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My First... Tandem Club Run
by Tamar Collis
The Jack'n'Jill thrill of high speed
drafting must've done something funny to my reasoning. I can't remember
why exactly but I let Paul Tunnell talk me into riding tandem with him. I
think he probably said something about going even faster than on Doug
Rollin's wheel.
So on Saturday morning I bowled up at
Paul's with a knot of anxiety in my stomach. Last time I'd ridden with
Paul he'd been slipstreaming lorries at 40mph. Was letting him steer going
to be a good idea?
The tandem was beautiful. It belongs to
Chris Colford and had been built especially for him and Paul to race
on...but sadly Chris's knees aren't up to racing at the mo so the tandem's
been unused for almost 2 years. Dura Ace all over the place and gleaming
chainset (courtesy of Paul's bike cleaning skills). The only bit I didn't
like the look of was the saddle. Then I discovered to my shame that my own
(neglected) saddle was welded to my seat pin, which was jammed into the
frame and not shifting for any amount of cursing or cajoling. Thankfully
Paul found a comfy perch buried in a box in his Aladdin's Cave of bike
parts.
Pedals and seat sorted we were ready to go.
Gulp! On the count of 3 we wobbled off down the road and I immediately
regretted it. In fact I HATED it. I could see nothing but Paul's back and
felt very, very scared.
Apparently it was my job to indicate when
we were turning, but approaching the first roundabout I was rigid with
fear and on the verge of tears. Nothing could have persuaded me to lift a
finger from the bars at that point. Still, that was the 1st roundabout
conquered and we were still upright (yeah - OK - so I was supposed to have
been leaning as we cornered!). Scooting along beside cars and
stopping/starting at lights was terrifying, but Paul calmly ignored my
squeaks and gasps so eventually I pulled myself together...ish. We made
our way through Croydon, past Butlers and out towards Coulsdon. Coming
through Coulsdon we heard a shout. Paul turned and waved. I muttered to
him to look at the road and didn't dare turn my head to see who'd been
calling (Monty as it turns out.)
We started the club run in the fast (21mph)
group, knowing we'd be good on the flat but could always drop back up the
climbs. It was fantastic. We didn't go too badly up the first hills, and
then flew down the other side towards Reigate. I was starting to enjoy
myself and thought I'd cracked it as we swooped left into the lanes,
leaning in faultless co-ordination. Then I lost my nerve and sat up on the
next corner, which left Paul wrestling with the bike to keep us on the
road. That was a bit scary and I resolved to continue leaning no matter
how nervous I felt. Things were a lot smoother after that.
It was brilliant being able to keep pace
with the fast guys. I was really starting to look forwards to the dual
carriageway. We spent a lot of the ride up at the front (apart from the
climbs) and I hope the guys enjoyed being paced by us as much as we
enjoyed pacing them. They certainly seemed to enjoy ripping past us on the
ups. But descending one particularly lovely bit just before turning onto
the dual carriageway we zoomed away and hit 52mph even into a headwind.
Wheeee! This was fun! And I don't think we even got close to using the
enticingly huge 62/12 gear.
We eased up on the carriageway to let the
guys catch up with us....and then built it up again. Through and off
ceased as we churned out (average) 30+mph. Bye Marek - was nice riding
with you. Hee hee. This was HUGE fun! We were dropping some seriously fast
riders. And the ones who hung on looked like they were getting a good work
out. Was v v impressed with the guy who'd done the Etape less than a week
before but still had the legs to stay with us. John (don't know surname -
speedy guy in yellow sleeveless top) looked like he was finding it too
easy though. How strong IS he??? Huw said he enjoyed it and would be up
for more tandem paced sessions in the future. Glutton for punishment.
The sprint for the sign was all too
tempting but I just didn't have the nerve to try out-of-the-saddle so we
contented ourselves with a steadier, seated acceleration and 2nd place.
According to Huw, we averaged 22.6mph for the ride.
After the cafe I persuaded a VERY reluctant
Paul to return via Box Hill. We hit our lowest gear alarmingly
quickly....but managed just fine in the end, again inspired by another
Etaper pacing us determinedly. Heading back towards Tadworth Roundabout,
Marek wanted one last chance at a high speed tow so we urged our now tired
legs to push harder and tried our best to drop him....but he wasn't having
any of that and remained glued to our wheel.
We cruised back through Kingswood, Couldson
and Croydon and I reluctantly hopped off the tandem at Paul's. How much
fun can a girl have on 2 wheels???
I was about to find out...although not sure
if 'fun' is exactly the right word. Back on my solo bike Paul warned me my
steering might feel strange and he wasn't kidding. It was really weird.
Felt like my headset was falling apart...or that someone else had control.
I almost had to stop. No matter how much I tried to relax, the handlebars
were twitching like Kevin Keegan's in that classic Superstars clip. I
must've looked like a total novice as I wobbled home.
It was worth it though and I can't wait for
our first tandem time-trial on 13th August. I just hope Paul was joking
when he talked about racing Crystal Palace on it!
Tamar
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