First ride
Our tandem arrived on Wednesday. Saturday was our first opportunity to go for a ride. It was threatening to storm, be we were going to ride no matter what. I was really worried we weren’t going to like it as much as I’d hoped - kind of like when I was a kid at Christmas and I’d imaging how magical everything was going to be on Christmas day, and then it wouldn’t be quite so magical and I’d mope around for a few days afterwards. I really had my hopes set high, so I knew it was likely the experience wouldn’t match my anticipation. I was also worried we would be super slow. The bike weighs a lot more than I had expected. I didn’t do my research well enough - I assumed it was going to be in the 50-60 pound range, but it turns out to be a 80-90 pounder.
We started on the frontage road near 72nd west and I-80. I took a spin around the parking lot alone to make sure I could control it before I subjected Natalie to my skills. It rode nicely - a little easier than the Azub. Natalie got into her seat and struggled a bit to clip in (we are using egg beater pedals, which are quite a bit different than what she used on her road bike.) Once clipped in she started pedaling while I kept my feet down to balance us if we struggled to stay upright. It was unnecessary. We were solid. I clipped in and we rode for a little over 30 minutes at about 18 miles per hour.
We took a pit stop at the marina and then headed back to the car. We were a little slower returning as a headwind had picked up. We probably averaged about 16 miles per hour. Natalie was able to look around, take her phone out to take pictures and videos, and enjoy the ride. She had been apprehensive about what it would feel like to ride on the back - it turns out she likes it.
We overshot our truck on the way back to add a few more miles to our ride. Riding a bit over 20 miles. We are looking forward to our next ride.
[wpvideo qcyHx9EC]