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09-07-07, 05:43 PM
Hey y'all, checking in with an update of tandem tidbits with me and the Missus.
I checked in some time ago with the news that we had purchased a new Cannondale after several successful trial runs with a rented KHS. Then, immediately after the Cannondale purchase, she went away for a while to care for a relative, then had surgery on her foot that took her out for a few weeks.
Well, we're back now!
Over the past couple weeks we've done some nice rides designed to ramp her up in the mileage department and we've got the hang of the tandem team riding experience. It feels we've logged thousands of tandem miles when in fact we've logged only a few hundred.
Along the way we've replaced the stock 700x23s (?) with beefier Bontragers (700x32 up front and 700x35 hard case in the rear). This is because we experienced several pinch flats earlier on. I put liners in as well. My philosophy: I'll gladly sacrifice rotational weight for fewer flats. And so far it's worked. (BTW, we're about a 370 pound team.) The Missus also likes the look of stability with the wider tires, and the Bontrager's have worked well for me in zillions of commuting miles.
The different riding experience with a tandem has led to a few challenges of the butt soreness variety but we're working through them. Micro-adjustments seem to be all we need. And I've got to do a better job identifying and calling out potholes.
Our most recent ride was a 45-miler from Watsonville to Santa Cruz and back along the route used in the Pacific Coast bike trail. This was Labor Day weekend and it was really great to get out in the cool ocean air, leaving behind the heat wave in San Jose! And the traffic in Capitola and Santa Cruz was awful -- but it was nice to zoom right by it all. Besides, being a member of the 20,000-mile commuting club, it's easy for me to navigate though the traffic.
We've invested in matching stars and stripes jerseys which never fails to solicit fanfare from people as a result. In SC last weekend we attracted the attention of a rowdy and no doubt inebriated group of revelers who gave us an enthusiastic -- very enthusiastic! -- send-off. My wife also has a set of Shimano sandals and she's been clipping in nicely, which is something new for her.
All in all we're having a blast. Tandeming (sp?) is great fun and we're having fun doing something we both truly enjoy. She's getting more miles in with better riding locations than she'd ever do on her own. And I have had no problems adjusting to the captaining role, and I appreciate her navigation assistance.
Andy
I checked in some time ago with the news that we had purchased a new Cannondale after several successful trial runs with a rented KHS. Then, immediately after the Cannondale purchase, she went away for a while to care for a relative, then had surgery on her foot that took her out for a few weeks.
Well, we're back now!
Over the past couple weeks we've done some nice rides designed to ramp her up in the mileage department and we've got the hang of the tandem team riding experience. It feels we've logged thousands of tandem miles when in fact we've logged only a few hundred.
Along the way we've replaced the stock 700x23s (?) with beefier Bontragers (700x32 up front and 700x35 hard case in the rear). This is because we experienced several pinch flats earlier on. I put liners in as well. My philosophy: I'll gladly sacrifice rotational weight for fewer flats. And so far it's worked. (BTW, we're about a 370 pound team.) The Missus also likes the look of stability with the wider tires, and the Bontrager's have worked well for me in zillions of commuting miles.
The different riding experience with a tandem has led to a few challenges of the butt soreness variety but we're working through them. Micro-adjustments seem to be all we need. And I've got to do a better job identifying and calling out potholes.
Our most recent ride was a 45-miler from Watsonville to Santa Cruz and back along the route used in the Pacific Coast bike trail. This was Labor Day weekend and it was really great to get out in the cool ocean air, leaving behind the heat wave in San Jose! And the traffic in Capitola and Santa Cruz was awful -- but it was nice to zoom right by it all. Besides, being a member of the 20,000-mile commuting club, it's easy for me to navigate though the traffic.
We've invested in matching stars and stripes jerseys which never fails to solicit fanfare from people as a result. In SC last weekend we attracted the attention of a rowdy and no doubt inebriated group of revelers who gave us an enthusiastic -- very enthusiastic! -- send-off. My wife also has a set of Shimano sandals and she's been clipping in nicely, which is something new for her.
All in all we're having a blast. Tandeming (sp?) is great fun and we're having fun doing something we both truly enjoy. She's getting more miles in with better riding locations than she'd ever do on her own. And I have had no problems adjusting to the captaining role, and I appreciate her navigation assistance.
Andy