Recreational & Family - Is a tandem with answer? Maybe Not!

I tried to get my wife into biking, but she quickly lost interest. Then we borrowed a tandem, and she loved it! The only problem was, she rarely contributed to the forward motion of the bike. She just sat there and enjoyed the scenery. This damn near killed me. Going up a hill with only one person applying power is a good way to get either in shape or into the emergency room with a heart attack! So we returned the tandem and now I bike alone. My wife has taken up power walking with some of her girl friends.

I can relate. I have tried to get my wife interested in cycling too. First I bought her a nice hybrid which just sits in the tool shed. Her complaint was that she didn't want the pressure of keeping up. So...I dropped a couple of thousand + on a brand new tandem. It has about 40 miles on it and is approaching 1 year old. My dream of a tandem vacation is fading. I even got two airdynes for the basement so we could ride simultaneously. Her previous excuse for that was that I was riding when she wanted to. Now one serves as a clothes rack. I have been threatening to ride alone on the tandem with a sign saying: "Seat available" to see what I catch. My daughters are my next hope but right now they have NO INTEREST.

Women......... :rolleyes:

My wife has ridden a lot more since we got a tandem. At first I found I had to ride her style. That's slow, with plenty of stops and lots of talking. But in time she started to get into ridding more agressively. Now we do pretty well given our age, weight and condition. Five years ago my wife didn't ride 50 miles per year, now she does about a thousand with most of it on the tandem.

Originally posted by velonut
I dropped a couple of thousand + on a brand new tandem. It has about 40 miles on it and is approaching 1 year old.

If you're itching to ride that tandem with someone, you might contact some of your local organizations for the blind. The stroker's seat on a tandem is a great way for a blind person to cycle.

You know that's a cool idea. Coincidently I just read somewhere about tandemers(?) tamdemites, offering that service. I will call them closer to spring. We have an active blind society. Need a tall one though, my frame is rather large. BTW, is it difficult to ride w/someone on a tandem who dosen't know how to ride a bike?

When I was a teenager my elder brother was blinded as a result of a rugby football injury. He then bought a tandem and spent many days cycling over the Mendip hills and across Somerset.

Originally posted by trmcgeehan
I tried to get my wife into biking, but she quickly lost interest.
My wife keeps telling me she will join me in my cycling adventures when she can quit her job or retire.
I'm kind of afraid she may be the same way. I think cycling is in the blood. Either you've got it or you don't. :(

yeah, ive suggested a tandem too ! ive been theatend with a quik kick in the fundimentals:( may be she doesent trust my driving skills :confused:

Guys... there is nothing better than sharing your interest with you wife. Sometimes though it just doesn't pan out.
The best advice I can give is don't hassle them, bribe or try to guilt them into it... be understanding and maybe they will, like my wife begin to develop an interest.

Most Important... Remember that your wife is very precious and you can enjoy riding with or without her participation... so don't hassle her cos she doesn't share your passion.

Greetings,

I'm just getting back into cycling after taking too many years off from it :(

Shortly after I bought my K2 my wife expressed an interest in riding with me so before she could change her mind we went out and bought her a K2 to ride.

Some of the things I think we've done that have helped make this enjoyable for her is:

- Let her control the pace when you ride. If you're up front and start to pull away from her slow down and let her catch up.

- Let her decide which days she wants to ride with you. Right now Donna and I ride together on Tues, Thu and Sat with Sat being our long ride day.

- Encourage her while riding. If she does well on a climb let her know.

- Let her talk. With any luck we'll pick up the pace and she'll shut up and ride :)

Good Luck!

Zack
301 miles down/2199 to go

"First I bought her a nice hybrid which just sits in the tool shed. Her complaint was that she didn't want the pressure of keeping up. So...I dropped a couple of thousand + on a brand new tandem. It has about 40 miles on it and is approaching 1 year old. My dream of a tandem vacation is fading. I even got two airdynes for the basement so we could ride simultaneously"

Dang I'm tempted to marry you! LOL
My bride has a hard time going over 17 MPH and I can easily do that and more BUT she can do 13-15 MPH all day, go figure. She loves cycling and since that is the important part we ride together just fine. How about finding some really special areas to ride in and make a day of it... ride someplace awesome, stop for some lunch and ride home....
Doug

I guess I am extremely fortunate. My wife started 3.5 years ago at age 62 with a heavy duty, very stable mtn bike. She had never really "ridden" in her life, although we have had some bikes around for years.

Getting on and off and starting effectively was something she never learned as a child, so she had to learn it.

We took it real easy, and from short rides we got to a point of 25 miles rides. Then she/we had a botched knee operation and two (not her/my fault) auto accidents - both which were pretty bad and totaled the car. Between the botched knee operation and the car accidents she went into extreme pain and the doc told her she would never ride again. So, she started PT and started walking - got up to 7 miles a day.

Her dream was to ride to the top of Vail Pass from Frisco and back again. Last spring she started riding again and her first ride was around the block. We then got to two miles and eventually to ten miles. We went to Frisco and she rode all the way up and back on her Mtn Bike - 25 miles and 2,000 feet up.

Anyway, she loves to bike. She still is not yet comfortable on the road bike, but that is okay. She loves the stability of the mtn bike.

No biking today!! About 4 feet of snow in the backyard (my 36 inch fence in the backyard is totally covered).

We are going to put on snowshoes and get out a bit.

On top of Vail Pass - a dream realized!!

So I have a question.... I know if we had a tandem my wife would not be happy unless she was in the front. In terms of the physics involved, does it matter if the stronger rider is in the front or back (I'm assuming that I'm the stronger rider although I might get an argument about that, too).

Originally posted by jonny texas
So I have a question.... I know if we had a tandem my wife would not be happy unless she was in the front. In terms of the physics involved, does it matter if the stronger rider is in the front or back (I'm assuming that I'm the stronger rider although I might get an argument about that, too).

It's discussed here:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21739

Hey DnvrFox...:)


Her dream was to ride to the top of Vail Pass from Frisco and back again. Last spring she started riding again and her first ride was around the block. We then got to two miles and eventually to ten miles. We went to Frisco and she rode all the way up and back on her Mtn Bike - 25 miles and 2,000 feet up.

What an awesome story.
You are very lucky indeed as your wife seems to be a very special lady.

It's so cool that after all the hassles she hung in there and got to do her dream ride.

I hope you guys enjoy many happy miles riding together.

Originally posted by greywolf
yeah, ive suggested a tandem too ! ive been theatend with a quik kick in the fundimentals:( may be she doesent trust my driving skills :confused:

If your driving skills are anything like mine, then you can be forgiven. I am craaaaazeeyy!!

My wife loves to take liesurely bike rides. But that is really tough to do around Atlanta.

Originally posted by MisterJ
My wife loves to take liesurely bike rides. But that is really tough to do around Atlanta.

Perhaps. Have you tried Columns Drive, the Chattahoochee River Nat'l Recreation Area, Silver Comet Trail, or perhaps Stone Mountain? There are also some rather nice in-town rides through residential areas.

Just a thought. Also, since this thread did address tandems I'm not sure if you're saying that you have a tandem and she's uncomfortable on it or if you're pondering whether a tandem might offer a solution. Assuming the latter, I guess the question would be, are you comfortable riding on city streets? If so, perhaps a tandem would allow you and your wife to enjoy a greater variety of terrain.

A little background:

When Debbie and I met I was a hard-core cyclist who spent all my spare time riding. Debbie had fond childhood memories of cycling but hadn't ridden in over 20 years. I purchased a trail bike for her and we enjoyed -- she more than me -- weekend rides around the Chattahoochee N'tl Rec Area's crushed gravel & dirt "path" system. I often times suggested I could get her a road bike so that she could ride with me from the house on what were 10 years ago, rural roads with light traffic. Needless to say, she was terrified of riding on the same roads with cars. About 6 years ago I floated the idea of a tandem as a way that we could spend more time together since, as before, I spent many of my off-hours away from home out riding while she worked in her gardens or dealt with her real estate clients. She agreed, we bought our first tandem and we've now accumulated well over 20,000 miles together, including a two-week tour along the California Coast -- riding from San Franciso to San Diego with fourteen other couples. Along the way I have bought Debbie her own bike which she rides from the house on our local loops no longer intimidated by the various motorists who are sometimes less than accommodating. Sure, I worry to death about something happening to her but, at the same time, I take comfort in knowing that she has learned how to safely interact with cars on the road by observing from the back of the tandem. If we had never taken up riding a tandem together we would not be the same people we are today, we would not be as healthy as we are today, we would not have the close circle of "tandem friends" we now enjoy sharing our rides and social activities with, and so on...

So, to be sure, tandems aren't for everyone. However, you won't know for sure until you give it a try under the tuteledge of someone who is knowledgeable or after at least doing enough research to know how to do it right. If it turns out to be something that does suit your respective temperments it could easily change your lives in ways you could never imagine.... it has for us and most of our friends who ride tandems.

the woman that i love has just started cycling with me. what works pace wise it to let her lead....... when we ride the park ring I ride on the outside..... never never let her feel she is slowing me down because she knows how I like to ride. we are actually up to 6 miles a day or so with no issue already. Buying a quality bike was the real key it pretty, comfortable, and smooth.(her point of view not mine) I think my non suspension 7100 is all of these but it is way to rough for her. The whole point is that , LIKE A CAT, I found a way to make her think it was all her idea LOL

I seem to have gotten my wife re-interested in cycling. I started riding again after a 2 year break and have since lost 10 lbs in a 2 week stretch. of course riding the 35+ miles to work every other day has nothing to do with that.(lol) but she says she wants to do what I'm doing, so we go down to the local park and ride there( while dodging the running population and tech heads) we'll se how she progresses in a few weeks.

Hubby and I had a tandem years ago. It was my idea...I thought it would be so cool. Well, I hated sitting on the back of that thing. Felt totally out of control. :) We finally gave the thing away and now we each have our own bike and love to ride together.