Putting my trailer to use as a Christmas tree carrier

Ever since I bought an old Yak bicycle trailer a few years ago, I’ve experimented with different uses for it.

Rolling past Bill Pace market with my Christmas tree

Initially, I employed it exclusively for bicycle camping trips to the Olympic Peninsula, Mount Rainier, Wenatchee and the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.

One of the biggest drawbacks on those trips, I discovered, was my complete loss of self-control when it came to packing. The trailer can hold a lot of gear, and I always filled it.

Later on, I pressed it into service for big hauls from the hardware store or the grocery. I have no trouble piling several days worth of food into it, along with laundry detergent, a 12-pack of beer, and whatever else might be on the shopping list.

Tree hauling
But I always wondered if it could handle a Christmas tree. A couple of places sell trees in the neighborhood, and it always seemed a little dumb to use the car to run an errand that’s old a few blocks away.

So with the weather cold but inviting for a bike ride on Saturday, I bundled up and headed to the Bill Pace Fresh Fruit and Produce Market that’s selling Christmas trees in the neighborhood this year.

I chose a 7-foot noble fir grown at a tree farm in Onalaska, Washington. The guy at the tree lot offered to hold the fir it until I brought my car. He was a little surprised when I said I’d be hauling it on my bike.

Rolling across the shopping center parking lot

It took a couple of minutes to figure out how to load it, but no longer than it takes to tie a tree onto a car. I settled on bungee-cording it to the trailer with the trunk hanging out the back and top brushing my left elbow. A customer said she had to shoot a picture of me and my rig, and I asked one of the baristas in the market to get some pictures for my use.

The short trip home, about a half mile, was uneventful. It took about three pedal strokes to rebalance with the new load, and I just took it slow and steady. When I got home, I simply unhitched the bungee cord and carried the tree around to the back of the house.

I didn’t have to vacuum pine needles out of the car trunk, nor untie and carefully remove the tree from the car top without scratching the finish.

I’m definitely making this a new holiday tradition.