I've been cycling for 37 years and just recently purchased a hybrid style tandem second hand. It's nothing fancy and I swapped out the grip shift for thumb shifters, got rid of the heavy white wall all terrain tires for a set of road tires and a few other upgrades. My reason for the purchase is the girl I'm currently dating has MS and she does not have the balance or control in her left leg to ride solo. She loves it. I put toe clips on for her so she will stay on the pedals. I ride KEO's on all my road bikes so i just installed a set on the tandem. She's 56 and had not been on a bike since she was 16. I took her to a local park in a neighborhood and surprised her with a jersey, gloves, helmet and water bottle. Before doing so I asked, when was the last time you rode a bike? She's always interested in my group and charity rides so I figured she'd go for the bike thing.

We walked around to the back of my suburban and when I opened the back she saw the tandem. She assumed it was a customer's bike as I do bike work on the side from my home workshop. She said "that's a nice bike that you're working on." I said yes it is but it's not a customer's. It's for you. She was shocked and amazed. She was a bit scared but I actually outfitted it with a two legged kickstand that holds the bike upright and allows her to step over and get up on the seat. I help her get her left foot in the toe clip and I can mount the bike and push forward and the kickstand goes up and away we go. She's in heaven outdoors and this tandem has given her a whole new thing to enjoy in life.She's met several of my cycling friends both male and female and looks forward to seeing them at weekend rides. We take an evening ride to some restaurants, eat outdoors and ride back to the car. Next year I will get her some clipless pedals and shoes. She can help pedal some but the main thing is she's exercising those legs. She can walk with a slight limp. Gets off balance sometimes but the tandem has opened up a whole new world for her. We've logged a bit over 80 miles together. 16 miles being her longest ride. I'm super proud of her and she's excited for us to start riding again after the new year.