Yes, it's flat. And yes, it's into the wind. And yes they were much younger. And yes, now I'm regretting it.
The ride started out ok. We saw a car lot full of Mustang Convertibles ... four in a row up by this fence.
Then we passed through Old Town, apparently the birthplace of California (depending on your origins, of course; the Kumeyaay people might disagree).
A few miles later, riding past the Hotel Circle, we spotted another M C, which although it was quite tattered, still qualified to have its picture taken. Notice the pine tree air freshener hanging from the mirror - a nice touch.
Eventually we turned around and headed out toward the ocean. On our left I saw something I'd never seen before. A white hearse, with "Just Married" written on the back window, with a flat tire, at the side of the freeway. I hope they didn't have to spend their wedding night in the back of the hearse while it was up at an angle on the jack ...
Once we got home I had work to do.
We'd been having an irritating clicking sound from the back of the tandem, and I put it on the stand to try to locate the source. I found that the rear crankarms were not completely tight. On another mission, I pulled the rear wheel to get a grip on a shifting problem we're having. Turns out there's about a 1/4" difference in the position of the end of the axle on the 650B wheels versus the 27" wheels. So I can only use an old-school 5-speed cluster on the 650B wheels rather than the 6-speed on the 27s.
Whose fault is that? It's mine. I specified the equipment and built the wheels - perhaps we had the different hubs in stock - I must have decided to use them even though there was a difference. It's lost in the haze of 35 years since I built the bike. But having both sides closer to equal makes a more-equilateral triangle between the hub and rim, so maybe that was my reasoning.
Anyway, I took wheels in and out, pulled clusters off all my hubs (vise, twist, groan, crack! unscrew), and reset the brake pads and readjusted the rear Huret DuoPar derailleur. Then we test-rode it and I did a few more adjustments.
Some new neighbors walking down the street stopped and we talked bikes. They have a triple! And their oldest son rides the back, and the younger two children ride in a trailer pulled behind.
No wonder I'm tired. The very thought of it exhausts me.
