Tandem Commuting

I’m working with an engineering firm in Walker at the moment. The thing with engineering firms is that people get excited about the strangest things - like the project I’ve been working on to restore my Pashley tandem.

So with the weather forecast favourable yesterday, I took the opportunity to take the tandem for the longest trip I’ve yet done on her. As yet, there’s no luggage carrier, so I transferred my laptop and assorted stuff to a Berghaus rucksack I have that’s got a rigid back pannel. But I’m too smart to cycle to work wearing a rucksack. It’d make me all sweaty. Yuck.

So I looped the shoulder straps over the rear handlebars & tightened them. I then fastened the waist strap under the rear saddle & pulled ‘em good and tight. Ta-da! The versatility of tandems!

The ride in was great - real sit-up and watch the world go by cycling. Coming home was good too, and I took a new route . . . which was exciting. I went through a scary part of town by mistake. Fortunately the few scroats out at 6:30 pm were too slack-jawed with amazement at the tandem to jump me. Either that, or actually it wasn’t such a rough part of town, and just my unfamiliarity with it that made it all seem scary.

The only problem was that the tandem’s started squeaking - something in the main part of the drivetrain I think, as it’s regular on every pedal stroke. I think it’s either one of the bottom brackets (not terribly good news - a real pain to dismantle & fix), or the pedals. Modern pedals are pretty much sealed units, which you can just fit & forget. Older pedals are a different kettle of fish altogether. There are bearings and cups & cones & all sorts of doohickeys in there to tend to,  held together with circlips. It sounds like I’m in for a fun Saturday afternoon . . .

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 11/03/2008
• Total Time: 1:30:00.00
• Distance: 19 miles
• Average Speed: 12.67 mph

Filed under: Bike Culture, Bike to Work, Cycle, Newcastle, Whitley Bay, tandem