Today I unintentionally tested the toughness of my cart. I biked to the beach to have some fun with friends and when I got there I didn’t immediately take the canoe off the wheels. When my friends showed up we went swimming, and a few minutes later some rain started. When we heard the first round of thunder and the rain started to pour we ran to the pavilion, where we managed to stay dry while still staying six feet away from the other beach-goers.
I didn’t see it happen, nor did I get video, but at some point I looked towards my canoe and it was not where it had been parked. It was about twenty feet away and on its side. I ran out in the rain to check on it, and everything looked fine. I gave the wheels a few spins and nothing seemed damaged or unbalanced. Because I didn’t see exactly how much of a beating they took I can’t make to strong of a claim about the quality of Wike’s products, but their heavy-duty cart did survive a wind-born trip. The worst part was that I had left my bag of dry clothes under the canoe to stay dry, so they got damp. I also had my phone under the canoe, I am lucky it was not shattered or waterlogged.
The rain then stopped and we had a delightful two hours of canoeing and swimming. One thing I had not thought until today was that if I bike to the water I don’t have a car with its heater to warm me up from cold rain, next time I need to bring along a jacket in case of unexpected inclement weather. I also realized that if I don’t like the weather and I want to go home I need to bike home in the rain, with the gusts of wind messing with a lightweight trailer that is hitched to my bike. The cart worked fine on the way home, so I think no damage was done.
Ian Weatherall 