Ride with a 2 year old and a trailer

[jrenaut]

Not this weekend but next I’m home alone with my nearly two year old. Starting from DC (right by Columbia Heights Metro), where can I take her that would be fun for both of us? She likes playgrounds and french fries. I’ve done Beach Drive for a while up to the school playground that’s maybe 7-10 miles north of the DC Zoo, and I could do that again, but I was looking for something else.

I think my range is 7-12 miles from the Columbia Heights Metro station, though I could push that a bit for something awesome.

Topic

[americancyclo]

@jrenaut 28567 wrote:

Not only is it a Burley, it’s a 2 kid trailer, so it’s kinda big. The S Curve of Death should be fun . . .

If you’re only going to the Italian Store and Lyon Village Park, you won’t have to contend with the S curve, but you will have to navigate that tricky intersection.

[jrenaut]

My biggest navigation hurdle is probably getting out of DC. There’s no good way to do it with the trailer. The Roosevelt Bridge is probably easiest, but too narrow for the trailer. The Key Bridge is most direct, but biking through Georgetown sucks.

[Bilsko]

@GuyContinental 28551 wrote:

We managed to get our 2yr old excited about the helmet by all putting them on when we got home from work- yes, we looked ridiculous and no, it didn’t really make any sense, but the little dude got all excited about the helmet game in about 2 days and forgot to stress about it on rides.

As an added bonus he’s now “happened” to have a helmet on twice when taking kitchen faceplants, one of which probably would have been an ER visit.

We’ve tried the same thing for a couple days – it seems to be helping a bit. But now she’s more interested in grabbing mommy’s helmet and putting it on her (mommy’s) head instead of wearing her own helmet. It may just take a few days/weeks…

[Bilsko]

@jrenaut 28584 wrote:

My biggest navigation hurdle is probably getting out of DC. There’s no good way to do it with the trailer. The Roosevelt Bridge is probably easiest, but too narrow for the trailer. The Key Bridge is most direct, but biking through Georgetown sucks.

Another adventurous option may be to take the water taxi from G-town to SW waterfront or Old Town (or wherever the heck is that it goes)…I dont know what their policy is for bikes/trailers, but it might be worth checking out.

[vvill]

My son wouldn’t wear the 2nd helmet we bought him (when he sized up from the baby one). It had an airplane on it. We ended up on one of identical size but with yellow skulls all over it which he was fine with. Sigh. My daughter lets you put whatever on her.

[happynicky]

same as my idea

[jrenaut]

Well, the threat of rain threw me off. I was waffling on going, and then it was getting kind of late (last thing I want to do is have her sleep for 30 minutes in the trailer and blow her afternoon nap). So we went to the hardware store and then up to the end of 14th St. Ended up being about 7 miles roundtrip, not quite what I had planned, but at least I got out for a bit.

Best of all, she napped for maybe 10 minutes, and now seems ready for her afternoon nap right on schedule so I can get some stuff done without her gremlining around.

[dasgeh]

Sorry I missed the original thread on this. I thought I’d add a couple things for others looking at this idea:

1) re: Arlington Spraygrounds — Lyon Village park is great, but Hayes Park is more convenient to the Custis, less crowded and has bathrooms — just take the Custis West of the Italian Store (yes, you have to contend with the S-curve), and get off at the “Lincoln Street” exit (I think it’s the third one). Take a left at the street and Hayes Park is just over the bridge over I66.

2) Other suggestions — just ride around the streets, especially downtown and find what you can find. We ended up doing that yesterday (pre-rain) and discovered a really cool fountain on Penn & 19th (by Founding Farmers). In Arlington, there are parks hidden in basically every neighborhood — sometimes we just pick a restaurant, map the parks on the way, and try our luck. We’ve found some great gems. If your kid likes speed, biking through Fort Myer and down the hill in the cemetery is AWESOME.

3) Getting to Arlington — I think the 14th Street Bridge is wide enough for trailers, though adds significant mileage if you’re headed West. Depending on where you’re going, you can take Memorial Bridge, and either cross the GW Parkway (VERY carefully, of course), or continue on Memorial Drive to the trail by 110, passed the Iwa Jima and into Rosslyn.

4) It sounded like one of you is a stay-at-home dad — my husband is too, and he bikes everywhere with our almost-2-year-old (mostly around Arlington). There’s a network of SAHDs and regular playgroups. If you’re interested, PM me.

[jrenaut]

I’m a stay-at-home-ish dad. I’m in the office in the morning. I pick up the kids from school/daycare around 3, then do more work from home when my wife gets home around 530. It can be a pain sometimes, like when it’s 10pm and I’m not done my work day, but what’s the point of working if not to make it so you can do the stuff you want to do?

[Author]

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