Travellers’ tales: Meet Biddy, the cycle-touring terrier
Where: South-west England
Who: Mark Siddall & family
When: February 2025
As a family we love bike touring but we also love our Border Terrier, Biddy. So we take her with us. Recently, we enjoyed a five-day tour from home in Quedgeley, cycling up the canal to Stroud and then on to Cirencester.
From Cirencester we rode to Chippenham, Badminton and on to Wotton-under-Edge, where we found a local pet shop full of treats for our cycle-touring terrier. It was then all downhill to the Severn Estuary plain and home turf.
Biddy rides in a purpose-made dog basket on the rear pannier rack of one of our two Circe Helios tandems. Because we rode during February half term, she wore a body fleece to keep her warm.
It takes a little more effort to find dog-friendly accommodation and there is usually a small premium (typically £10) to pay, but it is cheaper than kennels.
Biddy stands up in her basket to take in all the sights and sounds, so she gets plenty of exercise. As a reward, we stopped one last time on the final leg at her favourite playing field, where she sprinted after her frisbee, catching it mid-air.
It really is a dog’s life.
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