Over time, the gear that we use for biking evolves, becoming a little better and a little better. As a life-long cyclist, it is rare that any one new product really gets me excited or changes the way I ride. The tow rope, however, has opened up a whole world for me and my two favorite people to ride with.
The tow rope is an elastic rope that is used to attach two bikes together while riding up hill. It seems odd in a world with electronic blue tooth shifting, rims made out of carbon fiber and long travel dropper posts that an elastic rope would do so much to improve my experience riding, but the tow rope was invented with different goals than most other gear.
While most mountain biking products allow you to ride a little faster or a little longer, the tow rope adds to who can ride with you. Through my tow rope rides, I have realized that I get a lot more out of who I am riding with than how I am riding. Our tow ropes have allowed me to share my favorite trails with my two young daughters. We’ve ridden trails like Hunters’ Camp or Endor Flow in Tamarancho enjoying the downhills at their own pace but taking on the climbs together.
A couple weeks ago, some friends and I took our kids to Nevada City to go mountain biking. We descended Scott’s Flat Trail and climbed back up Harmony Ridge on the road. One of my friends had ridden an e-bike. Using our tow ropes, we strapped our three kids to his bike. What followed was an absolute blast and an experience that I thought my daughter and I were years from sharing with each other.
After getting comfortable riding in a train of four, my e-biking friend and the three kids realized that they could actually climb pretty fast. For the first time, beating me up a climb was looking very achievable for my daughter and her friends. My friend turned his e-bike up to turbo and all three kids pedaled as hard as they could. I, in turn, moved my hands to the middle of my handlebar and lowered my head for aerodynamics.
Over the next fifteen minutes, I passed them and they passed me back several times. Each time I passed them, I’d tell them they were beat or that they didn’t stand a chance and each time they passed me, my daughter would cheer or give me a big thumbs down! For a few minutes that day my daughter and I were just two buddies trying to beat each other up a hill. I love playing on my bike. To be able to “play bike” and include my kids is just so fun!
We love teaching your kids to mountain bike during camp. We hope that the tow rope will give some of you a great tool to help your young riders keep mountain biking after camp, and we hope that you and your young riders will have a ton of fun riding together!
Thanks for reading!
Emile