We miss tandem riding

Yesterday we decided to go out and ride the Bee Team Waxhaw Sunday Social Ride. I figured I needed to be there since most of you were doing or recovering from the MS ride in Greenville, SC. There was a good turn out, actually more than I thought would go out. I lead the only group that rode.

One thing I didn’t expect to see was our old tandem! Dwight and Donna came out for their first group ride. Pat and his wife were there also with the triplet/tag-a-long. So can you imagine, two multi-rider bikes on the same ride.

As we did last Sunday the group started at a leisurely pace on Wahax Highway, trying to stay between 17 – 19 mph. Turning on Bigham Road we tried to maintain the same pace all the way to the stop sign. Crossing Highway 200 on Potter Road I stayed behind our old Dale and tried to notice some cassette skipping that Dwight says only happens in a couple of gears, most likely it is a chain line issue. While following a piece of gravel got caught up in my rear wheel then I heard a pop. Thought I had broken a spoke, what actually happened is that I broke the head off one of the non-drive side nipples on the rear wheel. James and I stopped at the corner of Potter and Mary Elizabeth Church where I quickly pulled out a spoke wrench and adjusted a couple of spokes to straighten the wheel and continue the ride.

Not much else exciting happened on the ride until Crow Road (did you expect anything less). Everyone went at the pace they were capable of both tandem and triplet were in front and I was nearly at the back of all the riders. It was hard to catch the tandem. One thing, I caught them and drafted at about 25 mph, had they been going just a bit faster I don’t think I could have held on once I caught them. We kind of cruised at that speed until about ¾ of the way down Crow Road. Nicole and I when pushed can do that whole section at 28 mph plus, so at 25 I felt rested and jumped. As I approached 30 mph Dwight and Donna were going to pass, as they slowly passed I was still able to jump on their wheel and we maintained that 30 + mph until the turn just before the inclines. Time to make a move. Riding around the tandem I was able to actually slow a bit an ride in with a little less effort than when riding with the rest of the fast Bees.

I am not sure, but I think it was the first time that Dwight and Donna really got pushed to ride faster on the flats when I went around.

Meeting up on Potter Road, the tandems and a few others decided to go down South Potter Road and add the extra few miles. I took the rest of the group back in. Christian and his dad dropped back as Christian was struggling a bit with the effort. Everyone arrived back at the school safely.

Nicole was able to help a couple of ladies on the ride learn how to paceline. She was proud of herself knowing she could lend a hand. But after the ride she reminded me that she missed riding the tandem and that she can’t wait until ours is done. But that is not until the beginning of the year, so in the meantime we are riding our single bikes.

I hope everyone that participated in the MS ride had a good time, I know that all of us left behind did.