I have a bicycle which suits me fine – a fairly normal Ridgeback Supernova hybrid bike. I also have a brilliant double-trailer in which I take the children to and from nursery (a Croozer Kid for 2).

This is all great, and the kids love the 3 mile journey to/from nursery (they often fall asleep on the way home, especially in the dark winter months). It also keeps me fit. There are two basic problems:

So I’ve decided to try to retrofit my bike with an electric motor that can help with getting up the hill. This may seem excessive, but the more I can cycle (even when poorly or in very hot weather) the less hassle there is trying to get the kids to nursery in the car. I’m also afraid for my knees – they already suffer from random aches and pains, and bodies only fall apart more as you age.

I’ve been working on this project for a few months, going through lots of trial and error with plans and ideas. So I want to blog about the process and say what seems to work or not in the hope that others find it useful, plus link to all the resources/purchases I’ve used. I’ll tag all the posts ProjectKnees so you can see them all easily.

[Onto part 2…]