Will Bike for Food

Ever since we purchased the tandem, the goal has been to do a REAL bike ride. We have only taken one training ride. And as the stoker in the back, I'm not sure that we are ready. But when Mark suggested that we join the ACTC's (that's the local bike club) BREAKFAST ride on Saturday, I began to weaken. "How far?" I questioned. That was a very important consideration. "Only 7 miles to the restaurant..... and then back...... but it's flat and the group is a 1L (that's bike club lingo for VERY slow and VERY easy - aka for the young and out of shape)." And the restaurant serves GREAT breakfasts. So I agreed. Now this great ride started in Campbell which is VERY far away from our house in bike miles. Mark suggested we ride the tandem to the light rail, take it to Campbell and then meet the group there. OK, I can do that. So as I waited for Saturday, I began contemplating the appropriate attire one should wear on a tandem breakfast ride..... NOT spandex - it might restrict how much I could eat at breakfast. And besides, I have gotten a bit too lumpy. Shorts? Then I would have to shave and my legs are like white asparagus. And besides, I don't have sneakers and cute socks. So I guess I'll have to wear jeans this time (put on shopping list "cute tandem outfit preferably matching one for Mark"). Saturday arrived. In order to be at the meeting place by 8am (these bikers are serious!) we had to leave the house at 7am. Luckily, there was very little traffic on the way to the light rail stop near our house. Now, the VTA has set up their trains so that four bikes can be easily hung from these racks in the center section of the train. But there is no place to hang a tandem. So we tried to be out of the way and not impede the flow. We got to the starting point and joined seven other people. One of the group members was a young lady of approximately middle school age who was riding with her VERY fit mom. Another member was Brenden, age 9-ish, who was riding with his dad and little brother Morgan, age 6-ish. Morgan's bike was tandem-esque as it was a little kid's bike but without a front wheel. Instead, it was attached to Dad's bike. So Morgan could peddle - or not - and keep up with the group. We headed out down the Los Gatos trail which runs along the Los Gatos river. Now remember Mainers - everything out here is packed tightly next to something else. So parks and trails are unique in the area. This trail is paved and has a yellow line down the middle so people can stay on the proper side. And it is heavily used..... even at 8am. Before we started out, we watched MOBS of runners/walkers start off. It must have been some special group. Our leader suggested we ride part of the way on the opposite side of the river to avoid the crowd. Mark was very happy to do this as his Captain Tandem abilities were a bit shaky. I decided to try to be more relaxed and just go with the flow. I got on as commanded by my Captain, set the peddles, gripped the handlebars and on THREE, began peddling like hell. Wobble, wobble and we were off. I tried not to watch the road/path as it would only make me tense up. So as Mark weaved around joggers and walkers, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery and lovely day. Oh, you want me to peddle too? Sure, I can do that. We were getting the routine down on the straight parts. And we even began to be coordinated on the down-and-up parts too (OK, we will coast down until we are almost to the bottom and then start peddling..... OK COAST). I was keeping my feet on the pedals and humming to myself and ...... peddling a bit. Then we left the trail and started on streets. My anxiety level began to rise..... If we wobble at the wrong moment, we could be flattened by a car or that BIG truck coming up. And Mark likes to ride almost in the middle of the road and I can't do a thing about it - where are the reins for this thing? And I'm getting hungry and we must have gone AT LEAST 17 miles. And it's getting hot and I'm in jeans. Whine, whine, whine. All of a sudden we are there! And there is coffee and great waffles with fresh fruit and crispy bacon and I can sit down and NOT peddle and it is cool. Life is good..... And then we had to head back. So we get BACK on the bike -Stoker on, Captain. And Mark begins to work off all that breakfast as we peddle through Los Gatos to watch a Criterion bike race. There are VERY fit cute young men in spandex racing around and around a one mile course through the streets of a charming Los Gatos neighborhood. We stand at the fence holding our tandem and wearing our bike helmets (looking SOOO part of the scene) as the racers fly by. Now they are REALLY pedaling. Finally it is time to get back on the trail and ride back to Campbell. Brenden rides up beside me and starts telling me jokes - what do you get when you cross a parrot with a centipede? A walkie-talkie! I'm laughing and laughing and Mark suggests that I peddle a bit.... Oh sure dear. When we get to the trail, it is PACKED full of VERY slow walkers with thousands of dogs on long leashes that are running back and forth across the trail. I can feel my Captain tense up.... so I start to REALLY pedal. "NOT SO FAST!!" he hollers. His knuckles are white.... we weave around that mutt and this mutt hollering "On your right!" "On your left!" Where is my bell when I need it? (Add to shopping list - BIKE BELL) We have passed the leader and every member of the group. Mark says it is easier to control the bike if we have some speed. So he has charged on ahead. I don't think this is proper group bike ride behavior, but I'm just the Stoker. We finally reach the end and when the rest of the group joins us, we shake hands and thank everyone. Then we take off for the bike store near by to buy a bell - and some other stuff Mark wanted. We find the light rail stop and when we get on the train this time, we are one of 6 bikes on board. It is very crowded in the bike hanging area and we try not to block the doors to the car. Consequently, several bikers are all squished together. Now, you can't take a tandem anywhere without people commenting. It's like pushing a set of twins around. And of course, people have to sing to you too..... "Daisy, Daisy give me your answer true...." or something like that. Now I REALLY wish I had planned my tandem outfit with more thought! We chat with a young man from Sunnyvale who is a computer programmer who graduated from Stanford. He came down to Campbell to ride the Los Gatos trail too. Normally, I will ride the light rail and never talk to anyone. But when you are walking a tandem on board....... Chat, chat, chat. When we got home and were enjoying a cool glass of water on our deck under the gazebo, Mark asked if my legs were sore. I proudly announced, "Not at all! That was fun and much easier than I thought!" He suggested next time I might pedal ALL the time. Spoil sport.