"But how you gonna get it home" the bespectacled woman asked me. I had just expressed interest in the lawn furniture that she had for sale at her yard sale - a round metal table and outdoor umbrella."Aw, that's no sweat", I said as a soothing feeling suddenly came over me. I was thinking about my trusty Blue Sky. "I've got a trailer. If you'll accept a deposit and put it where no one will bother it, I'll go get it. Can you wait just a couple of hours?" I said, thinking to myself that I can get a look at the rest of the day's yard sales before I return and add any purchases that may show up along the way back to my cart.
"Oh sure", answered the gracious lady. "If you don't live far from here, my husband can deliver."
"That's super kind of you, but I love biking and this way I get a double workout!"
Soon, I rode away. I thought about how I used to go on rides to the middle of nowhere for just such a workout and all I ever returned with was maybe a Power Bar wrapper for the garbage can. I also recalled how before trailers made my life bicycle centered, I used to live a double life divided between a car and my bike. The car was always "needed' for such big purchases and as I sat in the perpetual parking lots that many of America's roads have become, I used to grumble to myself every time I thought about how I'd so much rather be on my bike. Now, however, because of bike trailers I always smile inside when I think about so the called "training rides" that allow one to endure car travel. Heck, I'm always on a training ride!!
And it's not with just any trailer that I can pull off such a lifestyle. For me, it's 'gotta be a Blue Sky. Now I know why the Blue Sky is only trailer the esteemed Terry Shaw, of Shaw's Lightweight Cycles in Santa Clara, CA, carries in his store. And even though I just got a new one (I had the same Blue Sky Trailer for 10 years and it has hauled everything from bikes - even recumbents - to refrigerators to laundry and kids and dog food before I passed it on to my former lady friend), they are bullet proof, major durable and extremely versatile!
Made of lightweight steel, unlike the light duty aluminum that seems all the rage with most of the other models currently in production, the Blue Sky is a trailer that will be around season after season after season. And since they come from up in the Pacific Northwest, they are made to power through the wet season with all forms of precious cargo -- including children. For transporting as many as four small children, one option that is available, for example, is a removable top that, once snapped on, resembles a covered wagon that little ones can't wait to climb inside of.
The hoop shaped tubes that suppport this cool little rain roof can also be used to store things on it so the kids have more room inside. One can unclip the vinyl covering during drier weather and even mount boogie boards, inflated air mattresses and even inner tubes on top of this two bar cage!!
The reason a steel frame is important on the trailer's box itself, besides its inherent durability, is because it allows you to lay odd sized items across the top of it. So even if what you need to haul doesn't fit neatly inside the box part of the cart, with the help of bungie cords, you can still move almost anything from point A to point B.
Even the sides of the trailer box itself remove on and off with a simple push button mechanism (as do the trailer tongue, optional wheels and any accessories you may add)!! Besides making the trailer great for touring, this feature opens up the possibilities for what you can transport even more. This is also great for storage of the cart if the quarters you live in are tight.
Wanna go for a bike ride with the kids but know they'll get tired of riding long before you do? With the Blue Sky, you can throw them and their bikes in the trailer and complete your trek. And should their energy return, they can still rejoin you.
Need to get a broken bike across town to get it repaired or welded? Blue Sky to the rescue. As I said earlier I've hauled bikes in mine, but what I didn't say was that I do this a lot (including long wheel base recumbents!). I even pick people up at the local bus station by bringing such visitors a bike to ride home with me in my trailer. The empty cart then becomes a great place for them to store their suitcase(s) as they gratefully stretch their legs as we then cycle home together.
I also like all the weight it can carry. Even though it is rated at 150 lbs., pushing that limit is never cause for concern for me because the Blue Sky is just so stable. In fact, I use it to do a job that I thought I once needed a car for -- transporting 5-5 gallon bottles filled with drinking water. Even though such a payload is HEAVY, the Blue Sky never falters.
Such stability may be due to the trailer's well engineered hitch. It rises from the lowest point on the box to meet at the seat post on upright bicycles. On recumbents, it connects easily to a rear rack if you're handy enough to affix a bolt to it. (On my BikeE I undo one side of the seat backing and slide the small hoop over the exposed bar and then replace the backing).
The Blue Sky people with all their years of experience have even fine tuned the tongue. Here, you will find that the tilt of the trailer can be adjusted. The tightness of the band that loops around the seat post or whatever point of contact you may create is another area that has not been overlooked. This adjusts as well. Such attention to details adds up to one very solid connection. When the Blue Sky is connected to your bike, it's rock solid connected to your bike. There is very little back and forth or side to side motion in this important link which could compromise the carrying of your load.
If you drive a car, you know that your form of transportation can never be considered an investment. But if you are car free, headed that way or just want to depend less on your car, you would do well to think of the Blue Sky as an important investment in such a lifestyle; an investment that will be around long after many of the other brands of carts have come and gone! I love my Blue Sky!!
Note: The Blue Sky people make a number of different frame sizes for larger loads as well as a special trailer for transporting handicapped adults.