus on a widely available commercial product that solved the issue. The various creative solutions shared by others online seemed complicated, unsafe or extremely limiting.

3. There are child bike seats that tilt backwards, becoming a more natural sleep surface. However, some online reviews mentioned they don’t necessarily solve the head bouncing issue and I’m unsure which head bounce direction (up and down while sitting up versus bouncing on the back of your head while lying down) is more problematic. I actually didn’t realize this type of seat existed until long after I bought a regular upright child bike seat and solved the problem differently, so I never investigated it further.

In the end, I did find the perfect tool for the job- the Sandini SleepFix. It connects to the child bike seat with reflective straps and velcros together under the child’s neck. It’s simple, it’s easy, it works, and it’s safety tested. It was a Eurobike 2018 Gold Winner. It’s a German-based company, and - of course - in 2022 they didn’t ship to North America.

Luckily, I had a friend who was due to visit from London. I had it shipped there and he delivered it personally a few months later.

I can’t say enough good things about it.

I bought a second one to put on the car seat. I’ve lent it to friends who loved it too.

Writing this post, I discovered that they now ship to North America through Amazon.de! Here are the links: SleepFix Baby (up to 18 months old) and SleepFix Kids (18 months to 12 years old). (FYI if you use these affiliate links, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Here’s another look at the SleepFix pillow on my bike:

My daughter doesn’t like to wear it while she’s awake, since it limits her movement, so I put it on after she falls asleep.

I love this pillow. It lets me share my love of biking with my daughter without worrying about getting home for nap time. Once she falls asleep on longer rides or at certain times of the day, I get some precious moments to myself, or to share with a friend.

If you found this useful, keep coming back for more posts. I’ll walk you through the rest of the accessories you’ll need to ride comfortably with your young child year-round!

Sometimes though, you really want to know the “what” before deciding if you are invested in the “why”.

Recently, in a children’s book—currently my primary reading material—I came across this quote by Aristotle: “For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them." Definitely applies to riding a bike… and parenthood.

Once we learn to ride a bike- by riding a bike- we figure out what we need on the bike. Pre-baby, my bike had the following gear:

• a kick stand: kept bike upright

• baskets and panniers (bike-specific bags): no grocery bags on handlebars

• a cup holder: coffee, please

• a phone holder: navigating and music

• fenders: no mud, no splashing

• lights and reflective tape: to see and be seen

• skirt guards: to prevent dresses from getting caught in the back wheel

• chain guards: to prevent pant legs from getting caught in the gears

Post-baby, I needed to add things to the bike to keep baby safe and comfortable. I’ll detail how I landed on each of these items in longer articles. But for now, this is the “what” to add to your bike, without the longer “why” you want it or “how” I found it.

FYI some of these are affiliate links. If you use them, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sitting

• Rear Child Seat Connected to Adult Bike Seat Post: Thule Yepp 2 Maxi

• Wondering why? Read this.

Standing

• Extra-wide Extra-Strong Double-legged Kickstand: Jumbo Evo

Seeing

• Mirrors: Mirrcycle

Sleeping

• Neck brace: SleepFix Baby (up to 18 months old) and SleepFix Kids (18 months to 12 years old).

• Wondering why? Read this.

Head Protection

• Helmet with a flat back: Thousand Jr. Toddler Helmet

• Pillow: Thule Chariot Baby Supporter (just the bottom half)

Weather

• Sun/Mosquito protection: Snoozeshade

• Infant Blanket: Pookie Poncho

• Toddler Blanket: Tucano Urbano Opossum

• Rain Protection: Bub-Up Kids

Carrying

• Toy Straps: Andy Bear

• Panniers: MEC Audax Roll-Up

If these items sound useful, stay tuned for future posts where I’ll explain how I selected each of these and expand on the difference they make every time you ride. In the meantime, I hope this list offers you a glimpse of all the things there are to consider when riding with a young child.

Once baby could hold her head up and sit independently, it was time to get her a place to sit on my bike!

What kind of seat?

I wanted to add a bike seat for my child to my current bike. For a 12 month old, that gave me 3 options:

1. Front child seat

2. Bike trailer

3. Rear child seat

Front Child Bike Seats

I grabbed this front child bike seat secondhand long before baby was ready. Years earlier, I had gifted the same bike seat to a friend. She loved it so I figured I would too.

I thought front child bike seats were the obvious choice because:

1. Babies love watching the world go by and this way they had a literal front seat to all the action.

2. When baby is sitting in front of their adult, adult and baby can interact easily.

Like everything else in parenting, there were a few things I hadn’t considered:

1. Size: The size of the baby seat + baby in comparison to the size of the adult + bike matters. As a medium height woman, baby + seat were more likely to:

   1. Limit my visibility since baby was directly in front of me (especially if baby was wearing a helmet).

   2. Compromise my steering by placing a tall + wide object between me and the handlebars.

   3. Make me push my knees out awkwardly as I pedaled so as to not hit the baby seat.

2. Longevity: Front baby bike seats in North America usually have a weight limit of 33 lbs (15 kg) while rear baby bike seats have a weight limit of 40 lbs (18 kg). After setting up the bike for optimal riding with baby, I wanted it to last as long as possible before figuring out the next solution!

3. Fit: Front bike seats are more finicky than rear bike seats and the one I got did not fit my bike.

4. Intended use: For reasons above, front child bike seat didn’t work well for long distance and longer term use.

Bike Trailer

I know some people love bike trailers. Perhaps the main selling point is that they don’t rely on the adult rider’s balance to keep upright. Plus they can be useful for hauling multiple children.

I didn’t want one to carry my first child because:

1. Reduced Visibility: The trailer is less visible to cars because it’s so low to the ground. I think that increases the chances of the trailer getting hit on the road.

2. Car Driver Behavior: It’s often hard to see what, if anything, is inside the trailer. I’ve seen research123 that explores how cars give bicycles more space when they see the bicycle rider as human or believe a child is on board. It’s anecdotal but I notice that when drivers identify me as female and especially when they can see I’m riding with a child (which may be harder with a trailer), many are more careful around us.

3. Bike Maneuverability: The trailer width and two wheeled set-up plus the added length to my bike may affect my maneuvering options on the road.

4. Distance from Child: Given the distance and height differential between adult rider and child passenger, I wouldn’t be able to interact with or maybe even see my child as we rode.

Rear Baby Bike Seat - The One I Picked

With a rear child bike seat, I can:

1. Maneuver on my bike nearly as well as pre-baby (just a bit heavier in the back).

2. Interact with baby easily, including touching her, talking to her, and passing her objects.

3. See baby as I bike (with rear view bike mirrors. They are like rear view car mirrors. I put one on each side of the handlebar so I can see baby’s expression no matter what direction she turns her head (not pictured above)).

If you decide to get a rear baby bike seat, there’s tons of different reviews out there. I think it mostly comes down to what’s available in your area, your budget and your bike.

My biggest piece of advice?

Get a rear child bike seat that connects to the frame rather than sitting on your rear rack.

Why?

Kids are smaller but need more STUFF. Snacks. Extra clothes. Toys (essentials like a shovel and bucket for every single park adventure). Water bottle. A place to carry the rocks they pick up and will not part with.

A bike seat that sits on your rear rack essentially reduces the amount of stuff you can carry on a bike. There’s no space for rear panniers (bike bags) or a rear basket. You have to settle for a front basket, front panniers (uncommon outside touring bikes), or wear a backpack (please don’t do this, no one enjoys a backpack inches from their face). No matter how you look at it, you get less storage.

With a rear child bike seat that connects to the frame, you can still have rear panniers! And a front basket. And front panniers.

I use my front basket for the purse or backpack that I carry with me off the bike or the groceries I pick up.

My rear panniers carry bike locks, emergency snacks, toys, wipes and a change of baby clothes. All of which stays permanently on the bike until needed. At this point in my life (deeply sleep deprived with a young child) I’d rather risk someone stealing it than carry around more stuff. Thankfully no one ever has, which I appreciate.

In conclusion, the best option I found for biking with baby daily, for long distances and fun adventures was a rear seat that connected to my bike frame.

I’ve shared my selection process to give you a better sense of the pros and cons of front child bike seats, rear child bike seats and bike trailers. With these insights you;ll be able to make a more informed decision over what you need.

No matter what you choose, remember that your child’s bike seat is just the first step to setting up your bike for a safe and enjoyable ride. I mentioned rear panniers and bike mirrors (on both sides!) but those are just the start. In the next few posts I’ll share the other items that made all the difference.

I love riding my bike.

I love getting other people to ride bikes. So much so that I do it for a living as an active transportation planner.

So, when I first got pregnant, my first thought was

1. How long could I bike? Apparently:

   1. Until my body said no: One day at 6 months pregnant, my body just said no. The 5 minute bike ride home in the bike lanes on a flat street was one of the hardest I’ve ever done.

   2. When the weather made the risk too high: It was November, it was getting colder, and the potential of slipping on black ice wasn’t worth it

My second thought when I got pregnant was

2. How soon can I bike with my baby?

   1. Absolutely no idea. I couldn’t find anything that addressed my specific situation. I didn’t want to spend $10k on a cargo bike. Even if I did, I had nowhere to safely store the aforementioned cargo bike. And really, I simply didn’t want to ride a cargo bike down narrow bike lanes or get stuck in traffic because the cargo bike couldn’t squeeze around obstacles.

What I wanted was to know what the easy, simple and safe solution was to wanting to ride my bike with my newborn.

By the time baby was born, I had no solutions. BUT I did discover that parenting is a lot of learn as you go.

I learned:

1. I preferred to wear my baby than keep them in a stroller.

2. In the entirety of my online search, I found ONE picture of a woman wearing her child while riding a bicycle. Proving I wasn’t the only one that had thought of it (which I needed to know at that point, just for validation).

This picture:

My baby was born in April and by early May I was desperate for a bike ride.

We finally decided to try it when baby was 5 weeks old, and it was… so good. I wondered if I would be comfortable or feel safe, but I did immediately. Biking has always been my happy place, and I felt so free! For bonus points, baby slept through the entire ride.

In the end, biking while wearing baby our first year had its compromises.

1. It allowed me to bike recreationally but not for transportation.

2. I always biked with at least one other adult in case I needed a second pair of hands.

3. I found that my favorite baby carrier for walking, which was easy to put on and kept us cool on hot summer days, was different than my favorite baby carrier for biking. The more structured carrier was nearly impossible for me to put on without help but the flap to support baby’s neck when sleeping was one of the keys to a comfortable ride for all.

It wasn’t perfect but wearing baby allowed us to ride together from the very beginning. It also gave me time to figure out what I was going to do the following spring when baby got too big to wear. I really needed a set up that would allow us to go everywhere on a bike again, like I used to do before baby.

That’s what I’ll be sharing here. I have over a decade of experience building cycling communities and it took me a while to figure out what worked for baby and me. Most of the tips and accessories that made all the difference weren’t identified that way anywhere and I relied a lot on my own educated guesses that something would work. If you’re a parent that just wants to bike with their kid, I’ll be sharing how to make that experience as comfortable and safe as possible. I’d love it if something I share helps get you on a bike with your young child or simply makes the entire experience better.