It was very exciting this last weekend because we were able to ride on our new tandem bicycle! It's a previously loved Co-Motion Speedster -- about 4 years old -- in a very pretty blue color. We found it on Craigslist and we drove to New Hampshire to get it.
We rode with the Thread City Cyclers on it Saturday morning. Before the ride, I asked David to consider if he would be comfortable riding 50 miles on our new bicycle, seeing that we had not been fitted for it yet. He was confident that he would be fine. Ron Manizza led the B ride (Average speed of 14-15 MPH) for the TCC group. He had a fairly hilly route planned to Stafford Springs from North Windham. I really had my doubts about whether it was very smart for us to tackle this particular ride on our new tandem for the first time.
In spite of the fact that our new tandem is 10 pounds lighter than our old one, it was truly a struggle to climb those hills. Our ride leader, Ron, coached me for more effective pedaling. I had heard it before in Ron's spin class, "Keep your heels down and pull up on one leg while pushing forward with the other."
I don't know what it was about that message and the motions, but my legs were screaming!
Also my butt hurt a little too!
We stopped at a neat little coffee shop in Stafford Springs. It felt really good to get off from the bicycle seat. But my leg muscles were still very, very achy.
We ordered a small iced coffee and a freshly baked blueberry scone to share. I jokingly said that I could use a pain killer...
A big thanks to our fellow TCC club member, Dave Fournier for sharing his Motrin.
The return ride was far more comfortable for me. When the Motrin kicked in, I felt a whole lot better.
However, my David had issues. Turns out, the stem on his handlebars was too short. And his bicycle seat had settled down, and his knees were just about were coming up to his chin when he pedaled!
He was so uncomfortable.
A few of our fellow club member friends offered to help us with spare bicycle parts they had on hand, but afterwards we stopped to relax for lunch, and we later visited a bicycle shop for professional advice.
We wish to extend another great big thank you to Steve and Kim at Niantic Bay Bicycle Shop. Steve generously switched out Dave's stem for a longer one. We returned the favor by buying ourselves two new matching jerseys.We plan on wearing those to the Eastern Tandem Rally coming up in early August!
We rode with the Thread City Cyclers on it Saturday morning. Before the ride, I asked David to consider if he would be comfortable riding 50 miles on our new bicycle, seeing that we had not been fitted for it yet. He was confident that he would be fine. Ron Manizza led the B ride (Average speed of 14-15 MPH) for the TCC group. He had a fairly hilly route planned to Stafford Springs from North Windham. I really had my doubts about whether it was very smart for us to tackle this particular ride on our new tandem for the first time.
In spite of the fact that our new tandem is 10 pounds lighter than our old one, it was truly a struggle to climb those hills. Our ride leader, Ron, coached me for more effective pedaling. I had heard it before in Ron's spin class, "Keep your heels down and pull up on one leg while pushing forward with the other."
I don't know what it was about that message and the motions, but my legs were screaming!
Also my butt hurt a little too!
We stopped at a neat little coffee shop in Stafford Springs. It felt really good to get off from the bicycle seat. But my leg muscles were still very, very achy.
We ordered a small iced coffee and a freshly baked blueberry scone to share. I jokingly said that I could use a pain killer...
A big thanks to our fellow TCC club member, Dave Fournier for sharing his Motrin.
The return ride was far more comfortable for me. When the Motrin kicked in, I felt a whole lot better.
However, my David had issues. Turns out, the stem on his handlebars was too short. And his bicycle seat had settled down, and his knees were just about were coming up to his chin when he pedaled!
He was so uncomfortable.
A few of our fellow club member friends offered to help us with spare bicycle parts they had on hand, but afterwards we stopped to relax for lunch, and we later visited a bicycle shop for professional advice.
