stevegor

Hi,

Firstly some background info, I'm a long time avid cyclist with many years experience of commuting, road racing, Mtbing and some touring as well, but not a lot of tandem riding, however I still having very good fitness and handling skills at age 48. Most of my bikes are fairly high level quality, my tandem is maybe a bit lower but I've upgraded rims, tyres, gearing etc. I'm not ready to buy a top-of-the-line tandem...yet.

I've just volunteered to help at a vision impaired, (V.I.), facility with their recreactional activities, namely: Tandem bike riding, for which I have to sit a course for working with V.I. people and also pass a security check. They have a tandem of their own, but I'd feel happier using mine, so......

Q1: Can anyone experienced with tandem riding with the V.I. please offer some sage advise, experiences, warnings etc?
Q2: My tandem has cantilever brakes linked to normal road bike levers, do I need to install a set of travel agents for better braking capacity and if so, what type?? I am hoping to mount a rear drum brake soon as well, your thoughts?

Any other advise will be greatly appreciated.


Steve.

ken cummings

When I team up with a new stoker we do several laps in the parking lot with several turns and other maneuvers thrown in to see if we suit each other.

Possum Roadkill

I'm not experienced with V.I. and tandem riding however I can help with the question about your brakes.

Cantilever brakes use the same amount of cable pull as road calipers so you don't want to use a travel agent. V-Brakes and cable disc brakes that are not specified for use with a road lever need a travel agent to work properly.

TandemGeek

I've sent you a private Email with some contact data for a V.I. friend who is an avid tandem cyclist and racer. He's also a bit of an equipment freak, not unlike myself, who has a small fleet of tandems that he uses with his guest pilots. He should be able to offer you some perspective that will be invaluable.

As for your question about brakes, I'd need to know more about the brand and model of brakes you're using, any currently perceived braking problems, and what type of terrain and total bike weights you'll be dealing with to offer an informed recommendation.

Good on you for taking this on.

stevegor

TG,

Thanks for the email, I've sent an letter to Ron and am waiting his reply.

In the past I've helped a local Primary school with Bike Ed, so this is just an extension on that, and as a keen cyclist I want to encourage ANYBODY any way I can to enjoy our wonderful sport. As for giving me compliments.....I think we can take, take, take, but there comes a time to give

Michel Gagnon

The two cantilever brakes you have offer perfectly good braking power for your tandem. You obviously need to brake harder with a loaded tandem than with a single because of the added weight, but if you grab the levers hard enough, you'll be able to skid dangerously. If you feel that braking isn't good in the wet, replace the pads with Kool Stop Salmon pads.

As for adding a drum brake, it depends where you are and where you ride. If you ride where there are long steep hills and need to brake for a long time, then adding a drum brake will prevent your rim brakes from overheating. In other words, a drum brake doesn't add braking power, but rather allows you to brake a long time.

2592

I participated in a local blind ride two years ago. The stoker was blind. We both enjoyed the ride and found that communication is key; letting her know what was going on at all times. Interesting to find out that she would ride a bike in her mother’s front yard by brail! If she missed the trail she would land in some bushes. I’m looking forward to this years ride.

zonatandem

Agree 100% with above: "Communicate!"
Have ridden with a great/experienced blind stoker (Laura Oftedahl competed in the Para-Olympics) and had a blast!
She could differentiate between dark and light, but not objects.
Communication on tandem is key and doubly so with VI!
Would describe the upcoming terrain. Laura blasted up the hills with me on the 54T chainring; a real powerhouse! But then, she was also 25 years my junior! Describing the scenery/sights, which may be just the usual to us, is quite important to the stoker and keeps their mind off worrying about the actual ride.
With a newbie, would give them orientation ride and describe all you, the piilot, are doing: shifting, braking, coasting, pedaling, turning, stopping etc so that there are no surprises.
The smiles on their faces are well worth the effort!
Once you've established a 'trust me' relationship, you'll have a blast!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

stevegor

Thanks everyone for your replies ,

I had an interview at the local Vision Australia branch and will have to sit a short course in about six weeks time to learn the techniques of working with VI people, also a security/police check will be done.......then if I pass, we're off on the tandem

BTW There is a VI client waiting for a tandem captain already, he is quite fit, so this should be a blast.

stevegor

Update,

I've sat the course, very interesting, also, the insurer for the VI facility has OK'd the tandem riding and my first ride is with some VI school children on Jan 30th 09. Firstly riding on our local velodrome, then a longer ride around a lake...should be good fun. There is also an adult client still waiting for us to hook up to arrange a regular riding schedule....I could make a career outa this

RickinFl

One thing I'd add to what's already been said is that your V.I. stoker might be a little shaky with their balance if it's the first time they've been on a bike- they just don't have the visual referents to help orient them as sighted folks do. This is something that goes away fairly soon, probably in the course of three or four rides.

Also, I'd like to reinforce what others have said about communication- it is crucial to keep your V.I. stoker informed of what's going on. Stoking on a tandem requires a good deal of trust, even for a sighted stoker (try it some time if you haven't already- it's a revelation of sorts), and you can bet that trust is even harder for your blind stoker. My wife, who is blind, and I have ridden together frequently for the past five years, and we rely on a wired intercomm (ie- TandemTalk of TandenComm) for communication. We usually pretty much keep up a running commentary while we ride. In the last two years we've added off-road tandeming to our bag of tricks, and that raised the need for communication by an order of magnitude. The use of the intercom system really improves the quality of the communication, and improves the chances that you'll communicate more often as well, keeping your V.I. stoker fully informed.

Rick

PMK

Rick, I'm curious if your wife and you ride off road also.

My wife and I met a couple riding a tandem at Santos during one of their spring events. We were at the 49th ave trailhead sag stop, and a couple rolled up on a tandem. The stoker was vision impaired, and they were using an intercom.

For a while, my wife and I had been discussing the idea of a tandem, not on account of vision but more her allergies. Prior to the event I kept suggesting the idea.

When the couple rolled up on the tandem, it made a turning point to let my wife understand that possibly this riding twogether as Zona says, could have merit.

We got our off road tandem shortly after the Santos FTF. Words can't convey how much more we both enjoy riding the tandem.

So Rick if it was you and your wife, thank you.

BTW, I was quite impressed to see that couple head off to do the entire 45 mile loop.

PK

JTBiker

Hi Steve,

We own four Just-Two-Bikes (JTB) side-by-side recumbent bikes. They are very comfortable and allow both riders to carry on a conversation while riding. We sold a JTB to a blind man four years ago... his wife is sighted and she does the steering and her blind husband does all the maintenance... he is an excellent mechanic. They have ridden over 9,000 miles on their bike over the past four years.

Many JTB's are sold to handicapped and disabled riders. We live in Fort Myers during the winter and ride thru many mobile home parks on our daily rides... have met three blind men and given them rides on our bike... they LOVE it.

I posted a photo of our blind friends in the recumbent section of this forum. There is also a photo of our blind friend on the Just-Two-Bikes web page.

I'd be happy to give you the email address of our blind biking friend if you would like to contact him.

Bo...

stevegor

Thanks for the offer, PM me if you like.

RickinFl

PMK-

Sorry about taking so long to respond to your question- I posted to the thread on vision impaired stokers and then forgot about it.

I'd say it was almost certainly us that you saw at the Santos FTF, especially if you remember it being a couple on a red Ventana. And we did do the whole thing, although we ended up modifying the route a bit because there were too many places on that farthest section of trail that were just too tight to admit passage of a tandem. Our buddy on a single was even having trouble. We slipped over to a parallel trail that we found and the going was easier. Other than that, the trails at Santos are superb for tandems.

The funny thing is that the day we decided to ride Santos, we didn't know that the Fat Tire Festival was going on, so we just sort of slopped into it. Those folks that put it on were great- when we pulled up to that food stop we told them we weren't signed up and tried to beg some water. But they said "Eat, enjoy, help yourselves!" We had a great ride that day, and it was a hoot to see so many people on the trail. Santos is usually pretty deserted once you get out past the Trailhead section and head for the landbridge.

This year marks our two year anniversary of riding the off road tandem, and we absolutely love it. I'm sure we spend more time on the off road machine than the road tandem, and we ride a lot.

We're honored that our example moved you and your wife to give tandem riding a whirl. I'm quite sure that riding tandems with my beautiful wife has been one of the best things I've done in my life. I expect to keep doing it until the day that I can't turn the cranks any more.

I hope to see you out there one day. We also ride San Felasco at times, and may even attempt the Ididaride at White Springs.

Rick

AndrewP

50 years ago I rode a tandem with my elder brother who was blind after being hit on the head playing rugby. Keep talking - about traffic and the road ahead, giving advanced warning of long climbs so he is prepared for an extended period of strenuous effort.

stevegor

So, today is the 30th and I took the tandem to my local VI centre for the first time. We did the introductions with the clients who were primary/junior school age boys, then headed off to the velodrome.
The boys were a bit frightened to begin with, but after some gentle encouragement and reassurance they LOVED it. In fact, they wanted me to go faster!! And once they started to get used to it, they were chattering like little monkeys. All in all, we had a great time.
We returned to the centre and enjoyed making pizzas for lunch, played some games and had fun.

Can I please leave my job and do this full time?

I just want to say a big "THANK YOU" to everyone for your advise and help.

cat0020

I have done rides with VI adults a few times with my semi-recumbent tandem:





The stoker sit in front of the tandem, have full field of vision to get a really good feel of the travels and don't have to stare at the back of the captain's head. As long as the stoker sits and leans back against the seat they are safe and secure.