Tandems, Tandems, Everywhere - at the Local Cyclosportif
05-19-14, 02:53 PM
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Tandems, Tandems, Everywhere - at the Local Cyclosportif
We did the local cyclosportif (gran fondo) ride around Lake Geneva through Switzerland and France last weekend (see cyclotour.ch) and saw more tandems than ever before! Out of 3000 total participants across the 3 route options (a new record number), there must have been 30+ tandems.
They had an official tandem category, which 17 tandems registered for, but our tandem was not registered as such, and I expect many others also weren't. When we stopped at one feed station, when there were about 60 people there, we counted 7 tandems there at one time! We saw many other tandems fly past and some more in the finish area, which included at least a couple of Cannondales, a couple of Treks, and several really basic models (made with narrow steel tubing and step-thru stoker sections).
We only did the short route this year of 60 km (the full tour is 175 km) because my parents and my wife's parents all came with us. It was perfect weather, and a perfect multi-family outing. I piloted the tandem with my mother on the back while the rest of our group rode single bikes. Everyone made it without incurring too many aches and pains, and there were lots of smiles and hugs at the end.
The fastest tandem of the day did the full tour in 4 hours 25 minutes, for an average speed of 39.5 kph (24.5 mph), which beat our best tandem time by 10 minutes. Chapeau!
It's a really tandem-friendly course due to it being mostly flat with just a few sections that are slightly rolling. The road quality is generally excellent (except for a few hundred meters of cobbles in the middle, which are quite fun actually), the organization is very good, and the atmosphere is great. I'd recommend it to anyone who can make it over here in late May for next year's edition.
They had an official tandem category, which 17 tandems registered for, but our tandem was not registered as such, and I expect many others also weren't. When we stopped at one feed station, when there were about 60 people there, we counted 7 tandems there at one time! We saw many other tandems fly past and some more in the finish area, which included at least a couple of Cannondales, a couple of Treks, and several really basic models (made with narrow steel tubing and step-thru stoker sections).
We only did the short route this year of 60 km (the full tour is 175 km) because my parents and my wife's parents all came with us. It was perfect weather, and a perfect multi-family outing. I piloted the tandem with my mother on the back while the rest of our group rode single bikes. Everyone made it without incurring too many aches and pains, and there were lots of smiles and hugs at the end.
The fastest tandem of the day did the full tour in 4 hours 25 minutes, for an average speed of 39.5 kph (24.5 mph), which beat our best tandem time by 10 minutes. Chapeau!
It's a really tandem-friendly course due to it being mostly flat with just a few sections that are slightly rolling. The road quality is generally excellent (except for a few hundred meters of cobbles in the middle, which are quite fun actually), the organization is very good, and the atmosphere is great. I'd recommend it to anyone who can make it over here in late May for next year's edition.
Last edited by Chris_W; 05-19-14 at 02:58 PM.
05-20-14, 02:38 AM
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Sounds like a good day - I will try and put this in our calendar for next year. We are planning to go to the Rod d'Azur tandem race this year so expect to see lots of tandems there!
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