If you’ve followed my blog so far, you already know that I couldn’t have Loki in the sidecar on the way back from collecting the bike because it was too cold then, and that the bike then spent 3 months in the garage for some repairs. And if you’re also good at math, you’ll have figured out that Loki’s sidecar training could only have started in June.

Some additional info that you may have guessed if you know me well enough: being an anxious person (especially since “the fall”) I tend to make excuses not to do things that I actually want to do. And this means that Loki’s training only started in July. Yeah, I wasted a whole month of perfectly good weather and free time. That’s me.

Any-who. Since last July, I’ve been trying to get Loki used to sitting in the sidecar so we could finally get on with our adventures. I knew that it wouldn’t be easy with a dog that’s at least as anxious as me, so we took puppy steps. Here’s a rundown.

Step 1: Getting him familiar with being in the sidecar

Loki had already sat in ‘a’ sidecar with me when I test drove a similar rig before ordering mine. He didn’t hate, which was good enough for me, so having him in the sidecar with someone he trusts seemed like a good first step.

Since I would be riding the bike, I couldn’t sit in the sidecar with him, so I asked his friend Maria to come sit with him. She was kind enough to accept and we did a short ride around town.

Unfortunately I don’t have any photos/video of that sessions because I was focused on the road and Maria was focused on keeping Loki in the sidecar.

I just have some post-ride photos:

Overall, Loki was fine as long as we were rolling, but as soon as we had to stop he starting crying (he also does it when he’s in a car). I guess Loki likes his momentum as much as I love mine. The main problem with this is that he tried to escape the sidecar at every red traffic light – and this is not something I could handle if I was riding alone with him.

So the next iteration became obvious: making sure he couldn’t get out of the sidecar.

Step 2: Building a cage for his safety

I decided to recycle a cage that I had bought for his bicycle trailer (which he also refuses to stay in) and have someone cut it to the right dimensions to fit the sidecar.

Luckily a friend of Maria’s is a talented ‘metal artist’ (as in: he does art pieces with metal, you can see his work here: Madhouse Customs) and he accepted to take care of this. And I have to say, he did a great job:

Step 3: Riding alone in his cage

Now that I had everything needed to make sure he couldn’t escape from the sidecar, it was time to have Loki ride in the sidecar alone.

As I didn’t want to overwhelm him, we started with small rounds around the block and I have to say, he absolutely hated it. He was screaming and scratching and ripping apart the inside of his cage.

But no reason to give up just yet; that’s just Loki being Loki.

I asked Maria to help me out again and she walked him to a quite area where we practiced a bit more. I also brought enough cheese for a cheese & cracker party to bribe Loki.

Despite some whining, it was overall a lot more successful and gave me hope for the future.

Step 4: Practice, practice, practice

Now that we had the basics in place, it was a “just” a matter of getting practice. It was the same with the car, at first he hated it, then it got used to it and after driving long enough, he actually now enjoys it.

A few weeks back, I posted an article about our visit to Beelitz, Loki’s first longer trip in the sidecar. Overall it went well, but I think it was a bit too much, too soon for him – ah well, what can you do.

I also had planned to ride with Loki to the Ostsee (see previous blog post) but since my mom had to travel by train, I decided not to take Loki on such a long trip on my own (it would have been a different story if she could have followed by car to pick him up whenever). We did however do a short trip once there.

It’s a shame that winter is now coming, because I think he was slowly getting used to being in the sidecar – ah well, what can you do.

Next (riding) season we’ll have to start almost from scratch again, but I’m confident it’ll go faster and smoother, as myself am more confident now as well.

Also, here’s a small teaser of what will come next: