My wife and I went on a cruise with a couple of friends, yesterday. It was damp and chilly and we’d planned on waiting another hour or two, but Mike called and said he was already on the road, so we had to make a decision; ride alone or ride with friends. We decided to quickly dress and I got the tandem ready to roll. We made it outside before Mike, who’d collected Diane, had a half-mile left to the house. They slow-rolled it. We could see them coming down the road as we threw our legs over the top tube.

Off we went, on the damp, but not wet enough for a rooster tail, roads. I was pretty quiet throughout the headwind part of the ride. Two things I don’t like for riding are cold and damp. Still, even cold and damp beats lazy by a lot. And headwind? Hey, it’s Michigan. Nothing you can do about it.

We hit all of the headwind in the first half of the ride. It was a bit of a slog, but not too bad… it was a 13-mph (21 kph) crossing headwind from the south-southwest and the temps were well above freezing, but well below room temperature. With a light long-sleeved jersey and a thermal vest on, I was just the right mix of cool so I wasn’t dripping all over the top tube. My wife and I handled all but a few of the headwind miles up front before turning toward home for the big push.

It was good times all of a sudden.

About eight miles from home, my wife tapped me on the butt and quietly said in my ear, “Beyoncé” and I chuckled. I know what time it is when Beyoncé plays in her right earbud (she leaves the left out to remain aware of traffic). I shouted, “Beyooooncé!”. My wife laughed and said, “We’re going to play.” I could feel the pedals lighten as my wife put the power to hers. Our pace jumped from the low 20s to the upper 20s. Mike and Diane slipped off the back as we passed 28-mph (45-kph). They were quite a way back when we got to the next intersection. We sat up and soft pedaled to wait for them to catch up. The next three miles were crossing tailwind, heading north. Then, three more with tailwind and we were home, with just a touch over 29-miles. So, thank you, Beyoncé.

We had an impressive collection of dried, departed worms stuck to our frame when we finished. We talked with Mike for a minute before heading inside to get out of the cold. I spent a little time cleaning de-worming the bike, we cleaned up and ate some lunch… and took a marvelous nap as the rain began again in earnest.

Almost from the minute we walked through the door, I was thinking about how much more fun I have on the tandem that I do the single bikes. It’s not even close.

A photo from warmer, sunnier, Kentucky days… but with two Mikes in our draft.