Another Year Cycling With My Daughter

Bea and I celebrated another year of cycling together--well, at least with her as my passenger. Hehe.

Around this time last year, we biked for the first time outside our neighborhood. We joined my FBP friends on an evening bike ride around Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, and she enjoyed the experience.

After that, our father-daughter bike rides became more frequent. Bea would accompany me to buy the newspaper and pandesal in the morning. What's heartwarming was each time I'd invite her to come bike with me she never turned me down.

It was during our bike rides that I got to teach her her first words. I taught her "house" after pointing at all the houses on our street. She also learned "cat," "dog," "tricycle," "car," "mailbox," and "tree" while on the bike.

Bea likes to play with the handlebars. She rings the bell, presses on the cyclometer, and even tries to steer the bike. I swear, if she didn't have puny arms, she'd be the one taking control of the Brompton. 

We've experimented with different ways of riding together. First with the iBert seat on the Allant. Then using the Bromp-upuan with the Brompton. And then we also tried the InStep Bike Trailer. Our favorite would have to be the Bromp-upuan because she's in front of me, I can see her, and we get to talk.

Last week we joined the Tour of the Fireflies. I had no trouble waking her up at 5:30 in the morning. I whispered, "Bea, let's go biking na" to her ear and she opened her eyes and said, "Biking?!" No complaints. No crying. She stood up and got ready. At the Tour, when we were on the road with the rest of the participants, Bea did not hesitate to salute and hi-5 (or wave) to all those who greeted her. 

I sincerely believe my daughter enjoys riding. And I am thankful for that.

I fear, however, that she may outgrow this fondness with biking. I hope I'm wrong. I wish she continues to enjoy biking. Next year, I want her to learn how to pedal. Start with a tricycle. Then the following year learn to balance herself on two wheels. And hopefully, by 2014 when we join the Tour of the Fireflies, Bea's no longer just a passenger, but a cyclist herself as well.

But I get ahead of myself. For now I am extremely happy that my daughter and I cycle together.

2012 Tour of the Fireflies with Bea

Last Sunday, I participated in my fourth Tour of the Fireflies (my first time was in 2009). For the second year in a row I rode my Brompton (In 2009 I used the Allant, and in 2010 the Valencia). What's special with this TOF was that I rode it with my daughter Bea. That's her in the pink long sleeve and blue-green leggings sitting on her Bromp-upuan.

This is officially the 14th TOF, the theme being "Bicycles for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation" or BEST. It was the first time that the tour was held on a November. In the past, TOF was always organized in April. It was originally rescheduled to September. But then it got pushed back to November. Not a big deal. Better late than next year is what I say. 

My family woke up very early that Sunday morning (November 18). Got to fit the Brompton, the bike trailer, the Bromp-upuan and 2 helmets easily at the back of the car.

We proceeded to the meeting place at Ortigas Home Depot along Julia Vargas Ave. in Pasig City. Met up with my friends from BCP and FBP.  

I also got to convince my best friend Barnett, who also owns a Brompton, to come with us. He, in turn, brought along his wife, Jes, with him. She rode a Tern folding bike.

From Ortigas Home Depot, the FBP and BCP group rode down Julia Vargas Ave. to Tiendesitas at the assembly area.

When we got to Tiendesitas they still had a program. We waited for another 30 minutes for it to finish.

The tour officially started at 7:45am. There were a lot of cyclists this year--definitely more than any tour I've participated in. Reports estimate it to 14,000 bikers.

Coming down Ortigas Ave.

Anyway, from Tiendesitas we cycled to Ortigas Ave. and then turned left on C-5. We rode north on C-5 passing Libis and Eastwood. Bea was fine and was enjoying the ride. Our pace was an easy 10 km/h.

When the peloton hit Blue Ridge, we turned right into Marikina City.

That's my 2 1/2 daughter Bea with her shades on. Thanks to Doc Arman Lee for this cute picture.

This photo grabbed from Firefly Brigade Facebook Page

The tour made a stop at Patio del Zapatero. There was a mini-program. At the time we crossed the stage, Mayor Del De Guzman was giving a speech. Bea and I rested with FBP and BCP friends on the side of the road. She drank lots of water.

After a few minutes, we rode again. This time we headed back to Quezon City. 

It was getting hot and Bea told me she was tired already. So I phoned Ria to meet us at Ateneo.

We cycled up the hill towards Aurora Blvd. and then turned right on Katipunan Ave. Bea gave me moral support by shouting, "Go,go, go, Daddy! Go, go, go!"

When we got to Katipunan Ave., Ria met us at Gate 2 of Ateneo. Bea and I called it a day as it was getting very hot (it was about 10am already). We had biked 16 kilometers, or half the length of the tour. The rest of the participants continued biking another 17 kilometers going to UP, then QC Circle, then New Manila,  before returning to Tiendesitas via Ortigas Ave. Total length was approximately 35 kms.

Barnett and Jessica also called it a day. We loaded 2 Bromptons, 1 Tern and the bike trailer (that I chose not to use) in the back of my car. No problem. They all fit. I love folding bikes.

For the next Tour of the Fireflies, my goal is to teach Bea to ride a bike and cycle together.

Congratulations to the Firefly Brigade for staging a successful critical mass ride that is the 14th Tour of the Fireflies! May it have sent a message to policymakers and government officials that bicyclists are here to stay and that they should recognize us as valid commuters and stakeholders in the public transport sector.

Night Ride with the Kids at BHS

Last Thursday, my friends in FBP organized a night bike ride for the kids at Bonifacio High Street in Taguig. Since we were going to be with other children and the ride would be in the Fort Bonifacio area, Bea and I joined them.

We assembled near R.O.X. at 7:30 pm. I saw some friends from TSP, but they had their own ride that night. Meanwhile, Diane gave me the orange reflector vest I ordered and I put it on. It gets the job done, but somehow I feel like a walking road triangle reflector.

Bea does this pose when she knows she'll be photographed. It's her pa-cute pose. I do not know where she got it.

With Jason Lee, son of Dr. Arman and Mia Lee. I've seen this kid bike, and boy can he pedal!

Anyway, we waited for a couple of minutes for the others. When were complete, we took a group photo at the foot of BHS. And then we were off!

Here we are with Zaldy and Tina. It was good the weather cooperated that night. During the day it was cloudy with some rain. 

This is Ariel with his son, Joaquin, on their Bike Friday. Ganda ng bike trailer ni Joaquin. I'd like one for when Bea gets older.

Here is Diane with Jason.

This is Zaldy's son, Zian, on his Peerless Lite.

Here is Al's wife, Dhine, with their daughter Aldheia.

John Buno on his P6R. Love that P-Bar.

Wow Pinays, Ruth and Tina.

Dhine, Ruth, Tina, Bea and honorary woman, Me.

Here we are in Burgos Circle.

From Burgos Circle we rode back to BHS where Bea and I pulled away from the peloton because she was getting sleepy. The group met with some latecomers and continued their ride. Bea and I went back to the car and went home. 


Bea had fun on this ride. She made "mano" to her elders; posed during the picture taking; stood up on her pedals and waved her hands in the air in excitement. We had biked approximately 5 kms. Good job, daughter! Next time, Tour of the Fireflies na!

Merry Christmas, Everyone!


PS: Thanks to Al Castillo and Arman Lee for the photos!

Testing the locally-made child seat for a Brompton

The other day I posted about the Brom-upuan, the locally-made prototype child bike seat for my Brompton. I finally got to test it with my 20-month old daughter, Bea.

First things first, I did not have a hard time convincing my toddler to sit on the saddle. Not at all. She actually rode Brom-upuan like it was made for her (it was, actually, but don't tell her that). Anyway, Bea instinctively placed her feet on the footrest, held on to my bike's handlebar grips, and then we biked around our village.

I think Bea enjoyed the ride on the Brom-upuan. She was always pointing at something. She pointed at the cars. She pointed at the dog. And she pointed at the cat. Which brings me to my first concern. The Bromp-upuan does not have its own handlebar for the child rider. The child has to hold on to the adult biker's handlebar, which could be dangerous, especially during sudden turns. But this isn't the sole problem of the Bromp-upuan, as the IT Chair--the product it was based on, also does not provide for a separate handlebar.

My second concern is also on safety. Unlike the iBert Child Bike Seat where the child rider is cocooned in a protective shell and strapped in seatbelts, the child rider on the Brom-upuan is left out in the open. I worried that my daughter could easily slip off the seat at each stroke of the pedal. I had to remind her to stay on the seat and to hold on to the handlebar.

My third concern is again on safety. I don't feel the Brom-upuan is securely fastened to the Brompton. Sure, there's a clamp on the seatpost, but the clamp on the toptube is unsecured. I worry that if I hit a bump on the road, the clamp would come loose and send my daughter hurling to the pavement. This lower clamp thing really should be addressed in the future.

After having said that, I still like the Bromp-upuan. Hey, my daughter enjoys riding on it so I'm happy. I would not, however, use it outside the village and faster than 12 kph. I don't think it's safe and stable enough. At least for a 2 year old who can easily fall off the seat. Maybe I'd use it in a CMR or outside the village when Bea is older, like 3 or something. As for now, it'll be leisurely rides around our street.

Thanks again to Ariel and his welders for fabricating this father-daughter bonding contraption. Cheers, guys!

Child Bike Seat for My Brompton

I blogged about the IT Chair last May and September and raved about its simple and straightforward design. You see, other than the IT Chair, I do not know of any other commercially-available child bike seat that can be used with the Brompton. I wanted one for my daughter, but I found the product to be very expensive (It's 210 Pounds in the BikeFix website).

And even if I had that kind of money, the IT Chair is not available here in South East Asia. (the seat is manufactured in far away Spain)

So, what's a Filipino dad have to do?

Fortunately, those blog posts caught the attention of one of my cycling buddies and he graciously offered to fabricate a child bike seat, based on the IT Chair, for Bea.  This week, he delivered it to me. (Thanks, Ariel! You're the best!)

And here it is! I call it the Brom-upuan. ('Upuan' is Filipino for chair)

Like the IT Chair, the Brom-upuan is made of stainless steel. There is a bar jutting out of the main frame so that one can install the extra saddle. And then there is a footrest at the bottom end. The only difference is how the Brom-upuan attaches to the bike. Unlike the IT Chair, the Brom-upuan does not have a quick-release clamp for the seat post. It's just a screw on. I put rubber foam under the clamp to protect the seatpost from scratches. I did the same thing with the clamp on the top tube.

So that you can see the difference between the two, I borrowed some pictures of the IT Chair from the Our Man Inside blog (Thank you Mr. Christian Payne!) and place them side by side with photos of the Brom-upuan.

IT Chair on the left. Brom-upuan on the right.

The IT Chair has a quick release clamp. The Brom-upuan just has a clamp with a screw.

Both products have foot rests for the child passenger.

So that's the Brom-upuan. I will test it with Bea and report my findings and observations in my next blog post.

Video: IT Chair for Brompton

Grabe naman kasi sa pagkamahal netong IT Chair! GBP 210.00! (or PhP 14,000.00!!!) Sana naman may local bike welder (paging yung mga gumagawa ng pedicab) na kayang gawin ito. Basta 'wag lang umabot ng fourteen thousand pesos! OA na yun!

Pero ang cute-cute kasi eh. Gusto ko talaga. Na-i-imagine ko na sumasakay anak ko dyan.

Anyhoo, the IT Chair is available at http://www.bikefix.co.uk/.

Extra Seat for the Brompton

They are marketing a product in Europe called the ITchair which is an extra seat that you attach to the seat post and top tube of a Brompton to accommodate a child passenger.  It's cool, but is hard to come by and very expensive.

Photo downloaded from Brompton website

Then I saw this photo of a similar product in a Brompton users yahoo group.  Allegedly, this child bike seat (obviously copied from the ITchair design) is made in China.  I wonder if it's available in South East Asia (Hongkong, Taiwan or Singapore).  If not, I wonder if it can be fabricated (or copied) here in Manila.  Kaya kaya ito ni sir Ave Maldea?  

Photo downloaded from the internet

Would love to have something like this for Bea to ride on when I use the Brompton.

Child Bike Seats available at HMR

I went to HMR in Mandaluyong the other day to check out if they had bike trailers.  I did not find what I was looking for, but did chance upon 2 kinds of child carriers.

First is this BELL Classic Child Carrier.  It cost P990.00 and comes with its own rear rack.  My problem with this product is that the seat looks shabby and the rear rack doesn't look sturdy enough.  But, if you just need a cheap child carrier, this one's for you.

The next child carrier is this one from an Australian brand that I was not able to get the name of.  Like all HMR products, the ones they have available are either used or surplus.  With this one, the seat looks a lot more stable and sturdy than the BELL.  However, it is designed to fit a particular rear rack, because it slides into it.  If you don't have that rack, then this seat is useless.  And it is more expensive than the BELL retailing at P2,990.00.

On a different note, here is a baby stroller that is also a tricyle for your toddler.  It looks cool and all, but at P4,990.00, is way expensive for a second-hand product.

HMR is located at Pioneer Street cor. Reliance Street, Mandaluyong (behind EDSA).  They are open Monday to Sunday, from 9am to 7pm.