Dogs on bikes

WORDS Michele Hollis PHOTOS Dominic Blissett 

This year’s Biketober Festival of Cycling includes a special ride for dogs. It’s the first event of its kind in the city, and for Michele Hollis, the appeal is obvious. 

When we got our cargo bike, it seemed logical to take our retired working dog, Jess, along for the ride. Dogs like putting their heads out car windows, so we figured Jess would enjoy having the full surround-smell experience in a big bike box. 

We talked to the guys at Frontal Lobe, Sydenham, who created a box fit for canine royalty. Jess was already ten years old and a solid 30 kilos when she started her cycling career. In the end, it was much easier for us to bike than to load the old girl into the car, and she loved it. 

For her first trip, we chucked Jess in without much thought and took off. Her longest ride was Tai Tapu to Little River on the rail trail. 

In hindsight, a structured introduction is kinder. Douglas Horrell, co-organiser of Dogs on Bikes, has a great blog post about training his beautiful greyhound Luna for her “couch on wheels” at cyclingchristchurch.co.nz. 

I don’t know how many dogs in Christchurch ride on bikes. There’s Liam (pictured), Luna (mentioned), and at least one other greyhound. There’s a Doberman, a Bernese Mountain Dog, various small floofy pooches, and I once met a dog in a backpack up the Port Hills. I hope to see some of them on the ride. If you don’t have a dog, come anyway – because it’s hard not to grin when you see a dog on a bike! 

We said goodbye to our lovely Jess last year, aged 14, and we’ve just adopted a rescue special from Dogwatch. He’s now in training for the dog ride on 29 October. 

biketoberchch.nz/event/dogs-on-bikes-2023 | @dogsonbikes_otautahi