On a trial ride, back home in The Netherlands, the trailer had been quite a burden. I tried riding as fast as I could, and felt the dead weight holding me back every pedalstroke of the way.

Once I had arrived in New Zealand, and had made the mental transition from racing to touring, I started to like the trailer more and more. I carried no luggage on the bike itself, thus diminishing wear and tear of the rearwheel. Climbing a hill while standing up on the pedals was a piece of cake. Quite a difference from trying this on a bike loaded with panniers. I could even throw the handlebars from left to right, like in a sprint. Of course I still had to pull the weight of all my gear uphill, but generally I hardly noticed I was pulling the trailer. The damn thing was literally following me like a shadow. Sharp turns were no problem, nor was going downhill at 50 MPH, thanks to the extreme low centre of gravity.

One time one of the trailer wheels hit a rock at 30 MPH. The trailer jumped up for a moment, but immediately found its track again.

On the way I met other cyclist with trailers. One of them had made the mistake of making ample use of all that extra space. Five bags on his bike and a fully loaded trailer. He said he had some knee problems...

The trailer itself weighs more than panniers-plus-racks, of course. Still I think I prefer carrying my luggage in the trailer.

Joost van Waert, The Netherlands