Ritschie 2 Baby Carriage

This always draws attention when we transport junior. Lots of people ask about where we bought it? is it heavy? does she enjoy it? so here is the definitive lowdown on her.
It is a Ritschie 2 KiddyPorter. It has a honeycombed aluminium sandwich base with a folding internal cage that is tensioned for strength. Overall weight, sans infant, is around 18.5 kg. It connects with a standard Weber hitch. We bought it in summer 2003 to coincide with the birth of junior, we used it from 4 months old with a pre-formed back rest insert but removed that as she grew.
It has been used to transport 50kg bags of sand, groceries oh and of course a child. The longest trip has been 45 miles in 1 day, average 10.5 mph. Cautionary note, towing the trailer requires extra leg strength and much cake as fuel. On a still day towing is ok but the slightest hint of headwind and it is akin to drawing a caravan up a vertical slope. So low gearing is required and high cadence recommended. Typically I will use 38/24 but when the wind is hard as it often is in Aberdeen I will be found spinning in 26/30 or lower. Thank heavens for MegaRange. Due to the weight a solid rear triangle is required on the towing bike, I generally use the Trek 7300fx or the Dawes SuperGalaxy.
Does our daughter enjoy it? Absolutely. She can talk to me, invent stories, inform me of my excess speed, point out animals and objects on the way, sometimes she even sleeps. As she has grown the towing effort has increased but that actually make the trip all the more "real" for me.
So where did we get it? Edinburgh Cycles Aberdeen, price £500 or thereabouts. May seem expensive but 3 years use, so far, has made this one of the best value cycling purchases I ever made. These are very difficult to obtain in UK now, best check the Weber.de site for dealers ( but it is all in German). Any questions on the trailer just drop me a mail and I will add further bloggets.