I'll chime in here too.
Alexander March wrote:
> Are there any tandem riders on the CR list?
My wife Rita and I have been riding tandems for a while. We have 8, mostly vintage ones. We take a couple of them to Cirque each year and have a blast on the rides. Early on in our riding life, riding tandem was a great way to equalize our abilities. We could stay together on the faster rides and share the fun. Now, Rita can certainly hold her own (and enjoy her single bikes) but it is still fun to share the experiences, both good and bad. Tearing away from the group or struggling to catch it. It is nice to share the emotions (and efforts!) as a couple. The vintage tandems are also great to ride for their vintage-ness, probably like folks riding cambio-corsa bikes. Traits like close quarter cockpits, quirky shifting, lousy brakes, it all adds up to fun (and excitement!) and a challenge, for us at least.
Michael Schmidt wrote:
>I think Paul & Rita Lee are the only two people that I know that ride a
tandem and don't fight on a bike ride.
I'm sure we have had a few "moments" but overall, the tandem does amplify what's going on in the relationship. If I'm having a bad day, sharing that on a tandem is not fun. We try to have good days and share them.
We are not sure which bikes to bring to the upcoming CR weekend but i think we'll give the Paramount a rest. If I can get the derailleur mount tweaked on the Raymond Valance tandem it would be good to give it some road time. I have planned some brake and gearing changes on the Stinsman Racing tandem, as well a a request to ditch the SpeedBlend tires, so it will likely make the trek to Greensboro.
With the current weather conditions, the off topic, off road, Rohloff equipped MTB tandem will get the most exercise these days.
Paul Lee
Huntington, New York USA