I was proud. My mother was proud. My girlfriend Laurie (now my wife) was astonished, and hopeful of a lifetime of royalties and riches (alas, that poor deluded creature).
I just went out and rode my bike some more. This photo was at the Shelter Island Time Trials, I think. Judging from the debris on the roadway, our now-lousy roads were lousy back then too.
COME RIDE WITH ME
What follows are a few of the things we've learned in the past couple years about a peculiar disease - tandemitis. (here I launch into a series of terse sentences which I must have thought were good writing style!)
Mike hates to chase the tandems that his friends ride to work each day. And tandem owners don't like to let other people ride their bikes. Therefore, a person who lets Mike borrow a George Stratton tandem for the summer is a great guy!
Laurie is very impressed by the tandem (as are some other women who have since faded from the scene). Laurie likes riding to the beach on the tandem, but doesn't like riding up the mountains in a slither of sweat on a 95 degree day. Neither does Mike, but they do it anyway.
Mike discovers that heavy guys with bulging muscles are not necessarily better tandem partners than slim girls with enthusiasm. He discovers that the George Stratton tourer with not keep up with a Pogliagli racing tandem. However, ridding the bike of steel rims, hub brakes, pannier racks, lights, generator, fenders, horn and water bottles drops the weight from 56 to 42 pounds. It now goes faster, rides harder, and bends the axles of his single-bike wheels.
And eventually, his horrified friends want their loaned tandem back (in original condition!).
Mike now discovers true love - which leads to the fantasy that a honeymoon might be a great excuse for a tandem tour (at this point his future in-laws begin to get a glimpse of their daughter's future life). Tandem tours require a tandem bike. Tandems are not so easy to get, and they cost a great deal of money, but an unexpected inheritance turns up, and is spent immediately. Stone Cyclery in Alameda, CA has six tandems in stock - "What color would y'all prefer?" We choose black, because black is beautiful. (the girl in the picture is my sister Kathy)
Tandems are fun to put together, but lousy to get fine-tuned. Cables break. Where do you get a fingertip -shifter, rear derailleur cable? (no internet back in the 70's) Cinelli seats look great but "sit" terribly - hard as rock. In contrast, the Weinmann rims flex and crack. Mike's thighs hit the rear bars. Laurie's nose hits Mike's back. The wedding preparations interfere with the tandem tuning! (imagine that!)
After ten days of intensive development, the honeymoon begins. Contrary to many avid cyclists' opinions, there are other things to do on a honeymoon than ride a bike, so out of necessity the well-broken-in saddles off the George Stratton are borrowed to assure a good time will be had by all. Then the lessons begin:
- We learn that bicycling does not necessarily ruin one's sex life. However, 6000-foot elevations, tandems, and a 40-inch low gear do not mix (sorry, can't explain 40-inch without lots of theory). Walking a tandem uphill in cycling shoes is not much fun.
- TA tandem chainring bolts fall out, and are not available in the Sierra Nevada's local hardware store. Long fender screws, jillions of washers, and a couple of nuts stolen from the Volvo are an acceptable substitute for awhile.
- A small handlebar bag will not hold two warm-up suits. We need two water bottles, not one.
- Don't carry a tandem with (borrowed) leather saddles on the roof of the car when a thunderstorm threatens! A Paramount tandem can be crammed into a Volvo 122 sedan in less than 5 minutes when that thunderstorm hits.
- Changing a Paramount to crossover drive and 15 speeds can be elusive and expensive! It can be done for $70 (now that would be $2000) if you are in the right place at the right time with cash.
- Regina freewheels on tandem hubs never come off! Exception - a Regina freewheel body that has been stripped of its slots cogs pawls and balls can be removed with a 16-inch pipe wrench (I still have that wrench). Suntour Winner steel freewheels work great.
- Weinmann rims keep flexing, and spokes begin to break, and break, and break. And break. A Famous Tandem Shop (named after a hot Latin rock band) takes 80 days to respond to an inquiry about better wheels, and their prices are high. Ray Blum in Los Angeles builds great wheels, in one week, for $110. They lasted more than 2500 miles without truing. And Phil Wood hubs are neat!
- Tires and tubes and Super Champion rims don't get along. The tires will not seat on the rims. They are a bugger to change. Mike tosses a wheel across the garage and it still remains true (temper, temper!) Schwinn LeTour tires seat properly, take 150 psi and last a long time.
- Mass-produced luggage carriers will not fit on the back of a 19" tandem. Karrimor racks can be persuaded onto the seat clamp bolt, using a few metal tabs. Long tent poles can be carried beneath the bottom tube, using toe clip straps.
- Carefully-aged Brooks B72 saddles are very comfortable for wife's bottom, but the frame wires break when clamped in a Campagnolo seat post. Oops. Anyone need a seat? (minor welding required)
- Matthauser brake pads are phenomenal in the rain, IF they are smoothed with sandpaper every 1000 miles or so.
- Suntour Cyclone long front derailleurs twist on the seat tube under pressure of shifting on a 5-hour century (100 mile ride with average 20 mph pace). And some riders on such long rides actually carry tools, like the 4mm Allen wrench needed to straighten the derailleur.
- Paramount tandems eat headsets regularly (that's the bearing in the frame, between the front fork and the handlebars). A local framebuilder can easily braze adaptors in the frame to take a stronger headset. Not only is black beautiful, it's very easy to match the burned paint.
