Recreational & Family - Tag-a-long bike update and question

Well, the Fischer tag-a-long is great. Lauren and I spend a solid 1.5 hours on the bike on Sunday and road 13 miles. This was our longest ride of any kind by at huge distance. It was a 6.5 mile out and back on the Allegheny Highlands trail in MD. We road up hill for the first 1/2 taking 3 breaks for a quick snack and drinks (5 minutes each) and then downhill back to Frostburg w/o any breaks (light rain). We'll be out doing that ride again this weekend but with my wife along too.

One thing I do need to figure out is how to attach a water bottle holder to the trail-a-bike. There aren't and braze-on places for a bottle cage so what have other done to compensate? Lauren would have be very happy to reach out and get her water if we did have that capacity. Another problem was I didn't have any here to stash the snack food as the place it would have gone (in a bag attached to a rear rack) isn't an option.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

One thing I do need to figure out is how to attach a water bottle holder to the trail-a-bike. There aren't and braze-on places for a bottle cage so what have other done to compensate? Lauren would have be very happy to reach out and get her water if we did have that capacity. Another problem was I didn't have any here to stash the snack food as the place it would have gone (in a bag attached to a rear rack) isn't an option.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Congratulations on your fun with trailer bike.

Food: front rack and/or basket on adult bike. Another option for a small snack would be a handle bar bag (either for adult or for trailer bike). Yet another option would be a rear rack for trailer bike - they do make 20" compatible rack

Water bottle: they sell clamp on water bottle holders, DPO of our trailer bike installed it and just added a zip tie to prevent movement. My 4 year old learned to drink while pedaling on his first ride. I can try to get a better picture later, for now look here:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d10/ssailor/IMG_0666.jpg

+1 on sailor2 recs for water bottle mounts. There are a few mounts designed to mount cages in places other than the down tube or via braze-ons.

Minoura swivel clamp (http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=59884&page=MINOURA+BH-95X+CLAMP+ON+CAGE+HOLDER)
Minoura fixed (http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=48920&page=MINOURA+SINGLE+WATER+BOTTLE+CAGE+HANDLE+BAR+HOLDER)
Pyramid fixed (http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=27373&page=PYRAMID+HANDLEBAR+WATER+BOTTLE+CAGE)

You might be able to find these locally or maybe even cheaper elsewhere. Cambria is one of the better online dealers if you go this route.

Another option but one that requires more maintenance is a kid sized camelbak. This is the option I have gone with for my kids. They make 50oz kid sized carriers. They are larger than waterbottles and allow for simpler drinking while riding. I say camelbak in a generic sense, it can be any make. I think ours are REI. You can find them on sale for ~$20 if you do well, maybe up to $30. The extra maintenance is that you have to make sure to keep them clean. The bladders are more expensive than water bottles and prone to bacteria growth if not maintained. I rinse mine after every ride and store in the freezer to keep the bacteria away. We only use the camelbaks on longer rides where drinks are hard to come by or expensive (downtown DC for one).

-1 for a bottle cage. Try an inexpensive hydrationpack. No dropped bottles.

Hose clamps work to hold a bottle holder on:

http://webpages.charter.net/redranger/letour/bottleholder.JPG

I found a handlebar mount for a water bottle cage at my LBS, and added it to the bars of my daughters trailerbike.

sailor2 (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=46831),
In what order do you load the children? Was thinking of the same set-up for taking the grandchildren for a ride 4 and 3 year olds. It will be a short trip, but they have to start somewhere. Thanks for the picture.

sailor2 (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?u=46831),
In what order do you load the children? Was thinking of the same set-up for taking the grandchildren for a ride 4 and 3 year olds. It will be a short trip, but they have to start somewhere. Thanks for the picture.
The bike has a kick stand and if I turn the handlebars to the right it will keep the whole train upright (without any kids). Even if the bike & TAB falls, trailer stays upright.
First I strap the trailer passenger, making sure she does not jump too much while getting in.
Than I step over adult bike and tell TAB driver to hop on.
Dismounting in reverse order - TAB driver, adult on bike, trailer passenger.
For me it's actually easier to deal with this setup than child seat + trailer combo, due to strapping the child which needs most supervision first.

+1 on the load order.

With all trailers I have seen, you can lay the bike down on its side and the trailer will only dip slightly nose down. The advantage to this is that it is far more stable and don't need to worry about the bike falling over due to difficulty getting a child seated. The disadvantage is that you have to find a spot where you are comfortable laying the bike down (avoid getting bars dirty or chewed up)