A Bicycle Built for Two

My daughter went with me to buy this Gitane tandem a month ago. When she first tried sitting on the stoker seat the bike seemed much too big for her. The seat was pushed down as far as I thought it could go, but her feet couldn't reach the pedals at the bottom of each stroke. I figured it would take a year before she could ride it safely, but yesterday I backed the bike out of the garage and, with my trusty 12mm socket in hand, set out to make certain that her seat was indeed at its lowest point.

Turns out there was another inch of seat post hidden under the lip of the seat that I didn't see before. Who woulda thunk? Could this extra inch plus a month of growing be enough to get my 10-year-old and me out on the bike together? 

Sure enough! She has to point her toes down on the bottom of the pedal strokes, but they're staying on the pedals! We had a terrific 20 minute ride on the streets around my neighborhood and can't wait for next weekend to do it again. It was wonderful to ride with her. We could talk without yelling and carry on a conversation while outside in the sunshine getting exercise. 

I saw a Santana Sovereign on our local CraigsList today that made me drool. The seller is only asking $795 for it and it's in superb shape with only a few minor scratches. I'll betcha he'll let it go for $650! Even comes with three new spare tires. The size for the front and rear are roughly the same as my Gitane, but really...who needs TWO tandems? I'm asking this to the wrong audience, aren't I? That's what I was afraid of. :)

Until next time...

Which Bike to Ride?

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post where I wrote about a short ride that turned out to be unexpectedly enjoyable. 

Out of my six or seven ride-able bicycles in my stable, I chose my Klein Performance for that ride. This 1988* bike is the most comfortable bike I own for all road conditions and for trips longer than just a couple of miles. Its long wheelbase provides a stable, forgiving ride, and the wide range 13-28 gearing means I'm prepared for spinning if my unconditioned legs start complaining. 

Fuji Cambridge

If the ride was five miles or less, I would have chosen my Fuji Cambridge, which is terrific for errands around town and short jaunts on the bike path. It would have been fine for this slightly longer ride, too, but I had the Klein readily-available, so I chose that.

Do you have more than one bicycle? How do you choose which bike to ride?

Ride - For Whatever Reason

Photo from BetterPhotoJim

I just got back from a ride through Long Beach, California. It wasn't meant to be a pleasurable ride, in fact, it was only motivated by the fact that I had to get home from dropping my car off at the mechanic without having to ask my wife to follow me out there at 7:45 AM on a Saturday. Turns out that it was an unexpectedly wonderful little 14 mile jaunt.


I'm so glad I was able to do this ride because it reaffirmed my belief that cycling, for whatever reason, is a great pastime. I'll be honest, the past couple of years have been filled with many activities, but riding hasn't been one of them. For exercise I concentrate on resistance training using weights and push-ups and then cardio using kettlebells. (You can read more about my exercise and eating routines HERE.) Cycling hasn't been part of my routine for a few years now. I've always loved cycling gear and bicycles, so collecting them is great fun for me, but riding has been restricted to just around the neighborhood and short errands. Getting my butt on a saddle this morning was the first step in bringing cycling back into my life. 


In my next post I'll talk about the bike I chose for this ride and why I chose it.


What about you? Do you ride as often as you'd like to? If so, HOW do you find the time?