# Bikejoring, a start!



## LouJ69

Well, after talking about doing it for a long time, i finally mustered up the courage to start bikejoring with my two. My oh kept telling me I'd break something so it put me off, but i bit the bullet and tried it for the first time 3 days ago!
*Day 1*I tried Alpha first, walking her alongside the bike for a while to get her used to it, then I kind of scootered along beside her to get her used to the noise of it, then i built up a little speed like this.
Eventually we built up to me going on the bike with her trotting ahead of me.
We used my oh and Monty as our rabbits in order to get her to run and pull. They walked down to the end of the estate and my oh called Alpha. I used my 'run' command that I've been teaching her and she started off a little slowly. I pedalled so she had to run faster. Once she got into the hang of it, she flew along! She loved it!
We gave it 5 mins and stopped coz i didn't wanna tire her out.
Monty just wanted to play tug on the lead, so I left him that night.
*Day 2* same thing with alpha, only a bit more running. Still only ran her for about 5 minutes before going home. 
*Day 3 (last night)* was on my own last night so i could only bring them out one at a time. Brought alpha out, but she seemed more concerned in looking for Monty! We had a 5 minute run with Alpha alongside the bike, but went home then. It was quite warm last night so i didn't wanna press it too much with her.
Monty was another story! He started playing with the lead so each time he did, i stopped. Eventually he seemed to realise that he was supposed to run, not play. He feckin flew along, it was great. I think he has a bit of lurcher or something in him so he was fast! He even followed my commands for left and right, although we had a bit of an incident when he spotted a cat. I just said 'walk on' and kept tugging him along until he eventually started running again.

It really is an amazing feeling, going along with the wind in your hair...i really can't explain the feeling. I'm sure anyone who does skijoring or similar to it will know exactly what I'm talking about!
I'm soooooo happy and so proud of my babies. Alpha is finally able to do what she was bred for and Monty loves it coz he finally gets to run as fast as he wants without me telling him to heel! Lol
I'll keep you all posted as things progress, plus I'll have pictures soon.
The harnesses that i am using are Manmat distance harnesses, although i will probably change then to x-back ones as time progresses. 
ManMat Long Distance | Country Hounds | Dog powered sports such as dog scootering, bikejoring, and canicross.


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## Fleur

WOW - sounds brilliant 
Seems like they both did you proud and you all had fun 
It's when I read/see things like this I wish I had bigger dogs 
I look forward to some pics soon.


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## springfieldbean

Sounds amazing! Would love to see pics!


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## LouJ69

Hey all, haven't been on in ages, but just thought I'd let you all know how I've been getting on with the bikejoring!
Alpha, my Siberian, loves running now, although I generally don't bikejore (is that a word?! Lol) with her. She's my Canicross dog.
Monty, however is a completely different ballgame. He's made me so proud while doing bikejoring! He loves it and is sooooo fast at it too! Since I've been competing in dryland sports, I've learned a lot about the sports and have heard of dogs being used in the world championships etc called Greysters. These are basically greyhound mixes (but not lurchers) used for sled dog racing due to their speed and stamina. We always thought that Monty might have some greyhound in him & now I am convinced, coz he is fast! He's my little greyster! 
In our last 2 races, we came in 2 minutes slower than the Irish 4 dog rig team comprising of Sibes and Alaskans (not bad, hey?!) and one minute slower than the Irish womens bikejoring competitor (pretty good on minimum training, isn't it?!)
Anyway, due to our good results, we have qualified to represent Ireland in the championships in Italy in November this year!:laugh:
Here's a quick clip of me & Monty taking off on our last race of the season, last Sunday: YouTube - Ballygar Races 25/03/12 [2]

Pretty good going, hey?! :thumbsup:
To say that I'm chuffed is an understatement!


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## noushka05

wow Congratulations Lou and Monty!:thumbup: 


very best of Luck in Italy x


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## LouJ69

Thanks Jo! Reckon I'm gonna need all the luck I can get over there!


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