As the kids get bigger, they keep outgrowing our bike solutions. We’ve been thinking about the next step and decided it would probably be a tandem. Anne and Ruth have done one sales test ride a few weeks ago, but I wanted to do something closer to the real thing before pulling the trigger. So we rented one for the day and went for a ride.

The model tested is a Co-Motion Periscope. Its claim to fame is telescoping seat posts, so it can keep fitting as the stoker (person in back) grows. Max got to ride in the Hase, the trailer-with-pedals Ruth rode down the west coast.

The ride itself was pretty modest — just 25 miles and about a thousand feet of climbing. But we haven’t done many rides lately, Ruth would need to sit up in a bike saddle the whole time, and I’ve got a cold. It was enough.

We started our loop at Bicycle Outfitters in Los Altos. We went along some roads that we’ve done before, though mostly in new directions. We stopped for lunch at Robert’s Market, a grocery store which doubles as a hot spot for cyclists to rest and regroup.

After lunch we still had about 2/3 of the miles but had done most of the climbing. Max was thrilled as we sped down the hills. Anne fishtailed the tandem a bit when a traffic light changed at the bottom of a hill (it’ll take some time to get used to how a tandem behaves).

All in it was a successful ride. Anne took us into the shop to start to talk to a salesperson about a purchase. Ruth really enjoyed being on the bike with Mommy, although she did complain a bit about how Mommy would “boss my feet around.” Max was a little chatterbox in the Hase, excited to be pedaling and better able to see around him.