After a lot of waffling over whether or not I should indulge, a great deal, combined with a few other things miraculously coming together, I decided to pull the trigger and buy a top of the line, Chariot CX2 with jogging kit, biking kit and strolling kit. What's the big deal you ask?
Chariots cost a little more than most other joggers and I always wondered what all the fuss was about, how could they really be worth that much money? A baby jogger is a baby jogger right? That is what I thought also, but after befriending North Face sponsored runner and father of 1 year old twin girls, Sam Thompson (yes, that Sam Thompson, the guy who paved the way for Deano by running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days), he had me completely sold on the concept.
I placed my order last Friday and had to wait through the weekend for the order to be shipped and processed. On Monday, I checked my e-mail all day waiting for the UPS tracking code, but it never showed. When I got home that evening, I had a message saying that the credit card was not going through for some security reasons (probably since it was a large purchase made in Canada), so, once that got cleared up on Tuesday morning, the incessant UPS tracking commenced. After getting fired up even further watching the Chariot vids on the website, I was more excited than if I had ordered a new carbon Madone with Dura-Ace, as I will certainly use the Chariot more.
UPS indicated a Friday delivery and sure enough after returning home from a trip up Green, there were two large Chariot boxes on the doorstep and I quickly got to work, carefully unwrapping and assembing as though it were Christmas day. Just a year ago or less, I would have laughed if anyone had predicted that I would eventually be so into baby joggers and mini vans. How times change.
A welcome sight
Very easy to assemble
Isabelle was in the house crying, so instead of just rocking her, I put her to work helping get the Chariot set up. (She seemed to enjoy helping and the busy work got her to stop crying) (Chariot pictured with strolling kit)
Ready to roll
For our maiden voyage, I decided to jog them over to see Mom at work which is 4 miles away via sidewalks, bike path and a smattering of curbs, un-announced dead end sidewalks and a bumpy gravel field crossing. I had them well bundled and zipped in under the hard plastic weather shields, but things warmed quickly in the sun and we were soon peeling back the side and front panels for some nice ventilation. I stopped every 5 minutes or so to check on them and make sure they were not too hot or too cold and make sure they seemed content and comfortable. They seemed to be doing great with the added supporters I got for them. They are still a little small, so I took it really easy, being careful to tilt the jogger back and slow down for even the smallest bumps and imperfections in the sidewalk.
Just after arriving at the hospital (Isabelle left, Amelie right)
Mom sure was glad to see her girls
Sierra checking up on them when we got home
The outing ended up being just a little too long (with the ~40 minute stop at the hospital to visit Mom), as Amelie started to cry about 2 miles from home and Isabelle was occasionally voicing her eagerness to get home and eat as well, which, needless to say, inspired me to hurry it along a bit.
Pushing the Chariot was a bit more work than I anticipated and I give Sam and Brandon major credit for running fast races with 2 kids in a Chariot or BOB. My scrawny arms were a little sore and I was constantly adjusting to find the optimal hand position. The hand brake is great, as once you get some momentum going down even a small hill, it works great to keep speed in check. I think part of what made the run more difficult than it should have been was running Green Mountain immidiately prior and not recovering/rehydrating from it before I got into an 8 mile run pushing a jogger.
We had a great time and look forward to many more adventures in the Chariot as we all build our strength and endurance a bit.
Splits:
4 miles to hospital: 40 minutes
Visiting with Allison and co-workers: ~40 minutes
4 miles home: 37 minutes
That thing is sweet! Cost more than most cars I've owned, but sweet.
ReplyDeleteLove the splits...
Nice!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the post/report.
My boy Felix is 5 weeks old, so a bit early yet, but no doubt I am drooling over the Chariot as well. It seems to be THE stroller, particulary for biking. My wife, Felix and I plan on doing some bike touring overseas with this fall and the Chariot will be Felix's new home.
Cuter than cute.. way to get em out in the nice weather to see mom..
ReplyDeleteAwesome, good choice too b/c BOB just issued a voluntary recall on a bunch of thiers. I might need a raise before I upgrade to a chariot though!
ReplyDeleteannalaw I have grand twins with the same names! They are beautiful,as are yours. I enjoy seeing your girls, it's fun to see Isabelle and Amelie doing things - our twins are very young so I look forward to them growing and doing more each day.
ReplyDelete