Tandem Cycling - All by my self....

Any tandem stories/photos/insights/tour reviews to share from over the weekend? I was forced to ride my single as stoker #2 (the fast one) was not feeling well and stoker #1 (the slow one) was busy…. :( :( :( :( :(

Did a quick 32 mile loop from the house on Friday morning with my beloved, but spent Saturday painting inside the house while Debbie 'played in the dirt' outside.

Sunday was the Soutern Bicycle League's Wilson 100 in Fayetteville, GA, although we opted to hang with another couple who we regularly ride with and did only the metric century at a semi-social pace.

For some odd reason, the Wilson & MS150 were scheduled on the same weekend which really took a hit on turn-out for the Wilson including a few of the tandems teams that regularly ride the Wilson.

No real highlights. I had to tighten our front bottom bracket to eliminate a creak. It had been installed in June (about 1200 miles ago) when we received a prototype eccentric to play with and, like most threaded drivetrain parts, it had loosened up a bit after a few miles. Also had to finally change-out the 54t chainring as the teeth had finally worn enough at ramps to where the chain would unexpectedly get pulled-off the big ring and drop to the middle ring when the chain was riding in the 24t or 27t cog. Autoshift is very disconcerting to the stoker and captain; we think it had about 18k miles of use and had outlived 3 middle timing rings and one granny ring. Finally, I gave the drive chain a quick bath in the Fry Daddy. Bike was as smooth as silk on Sunday.

We did a 38-mile scenic ride on hilly back roads north of Iowa City up to Solon. As I mentioned in another thread, we popped a spoke on the way out and a second one on the opposite side of the wheel on the way back. I watched our speed on the way back, but on the trip out we had a new speed record of 36 mph...I was starting to wonder if our computer went beyond 34.8 mph :-)

Best part of the trip was the destination...a church that holds a Saturday brunch. At 10 am, we were eating chicken-noodle soup, church burger, a bowl of beans and jello. Don't want to forget the banana cream pie and rubarb pie or the lemonade either. It was funny having lunch that early, but it was a good reminder of why riding a hilly route can be rewarding.

And, oh yes, we made it up the steep grades more easily than the week before!

Got up early Sunday morning and took the largest stoker (still only 60 lbs. soakin' wet) on a little spin out on the flatland west of town before church. It was a little nippy at the start, being 45 degrees, but we wore our new (matching and bright yellow) REI rain jackets. They cut the wind down pretty nicely. It warmed up pretty fast after the sun hit us; my stoker complained about the cold for only the first 20-30 minutes or so.

We were chased by a farm-dog at one point; he was just too slow, never getting closer than 100 feet or so. It's amazing how much help my stoker can give when she's motivated, though.

We ended up with a whopping 28 miles total and about 2 hours of good father-daughter time.

Hate to say it, but it was maintenance time. Haven't had a great deal of time for the last 3 months to maintain the Dale so reckoned it was complete strip and rebuild time. Started one end and 6 hours later finished at the other. Only part that needed changing was the Drive chain, but I now have a fully serviced and checked tandem to go and wreck again over the winter months.

did you take the sugar bottom via McBride route??/ I used to ride that alot when I lived in I.C./ coralville. You didn't ride the day of the game did you?? traffic was horrendous

I took my smallest stoker (7 yr old daughter) out for a ride in Ames. We stayed on the trails and went from park to park. She had a blast. We probably only rode 12 miles or so, but it was a beautiful day...just sadder than the day was in Iowa City! The Hawk fans know what I'm talking about.

Any tandem stories/photos/insights/tour reviews to share from over the weekend? I was forced to ride my single as stoker #2 (the fast one) was not feeling well and stoker #1 (the slow one) was busy?. :( :( :( :( :(

My wife and I rode our Sovereign for 46 miles on Saturday and were supposed to do a metric on Sunday. But, my stoker bailed on me at 5AM Sunday morning which forced me to go it by myself. So, I did a 113 miler alone instead. She missed out. ;)

did you take the sugar bottom via McBride route??/ I used to ride that alot when I lived in I.C./ coralville. You didn't ride the day of the game did you?? traffic was horrendous

Yup, sorta. We went from College Green Park up Dodge to Prairie du Chein to Newport to Sugar Bottom and then across MacBride to Solon. There's a bike lane from Sugar Bottom clear into Solon, with a smooth new road. Traced the route back. The route from Sugar Bottom across the Coralville Lake causeway and into North Liberty has no real shoulder and a lot of traffic...we tried that the week before and decided not to repeat. And yes, it was a game day. Arggg...town of 60,000 hosts 70,000 football fans all at once!

it was a beautiful day...just sadder than the day was in Iowa City! The Hawk fans know what I'm talking about.

You mean the part where ISU lost to Iowa again :D

OTOH, you got to ride with your daughter and I didn't get to ride with my daughter, since she was watching the game on TV.

I'm a new tandem rider and have been reviewing this site for info. I've found it very helpful.

This last weekend was a beautiful weekend in our area. It was also the MS150 tour for our area. My stoker is my 10 year old daughter. We spent Saturday and Sunday riding. Her goal was to ride the entire 150 miles. She reached her goal. Granted we didn't set any speed records but our goal was to ride each mile. We both have enjoyed the time riding together as a team.

Any tandem stories/photos/insights/tour reviews to share from over the weekend? I was forced to ride my single as stoker #2 (the fast one) was not feeling well and stoker #1 (the slow one) was busy…. :( :( :( :( :(

My wife and I did the Door County Century north of Green Bay this weekend. 4 weeks into tandeming and we've already completed our first century twogether!

It was a good ride, though I started out a little hard and was pooped by the end.

A few stats:

-104 miles, not very many hills (I would have preferred more).

-Under 5:30 riding time, around 6:30 total time.

-19.3 average speed, right at my fasted solo century and our fastest average on the tandem so far for any length ride!

We also took a short ride pulling the Burley trailer with two kids...much easier than pulling it single! We hardly notice it back there.

A big thanks to turtlendog, the saddle worked out great for my wife!

-murray

You mean the part where ISU lost to Iowa again :D

OTOH, you got to ride with your daughter and I didn't get to ride with my daughter, since she was watching the game on TV.

Again??? Seems like this year ended a bit of a dry spell for the Hawks in the CyHawk Bowl. Hey not to worry I'm a Hawk fan except when they play Iowa State...even though I have two degrees from ISU.

I do enjoy riding with my daughters...the 7 year old is particularly entertaining. The 10 year old did RAGBRAI with me on the tandem this year which was a real treat!

the saddle worked out great for my wife!

Glad to hear it!

I figure if a saddle works for a century, it works.

Interesting to see so many iowans on this site. heck I even recall Murrays saying that he grew up in North Liberty. Wow Four teams. My ride is getting painted this week and hope to get in within the next few. My primary stoker will be a 7 year old. that is the main reason I got the bike in the first place. to spend time with my daughter. Of course I have three other kids that can move up to the tandem.

Interesting to see so many iowans on this site. heck I even recall Murrays saying that he grew up in North Liberty.

Actually, I grew up in Iowa City, went to the U of I and moved to North Liberty when I took a job in Cedar Rapids (I couldn't bring myself to move to CR :rolleyes: ).

We're planning on coming down there September 24 for the weekend. I look forward to taking the tandem on some of my old routes.

-murray

BTW, my TiVo is picking up the Iowa-Michigan game from '85, probably the biggest regular season game in my memory (Iowa ranked #1, Mich #2). I think it's on ESPN classic on Friday night.

Rides still start early in Tucson: 6:30 A.M. to beat the inevitable 102 degrees later in the day, even in mid-eptember. My stoker bailed out due to med problems on Sunday's 35 mile tandem toot. Rode my Merlin and sucked wheel on a Burley Duet with a couple in their early 70s. Being the same age, they had my tongue hanging out a bit on the several climbs. Then all riders stopped, as usual, for coffee/goodies before I had to bailout and drive the long haul to Phoenix (a 5 hr round trip) for some unfinished business.

I got out Monday for a short ride! This link should open some photos...

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/galen_52657/album?.dir=/698f&.src=ph

Tonight was our bike club's last Thursday evening leisure ride for the season...that's how we got started...on the 12-20 mile rides with a stop for ice cream. That'll probably leave a bit of a void in our week until we figure out how to make up.

BTW, nice scenic photos...where were they taken?

Tonight was our bike club's last Thursday evening leisure ride for the season...that's how we got started...on the 12-20 mile rides with a stop for ice cream. That'll probably leave a bit of a void in our week until we figure out how to make up.

BTW, nice scenic photos...where were they taken?

Northern Baltimore County, Maryland. One of the best places on earth to ride a bike....