Tandem Cycling - Everyone here has made me lose my mind!

... Or at least that's what my wife says. Since the Dale arrived I have been doing some shopping, supporting our economy. Some things needed to be changed, others were necessary (maybe) road items. The sad part is that we haven't even been on the road yet! I have a complete list of what we bought, unfortunately there are no pictures yet as I still do not have it completely assembled, still waiting for a few items. So here it is, starting from the front of the bike:


Jagwire Rocket Adjusters (http://www.jagwireusa.com/rocketlubeadjuster.html)
Cinelli Cork Ribbon (Black)
Shimano Flight Deck SC-6502 w/SM-SC70 (http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/cycle/sac/us/en/technical_service/flight_deck.html)
Profile Design Kage (http://www.profile-design.com/2006_product_pages/hydration/kage.html)
Shimano PD-6610 Ultegra Pedals (http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441770660&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302040153&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181419&bmUID=1134850737151)
Terry Fly Ti Saddle (http://www.terrybicycles.com/detail.html?c=Saddles&sc=Men%27s+Best+All-Around&item_no=2123900)
Modolo X-Tenos 40cm 6 Bend Handlebars
Dimension Adjustable Stoker Stem
Magellan eXplorist 600 w/Bicycle Mount (http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=1073)
Sette APX Carbon Seatpost (http://www.setteusa.com/parts/apx_carbon_seatpost.htm)
Terry Butterfly Ti Saddle (http://www.terrybicycles.com/detail.html?c=Saddles&sc=Women%27s+Best+All-Around&item_no=2113900)
Topeak Medium Wedge Pack (http://www.topeak.com/products/bag_003.html)
Avid Rollamajig (http://www.sram.com/en/service/avid/view.php?catID=1&subcatID=7)
Shimano RD-M960-SGS XTR Rear Derailleur (http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441763055&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302039907&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181419&bmUID=1134851045713)
Topeak Mini MasterBlaster DXG (http://www.topeak.com/products/pump_027.html)
Genuine Innovations Ultraflate Plus (http://www.genuineinnovations.com/INmain.asp?Option=CatList&Category=bike&SubCategory=power)
Park Tool Tire Lever Set (http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=17&item=TL%2D1#)
Accu-Gage Bicycle Gauge (http://www.accu-gage.com/bicycle.htm)
Ultimate BRS-80 Pro Repair Stand (http://www.ultimatesupport.com/s.nl/sc.21/category.60/it.A/id.2797/.f)
Minoura Workman Pro Portable Wheel Truing Stand (http://www.minoura.jp/index-et.html)
Some parts for my Silca Floor Pump (http://www.silcapompe.it/washers_en.htm)

There were some other purchases also, like a new pair of Sidi Genious 5 Mega Shoes, Polar Insulated water bottles, a Primal Wear and Go Girl Jerseys for my stoker. Spare Tubes and a patch kit. Some miscellaneous small parts. Needless to say, my wife wants to know where I am going to put all of this stuff. She is none to happy at the moment that evertything is in the Family Room. I guess I had better stop buying stuff and maybe start riding.

Don't blame me!

Only things I changed/upgraded/purchased with my tandem:

saddles
frame pump
seat bag
handlebar bag
tires
spare tubes/patch kit/levers
multi tool
left shift lever to Campy (free)
captain's crank set (to 180's)

One of these days I will put a computer on the bike, but than I might get depressed by the average speed......

I usually decide what to buy next when I'm riding. Get your a$$ off the computer chair and onto the road!!!! It ain't a sculpture.

I usually decide what to buy next when I'm riding. Get your a$$ off the computer chair and onto the road!!!! It ain't a sculpture.

That was the intention, but I am not in a position to ride it just yet. Two reasons, one, it has been damn cold here, and two, I am in the process of preping for gastric bypass surgery in January. I have set up our ½ bikes in the bonus room in front of the big screen and have been trying to ride every other evening. My stoker is on a set of rollers and I am on a wind trainer. After 15 years of sedentary living I made a decision to go back to something I always loved, cycling. This has not been easy and I have to start slowly. When I got back on my bike last month, for the first significant time in at least 8 years! I could only ride about 5 minutes, I have progressed to being able to maintain a moderate pace for 15 continuous minutes. This from a person who had ridden many centuries and done several trips over the Cascades riding from Eugene to Bend, Oregon, even racing a few events during that time.

Just so you know how I recovered my motivation, my 15 year old asked me about the feeling you get when you complete your first century and I almost welled up in tears as I tried to explain it to her. She asked if I ever wanted to feel that again, and of course I said yes, she suggested we do it together. She is very insightful for one so young. We thought that it might be harder for me to try it on my single bike since I hadn't ridden in so long and asked if we could look at some tandems, I said it was a wonderful idea, and I remembered when I had ridden tandems in the past with my riding buddies. So I call my riding buddy who also manages a bike shop and ask him to send me a tandem, a week later it's here. Unfortunately all I can do right now is admire it, since I am in no position to ride it. I will let everyone know when we take our maiden voyage, I am expecting to do that sometime in March 2006.

I don't really know why I feel compelled to share this information here, I had not told anyone else this, perhaps it is a bit easier with strangers. Anyway, thanks for this forum I am learning alot about tandems and bicycles in general. Hope I continue to learn from everyone here.

Good luck with that. They do sell heavy clothing for winter riding. It takes me some cajoling to get the stoker on the bike (like yesterday) but she's always happy when we come back. After some soup. Go wear some of that new stuff out soon!!!!!

Also remember that you can indeed operate the tandem just fine by yourself. (I do this twice each weekday between my kid's school and my work.)

In fact, it is probably a very good idea for the new captain to get some miles on the bike riding solo, just to get the feel for the new bike before adding the extra element of coordinating with a stoker.

I know we're all looking forward to your first ride report! :)

-Greg

Thank you all, I will definately give a full report. As I said, there are some things I need to accomplish first. When I started this process this summer, I was at 346 lbs. After I return from L.A. Thursday I start a complete liquid diet to prep for my surgery, I will be approximately four weeks totally liquid, then surgery, then another two weeks totally liquid before I can start on pured food for an additional two weeks. At that time I can resume daily exercising. I plan to do most of this exercising on the bike. I will take any advise I can get. It makes sense then I ride a little by myself so I can get used to the handling and length of the tandem. Although my stoker is getting much smoother as she has been treining on the rollers. What I have been told is that I should expect a weight lose of somewhere near 160 lbs by the time I start to level out. My physician and surgeon expect that by the first anniversary of my surgery I should have lost in excess of 100 lbs. When I was much younger I had gone from 185 lbs to about 250 lbs, at that time I dieted and started doing the weekly 15K time trial. Of course when I started I was the slowest and always the first guy out. I would gauge my progress by both my weight lose and by how many people passed me on the time trial. by the time the summer was over I was no longer the slowest and was down to 200 lbs.

The years since then have not been kind, complications from being morbidly obese have led to a physical condition that precludes the ability to lose weight and maintain the weight lose. This is the reason for the surgery. It is just another tool to help me physically manifest changes my mind knows and wants to make toward living a healthier life.

I have the support of my family. especially my daughter, she is the person the tandem is really for, she is the reason I want to make sure I am healthy and still around for a long time. We have set some goals, which we think are very realistic. You can ride here about ten months of the year, I will mix riding with another activity I love and that is golf. Expecting weight lose to average about four to five pounds per week for the first six months, then it will start to taper off. By then I figure an occasional ten mile ride will be a regular part of our training, we think a century is well within reach by the spring ofr 2007, maybe before depending on how well we are doing.

Right now I have looked over the health information on Bike Forums and I am doing additional research on hydration and nutrition for gastric bypass patients and endurance training. I will report my progress on this forum and a Blog I am starting to document my progress after surgery.

Thanks everyone.