It’s been so darn hot and humid here in Florida that I have not wanted to take Mac out in the trailer since we moved.   But finally the weather is starting to get cool and dry enough to let him come along, so there have been a couple of chances lately to get him out on the trail with us.   What a happy dog!   His first rides since arriving here in Sarasota.

Sometimes we let him run next to us on the trikes.  He gets a run like this every morning, and most evenings, when we are home.  He runs for about a mile, then he gets tired and jumps up into our laps and demands that we carry him home!

But riding in the trailer is really his favorite thing to do.  Once he knows we are going for a ride, he hops into the trailer in a flash, and I can’t get him to leave.  We attract a lot of attention on the trail – people stop and take photos and approach to ask questions and talk to us.  We are a spectacle .

Our trailer is the Doggyride Novel.  It’s really bigger than he needs (31.5 x 21 x 25.5 in.), so he has plenty of room.  Mac spends most of the trip standing up with his head out the top of the trailer.  He almost never sits or lays down in the trailer – even on longer rides, he wants to keep checking out what is happening outside.

Inside the trailer, Mac wears a harness and he is safely buckled to the trailer frame.  He barks and sometimes lunges when he sees a bunny or a squirrel on the trail nearby, but he cannot get out of the trailer.  We stop often when he is with us, so that he can pee and have a drink of water.

Pulling the trailer is much more difficult than riding without it.   First of all it adds a lot of weight (30 pounds for the trail + 15 pounds of dog+water and toys and other dog stuff).  But also, the trailer is open in the front (so Mac can stick his head out), so it is like pulling a big parachute.  At anything over a few miles per hour, the wind drag  is enormous!  I really notice it in a headwind.

It’s all worth it though. Because there is really nothing as good as having your best buddy along with you when you’re on a nice bike ride!