How to Make An Impact by Cycling with your Dog

While living in Spain, Esther started planning a bike trip around Taiwan, a popular challenge among the cycling community. While at a friend’s house, her friend’s dog gave her an idea: why not take a dog with her on her bike trip?

Esther wanted her new travel buddy to be a rescue dog so, with the enthusiasm that really defines her, she started contacting a few shelters in Taiwan and that’s when she found out about PACK Taiwan. As their mission states: “PACK Taiwan is the guardian of forgotten dogs. Our center, PACK HQ, is both a sanctuary and shelter and offers them a high-quality home and the best hope for a fulfilling life.”

Larry C, Executive Director at PACK Taiwan, loved her idea and suggested helping in the shelter for a few months to get familiar with the dogs so that she could eventually find the most suitable companion for her exciting bike trip.

When she finally landed in Taiwan, Esther planned to spend two months volunteering in the sanctuary before starting her trip, but the 2020 pandemic forced her to postpone it for almost a year.

During this time, Esther met Cherry and in April 2021 she knew she was ready to finally start the trip with her. Cherry is a black dog who was rescued by PACK. One of the many reasons Esther chose Cherry is that black dogs are less popular in Asia, so she wanted to educate people about adopting all dogs, regardless of color.

Esther wanted this trip to be more than just a challenge for herself. She wanted to prove that dogs are great travel companions; that having a dog is not a limitation on people’s lives because you can do anything with them.

But mostly, Esther wanted Taiwanese people to see that adopting dogs from a shelter is an amazing opportunity for you and the dogs, who have often been rescued from awful situations like puppy mills. It was so important for her to educate people that rescue dogs are just as loving and an important part of your family, they just had a tougher start in life.

When Esther and Cherry started their trip, people looked on with enthusiasm and curiosity. “People were taking pictures, we felt like superstars,” she jokes. “Sometimes they were a bit scared but still curious,” she continues. Esther always explained Cherry’s backstory and how loving she was: “I could see the effect Cherry had on them,” she adds.

So, does your dog need to be super well behaved to begin with, or are there tricks you can try to get your dog to enjoy bike rides? Our advice: you can start by training your dog to walk next to a bike, introducing it as a great experience for them. As most trainers recommend, starting with some positive reinforcement can help reduce the risk of scaring the dog. It’s a great activity that makes the dogs focus on the road and have some exercise, too.