though i risk being cliche, i feel it is acceptable to start this way:
one old 1974 schwinn twinn deluxe tandem bicycle in need of repair, found on craigslist: $100
two bolts, two washers: $3
a day of cleaning and spiffing up: 4 hours
seat clamp, brake assembly, pedal synchronization, and full tune-up: $50
the bike's first big ride to reed's lake: absolutely priceless
this past friday, May 1, my schwinn twinn deluxe tandem bicycle, built in 1974, came home from the bike shop, ready to ride. a few short trips around the dorm with a few of my friends showed just how awesome this bike was going to be. but saturday was the big day--we were all going to ride our bikes around reed's lake and to jersey junction ice cream, and my roomie and i were going to ride in style on the tandem.
i tell ya, the moment we get this bike going, the fun begins. getting the bike going takes a bit of time and communication--that was a big reason that once we started, we really didn't like to stop... so we would slow down and risk falling over in order to not stop. the potholes (which, some of you may know) are numerous this time of year... those weren't too kind on our ride. this bike is great, though. with me in the front seat and my roommate in the back, it was non-stop laughter all the way. ya, we may have needed a quarter-mile warning for when we would need to stop in order to be able to brake in time, but that just added to the fun. we had a hard time keeping up with the other road bikes, but one of our friends, andrew, stayed back and enjoyed the scenic ride with us. it was a BEAUTIFUL day... perfect for a bike ride... perfect for a tandem bike ride.
we started to feel like pros on this bike (who is yet to be named), so we dared to change gears (yes! this thing has multiple gears!). that's where trouble kicked in. i reached in front of me to try changing to a lower gear... that's when a series of loud noises, me laughing and screaming, my roommate screaming and laughing and then... "stop!" andrew was telling us to stop... so we started braking, and then a minute later finally came to a stop. we looked down, and there lay the bike chain, dangling from the gear. a link had snapped, and our chain was broken!!!
our first big ride, and we're going to have to walk the bike? no way! so we sat there and checked out the damage. it was nothing we could fix. my cycling-friend carolyn came back to where we were to see what was up. so the four of us sat there, tinkering with the chain. luckily we still had the link, it just was impossible to connect... until...
a silver honda cr-v pulled up next to us to see what was up. turns out, he lived right down the street and was this cycling guy... he had tools that could fix it! so he ran home to get his stuff, came back, and put our chain back together!!!
it was amazing. so after a little break, we hopped on the blue tandem once again to finish up the ride to jersey junction.
the ride went smoothly (figuratively speaking... remember, potholes) and we got a lot of fun looks and smiles... especially because my roomie realized there was no need for her hands to be on the handle bars... hence she could do many things while we biked along--put a sweatshirt on, wave to people, eat ice cream, take pictures, fly, sing... yes, many possiblities as the back rider of a tandem.
so, yes... good times on the bike... and i'm looking forward to many more... many many more.
