With gas prices in Montana hitting a whopping $3.48 a gallon my guzzling little truck is parked. Living just a tad too far out of the center of town makes walking, my favorite means of transportation, an activity for days when time is excessive (a rarity). So, I bike. To and fro work, the grocery, to visit friends, you name it. And I do much of it with my two dogs running alongside on leash.

Biking with dogs on leash through town, as many often point out, is a brave venture. Crazy. Deadly even. I have mastered the art of standing on one peddle, leaving one foot in emergency position in case the dogs decide to bolt after another dog, a squirrel or worse, god forbid, a deer. Only once in my years of biking with dogs have I actually had a brush with my demise, but each ride is an exercise in hand-eye coordination and cardiac pump capacity. As we ride I scan ahead, aside, behind (I wish), searching for potential stimulus that may possibly cause the dogs to veer from our forward momentum, dragging me into sheer misery.

That is until I discovered Doggy Ride. Yep, Doggy Ride. The canine equivalent of the behind-your-bike carts for kids. This one comes complete with a sunroof so your four-legged friend can pop his head out Dino style. Mine take turns. It took awhile to get them comfortable with it, but now they ride in style and comfort. So much so I half expect one of them to call out “driver, how about a stroll at the park first eh?”

As this modern rickshaw heads out onto the streets with two dogs in tow, we ride safely to trail heads for hikes, to visit friends, to run errands. All is well and green in the world. Plus, I am getting some wicked quads from pulling 80 lbs uphill everyday.

Kathryn is a Missoula-based writer, editor and recovering field biology underling-- i.e., she did all the dirty work in the worst conditions. Call her a tree-hugger and she'll kick you in the shins. When she is not writing, she's out on the trails running her dogs. Good luck trying to keep up with her.
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