bschoen
12-19-06, 03:46 PM
I posted a few weeks ago about the NOS Burley we were picking up near Chicago. We got it back and took a brief spin around the neighborhood then hung it in the garage. We had fun. This past Friday my Stoker/Wife said that since it was supposed to be nice out (60s) she'd like to go for a ride the next day. I hadn't brought it up - wanting it to be her thing not mine and trying to avoid pressuring her. It is, after all, December here; and like a lot of ladies, she's a bit cold blooded. I figure we'll start riding more frequently in the spring - though I ride thru the winter.
We first headed up to a big parking lot near KSU stadium to practice some starts/stops/turns. Then she says - "Let's go somewhere". Once we settled on a route (she's a planner) off we went. When she suggested the route, I reminded her that there was a good sized hill there. Her response - "Well. its all down hill after that." I'm game!
About half way up the hill she says, "You seem to be breathing pretty hard." :eek: Keeping your collective wisdon in mind I asked her if she felt she was working as hard as she does on her stationary bike in the morning - she tries to get her HR up to 75/85% then. After contemplating the possibilities for a bit, she concluded that she didn't believe she was working that hard.:rolleyes: I politely suggested that if she were inclined to attempt to reach her 75/85% target at any point on the ride, now would be the time. Well, she kicked in like a trooper and we spun up the hill rather easily (in my estimation) after that.
The down hill portion was a bit unnerving to her - a self professed control freak - who isn't into speed. So when she asked, I hit the brakes and we quit pedaling. Most notable to her in the post ride discussion was the fact that when I got down on the drops on the decent (her first exposure to it), there was a lot of wind. Really? I was shocked! :rolleyes: I believe she later put it this way - "I'm not sure I like that too much. Where did all that wind come from? I had no idea it was that windy." Welcome to my world - I just smiled. She's great. I think this is going to work out fine and I'm really grateful to have her along for the ride - and I don't mean the tandem. We're working on our 27th year together.:D
So - thanks for all your advice ahead of time. I know that the reading I did and the tips I picked up here have made our first two tandem forays enjoyable, thus ensuring that more will follow.
Brad
We first headed up to a big parking lot near KSU stadium to practice some starts/stops/turns. Then she says - "Let's go somewhere". Once we settled on a route (she's a planner) off we went. When she suggested the route, I reminded her that there was a good sized hill there. Her response - "Well. its all down hill after that." I'm game!
About half way up the hill she says, "You seem to be breathing pretty hard." :eek: Keeping your collective wisdon in mind I asked her if she felt she was working as hard as she does on her stationary bike in the morning - she tries to get her HR up to 75/85% then. After contemplating the possibilities for a bit, she concluded that she didn't believe she was working that hard.:rolleyes: I politely suggested that if she were inclined to attempt to reach her 75/85% target at any point on the ride, now would be the time. Well, she kicked in like a trooper and we spun up the hill rather easily (in my estimation) after that.
The down hill portion was a bit unnerving to her - a self professed control freak - who isn't into speed. So when she asked, I hit the brakes and we quit pedaling. Most notable to her in the post ride discussion was the fact that when I got down on the drops on the decent (her first exposure to it), there was a lot of wind. Really? I was shocked! :rolleyes: I believe she later put it this way - "I'm not sure I like that too much. Where did all that wind come from? I had no idea it was that windy." Welcome to my world - I just smiled. She's great. I think this is going to work out fine and I'm really grateful to have her along for the ride - and I don't mean the tandem. We're working on our 27th year together.:D
So - thanks for all your advice ahead of time. I know that the reading I did and the tips I picked up here have made our first two tandem forays enjoyable, thus ensuring that more will follow.
Brad