I know exactly how you feel about this place.

I wish I could've come here to plan my wedding instead of asking some of the "ladies" on the forums at TheKnot.com.

Of course, these guys probably would've just come up with several ways to turn my wedding dress into a survival shelter, or suggest my cake be made out of Mainstay rations, but at least they're good-natured about it!

Frenchy,
That's been my experience with bikes and backpacks too. It isn't bad if just wearing a daypack with a few items in it, but one time I tried riding a bike with my full sized backpack and nearly kissed pavement because my whole center of gravity was so high. Having loaded panniers too may make it easier by lowering the center of gravity. I suppose too that one could get used to anything with enough practice.

Fenton,
I've seen people using those before. I wish there was some way to try one without buying one. My dog is not even two yet and pulls like mad. He only weighs 75 lbs, but it is all muscle. He has pulled my wife off her feet before and almost got me one day when he saw a squirrel across the road and made a right angle course change in a split second. Maybe in another 6 months or so it may be safe to hook him to the bike.

Brandon,
I'm shocked that the bike store passed up on an opportunity to sell you accessories that you don't need. They must be honest business people.

Christina,

The folks on here would have just wanted to know where you carried your PSK. Luckily most of those wedding gowns have enough fabric to sew pockets all over the place on the inside. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I can remember my wife looking at the Knot. All it ever seemed to do was freak her out and make her feel as though she wasn't prepared enough for the wedding, or wasn't doing enough. I told her that if she was marrying me the ceremony was the least of her problems. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Paul,
Dogs pull because they think they're helping. It's a fairly straightforward procedure to teach them not to, but it takes some patience and effort. Start off with a short leash. Start walking, with a command like "let's go". As soon as they pull, you stop, and say "no". When the dog looks back he'll stop pulling, and you can start up again. Continuing the walk is his reward for not pulling.

Supposedly you can train a dog to pull on a harness but not a collar, like for skijorring. I haven't been able to do that with my dog, but I haven't put enough effort into it.

Anyways, the springer puts the pull from the dog low on the bike, so he will not pull the bike out of control no matter how hard he pulls.

That's the problem, I know the technique that you describe, but it has little effect on my dog. I have even tried a modified version of the technique where you turn around and go the opposite direction when they pull. After a year of attempts, including a leash class (which mainly taught the techniques we knew) we have been trying the Gentle Leader harness. He hates it with a passion, yet he still pulls. The only time he doesn't pull is when we are walking an area we have just been through. Therefore we try not to walk him on a loop route anymore, but instead walk to point B and back to point A the same route. After 2 hours at the dog park today where he played and wrestled with about a dozen other dogs he was still pulling on the way back to the vehicle. To say he is an enthusiastic dog would be the understatement of the year.

We got him from a rescue when he was about 5 mos. old. He lived with a pack of about 20 dogs and had very little to no individual training. He has learned almost eveything I would ask of a dog, but how to heel. I'm just hoping his energy level will diminish as he leaves the puppy stage.

Re: pulling on the bike. My dog is extremely muscular. I'm not boasting, he just is. The vets comment every time he goes in. They have a hard time examining his belly because they can't feel his innards through the abdominal muscles. I would definitely want to try a springer before I paid for one because I am not sure he wouldn't be able to pull bike and rider over to the side, even with a low center of gravity.

Thanks for the advice.