Bicycle built for more!

As mentioned in the previous post, we purchased our first dutch bike (fiets). It is a simple, used bicycle that will get me and our daughter around town. I have yet to figure out how she will ride with me. There are several options, some good and some not so good. If your child is between a certain weight and you want them in a seat on your bike they must ride on the front of your bike with the seat either attached to the hadlebars or on top of them (our daughter falls between this weight range). This picture will give you an idea of how many dutch mothers ride their bikes:

Did you notice the little girl asleep on the front or that neither child is wearing a helmet? I have seen several children asleep in their bike seats and only 2 or 3 helmets. This front seat for a little one seems to be the most popular option for the Dutch women. For those of you who know me, you probably know that I am a bit of a klutz! I don't think this option would be the best for me. If you don't believe me let me tell you a little about my first ride to the grocery store on the newly purchased bike...

Since our daughter was napping and my husband was home, I thought it would be the perfect time to try out a biking trip to the grocery store. I hopped on my bike and off I went. It was a quick ride to the store and I was thinking that this was going to be much easier than trying to walk back home with bags hanging all over the stroller (especially since we had been using the umbrella stroller because we had not yet recieved our things from the US). The bike we purchased had the basket attached to the front (you can see this pictured in the previous post) and I had brought a backpack so that I had pleanty of room for my groceries. After filling the basket and my backpack I still had one bag left. Luckily the bikes here also have a small rear rack with bungee type cords attached so I tied that last bag onto the rack. It was all going so well until I was about half way home. All of a sudden I feel the bag tied to the back fall off the rack and hear it hit the ground. I stopped, went back and then things really took a turn. I put the kickstand down and let go of the handles forgetting that the front basket was full of heavy groceries! The bike almost fell over but I caught it... as it hit the side of my body. So as I am trying to balance the bike and pick up the groceries I took a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching. Nope... good! It took at least 5 more minutes to tie the groceries back on to the bike while still keeping it from falling over. I rode very slowly home and made it, smashed yogurt and all!

So, I am thinking this type of bike might have been a better option:

Yes, a tricycle with seatbelts for the little one, THAT is exactly what I need!