Bikes

Bicycling with your dog, or 'bikejoring' is becoming a popular sport. It is a great way for both you and your well trained canine pal to get some exercise in the no snow season. Notice we say "well trained". Bikejoring can be dangerous with untrained dogs as you do not have the control you would have with a cart or scooter. We recommend using command training on foot until you are sure your dog is well schooled in the basic commands of -hike,gee, haw, easy,on by and whoa. Enlist a partner to help you on your first couple of training sessions with your dog on the bike. Many dogs become spooked when followed by a contraption larger than they are. It is helpful to have someone out front along side the dog as it gets used to being followed by the bike. Usually once the dogs get used to having the bike follow them they see the joy in being able to run, run, run without a slow poke human holding them back. Remember that using trails with a mountain bike is preferable to running a dog on city pavement, which will wear down their pads. Remember to always wear a helmet!

Here is a photo of a bike set up for bikejoring. Note the extra knobby tires, good brake system and the springer out front for attaching the towline. Any bike with good brakes will do.
This is a closeup of the springer. The gangline attaches in the front loop which extends above and past the tire to help prevent the towline from tangling in the tire.