Tandem Cycling - Today's Ride March 18, 2006

We got another gift from Mother Nature today, at least by Michigan standards :D . Sunshine and dry roads for the whole day got us on the road a little before 9 a.m. It was 23 degrees with a nw wind at 7 mph. 100 miles and 8 hours later it was 39 degrees and the wind speed had doubled. We have almost no snow on the ground in this part of the state. Several species of birds have already returned to let us know that spring is right around the corner. One of the clearest signs is the call of the male Redwinged Blackbird defending their territory as we ride by. We also past a pair of Sandhill Cranes standing just off the left side of the road. 65 miles into our ride we hit a major milestone. We now have over 20,000 miles on our tandem, 5 years and 2 weeks after getting it.

Official stats for the day. 100.82 miles 16.6 avg.mph. 6:04:11 rt.

Anyone else get out?

Yowser! 4,000 mile per year on a tandem, while living in the north. Way to go.

TeamTI700:

Congrats on the 20,000 mile mark and a l-o-n-g ride on what most of us consider a cold day!
You must live in Lower Mich. . . . used to live there when we were 'younger' and rode when roads were dry and 20 degrees. However have spent the last 28 years in Arizona . . . more riding, less rain, etc.
At 20K you can consider your tandem 'broken in'! Currently have half of that on our Zona, but did own several tandems that lasted us 50K+ miles, including an Assenmacher (made in MI) that went for 64,000 before we sold it.
Quality lasts and . . . Spring fever hits early!

Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

TeamTI700:

You must live in Lower Mich. . . .

Yep! Home of the Midwest Tandem Rally 2005. It's good to know that we're finally getting our tandem "broke in." :D If you ever decide to return to your old home state, bring along your ride and we'll show you some quiet miles.

Rick

Did do MTR in Midland a few years ago . . .
Used to belong to the Slow Spokes of Macomb and lived in the Utica area (between Detroit, Pontiac and Port Huron) so we did quite a bit of riding in the Thumb area.
It was only 81 degrees here in Tucson area today . . .

We were thinking - there is no way you are in Northern Michigan! :)

We were thinking - there is no way you are in Northern Michigan! :)

We'll be heading up that way in August for the Santana Mackinac Island Tandem Rally. We were there at their 2002 rally and had a great time.

Rick