Cape Town - The development of a bicycle seat for kids is the epitome of a father's dedication to his daughter.
Doug Bird created the Little Wing as he was unable to find a locally made one to go riding with his little girl.
Growing up on a farm, Doug loved the outdoors and hoped to pass it on to his children.
However, when he moved to the city, Doug needed to actively involve his kids in outdoor activities, where on a farm they could explore and learn on their own.
Despite his girls being too small to ride their own bikes, he wanted to include them somehow and went down to his local Sportsmans Warehouse and bought one of those yellow foams on bike seats.
Bird said this is a great little product to ride around in the neighbourhood but not suitable to go into the mountains.
“This sparked the idea to develop something more robust. Doing some homework, I discovered two international brands, neither of them available in South Africa, and if imported, the product would be very expensive. It was then that I decided to create a locally-produced product,” he said.
It took Doug 18 months to create the Little Wing and his daughter Lily was his number one test pilot on all of the prototype versions.
“I think it's an important part of a child's development to be outside, learning from the natural environment. It helps build their confidence and general awareness of their surroundings. The Little Wing can play a big part in that as it enables children to get to those really ‘secret’ spots that they aren't able to access on their own,” he added.
His wife Lexi said she is proud of the Little Wing.
“Doug is extremely passionate about the outdoors and everything that the wild has to teach us. He worked tirelessly on this project, perfecting and re-perfecting every detail. I’m really excited to see where the Little Wing takes us. It’s such a great product that I think has incredible potential,” she said.
Bird is currently taking pre-orders, with the fist shipments going out from January 20. The Little Wing is available online at www.ridelittlewing.com and costs R3 650, including vat and shipping.
Weekend Argus