The Burley Travoy Bike Cargo Trailer is creating a buzz. Our friends at Commute by Bike and cycleicio.us have both written about the Travoy–not to mention that all Burley bike trailers are currently on sale at BikeTrailerShop.com. I previously tested the Travoy in Flagstaff, but it only made me pine to try it out in a big city. So I did.
It was a Sunday. My first full day in Austin. I slept in until noon. My hosts wanted to show off their fair city, yet my enablers Chris and Denise tiptoed stealthily around the house–instead of banging pots and pans over my head.
By the time the three of us had finished breakfast at the Kerbey Lane Cafe (try the chai pancakes), it was pushing 2:00 PM, but we had a plan.
The plan included swimming, a change of clothes, a nightclub, dinner, bridge bats, and eight miles of cycling. I’d brought the Burley Travoy Bike Cargo Trailer with me to Austin for just such a test.
We folded and stuffed our evening clothes, along with beach towels and a pair of cowboy boots into the Travoy’s Lower Transit Bag. More swimming supplies were strapped to the top of the Travoy in an orange shopping bag. A little overflow went into a pannier.
We zigzagged through alleys, bike lanes, and multi-use paths and arrived at Barton Springs Pool.
After locking the bikes, I flipped down the hitch arm of the Travoy, putting it in handcart mode. Then I carted the Travoy right through the gate. The “pool” is really a section of river, with concrete decks built along both sides. The water was cold, but in a good way.
We changed into our street clothes, and hit the paths again. This time Chris towed the Travoy, and tried hard to flip it by running the right wheel over the mini railroad ties in Zilker Park. The trailer wouldn’t comply.
Then we climbed Congress Ave until we reached The Continental Club where Junior Brown was playing.
With the bikes locked up outside, this time I folded the tow arm of the Travoy, and then folded it again into “tote mode.” I carried it right past the bouncer, and parked it behind the sound man.
Boldly going where no bike trailer has gone before.
This isn’t a music blog, sadly, so go here and enjoy some Junior Brown.
Back already? Okay.
When we left The Continental Club we carted the Travoy into Perla’s Seafood and Oyster Bar Guero’s Taco Bar . No one batted an eye.
For the trip home in the dark, I was able to remove the Knog rear light from the seat post of the bike, and attach it to the upper handle of the Travoy. No tools necessary.
We passed over the Congress Bridge, and saw a few bats. Chris informed me that “Austin is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America.” That’s impressive. But I digress.
Given a late start, we got a lot done. Thanks to the Burley Travoy, we were able to bring our valuables in with us at every stop on our itinerary. On my next visit to Austin, I’ll try not to sleep in and maybe get even more done in a day.
Watch for more on Austin Cycling Culture over at Utility Cycling.