Cycling to the yard.... with a saddle?

[KTSmini]

Now the weather's nicer & the lighter evening's have arrived I want to go & ride after work. Trouble is, what with diesel prices very high & my car not being exactly fuel efficient, it's getting a bit pricey (I'm on full livery/ full grass livery so I don't need to go up everyday).

I can cycle to the yard- takes about the same time given the traffic & I do this occasionally to go up & lunge, but I'd like to be able to go up to the yard & ride (having cycled there)- but the saddle seems to present a problem!

Please can anyone suggest a relatively cheap treeless/ bareback pad that could be used instead just for hacking? It would need to have stirrups. Or, any other alternatives to getting my traditional saddle up the yard on 2 wheels (without me being a traffic hazard)?

Any suggestions welcome. It might just be that it's a crazy idea of mine & I'd be better off just sticking to the car.

[pedilia]

As teenagers we usd to cycle to the yard all the time with our tack, you just put the saddle over the handlebars, always worked for us!

[Soot]

Ditto Pedilia! I always cycled with my saddle :).

[KTSmini]

Cheers guys. I did think that maybe I could use a saddle cover & plonk it on the bike rack with a few bungies... it is about 6 miles each way, so I was worried the old "saddle on handlebars" thing maybe a bit iffy for that sort of distance.

Probably would have done the same when i was a teenager...but the cost of replacing the saddle/ potential for injury looms heavy on my mind.

Maybe I'll do a trial run round the block & see how I get on!

[old_woman]

A trailer to attach to your bike is the answer.

My daughter and her husband have a couple - one for the weekly supermarket shop and carrying the dog (the cheaper trailer) and one for the children (the more expensive one with child seats and safety harnesses).

They are sturdy and safe, not too difficult to tow and will enable you to carry whatever you want to the yard without a problem.

I think tesco direct, argos and similar places do them at reasonable prices, otherwise visit a specialist bike shop or google for them.

[iblou]

I bought a fishing trailer secondhand to transport my saddle on the back of my bike - it only cost a tenner!:)

[sheer bliss]

I know someone who's husband made a towable trailer for her saddle, it had a proper saddle rack on it and she just bungied it on to secure it
Do you know a handyman / woman that could make you a bike saddle trailer?
Or keep an eye on ebay for a cheap/ convertible one?

[rianne21]

I know someone who's husband made a towable trailer for her saddle, it had a proper saddle rack on it and she just bungied it on to secure it
Do you know a handyman / woman that could make you a bike saddle trailer?
Or keep an eye on ebay for a cheap/ convertible one?

yes i was gonna say that, cos it would be so expensive to replace a saddle if if fell off or u had a bit of an accident cos it might damage the tree or something?Xx

[KTSmini]

Thanks for the suggestions guys..... I guess I'll look into the trailers idea. I guess the cost of one would probably be earned back in no time with the fuel prices being what they are! (and definately cheaper than a new saddle if I had an accident).

I thought you might all think I was crazy, but it seems other people do do it......so that makes me feel a bit better!

If anything else springs to mind, please let me know!

Thanks,

Katie

[Tango<3]

Depending on the bike you could put the saddle on the wee bar that attahes to the handle bars and the saddle bitt... only works if you have a big bike and short legs tho... used to do it on my dads bike lol.
but the good part is it wont fall off... unles you fall off too :P

Trailer sounds best idea tho :)

[Esther.D]

Used to always cycle to the field with ours on the rack at the back with a few bungees to secure, did this for years without mishap and that was about 5 mile round trip so not that much different to yours. Also managed to carry a Shetland pair driving harness in two bike panniers when my groom (dad!) and I cycled up to drive them.