Another Tuesday Night In Lennon on the Tandem; Hi-Fives, Fist Bumps and QOMs Abound

A while back, I wrote the following; to ride with my wife on the tandem, happily, I had to come to the realization that there was no room for the “aggressive me” cyclist on the tandem. I meant it at the time, but my wife is proving me wrong, one Tuesday night at a time…

We pulled into Lennon close on time, but with enough to take a few laps around the church’s parking lot to get the legs moving. With a barely there 6-mph breeze out of the northwest and a wonderfully sunny sky and perfect temperature, we had the makings of the perfect fast night. My wife and I, as is now custom, were twinning in matching “Ride for Peace” jerseys coupled with black socks, black shoes, black bibs, white glasses and matching Bontrager white helmets… I absolutely dig it. My wife had me raise her saddle a smidge, then lower it half-a-smidge, then push the nose left a touch, before finally proclaiming it close enough to give it a try… which was awesome, because the gang was rolling just as I tightened the seat post quick release.

We rolled, second to the last, but I’d been toying with the idea of taking a few turns at the front for the first time. The pace was easy and we caught on sooner than usual off a great boost from my wife in the Rear Admiral’s saddle. Mike and Diane announced they’d be in the left lane (and I knew why), so I tucked in behind them as the pace rose to a normal 22 to 24-mph.

Heading west seemed easy even though we were on the hard side of the breeze. We inched up in the pace-line until it was our turn… and we took it with grace and brevity. After a short stint, my wife tapped out and we headed to the back for a rest in the draft.

Heading south, now, with a crossing tailwind, we were approaching the hills with a 22.5-mph average and I was more than a little nervous. We’re great on the flats, fabulous on the downhills, but we suffer every time things head up. Heading up the Lytle hills, Chucker took the lead and slowed the pace to a reasonable 18 to 19-mph. We stayed with the group under our own steam with an impressively matched climb. My wife knows just when to lay down the power and I actually had to brake-check our climb… twice! Once we crested the hills, we hit the next set on Parmenter and our friend, Greg, gave us two extra boosts by pushing on my wife’s back. We were so strong on the pedals, with that extra help, we actually passed everyone on the way up!

We had a little help up the next two hills and amazingly stayed with the main group. We made it all the way to Shiatown with the main group, a first for my wife and I on the tandem. We had a couple of guys turn with us, two Daves, but nobody else made the turn. We took turns at the front with Fej until we hit the final homestretch and Dave took over. I had a few times during that ride where I thought about calling it good and sitting up, but I wanted my wife to get the QOM for the short route, so I dug deep and kept the power on.

Dave didn’t let up, either. We held his wheel and hammered for the City Limits sign north of 26-mph and crossed the line with 15 seconds to spare to nab Jess the QOM and another best for us on the tandem at 22.5-mph for the 28 mile route.

Sadly, there was no time for photos during the ride. Suffice it to say, we were both ecstatic with our performance. What a ride!

Advertisement