Paying it forward - sharing the tandem

Hi, everyone!

Fabulous stroke of luck today - DH and I will be taking possession of a very nice tandem bike, possibly as early as this week.

DH has a vision that I think is awesome - make it available to the cycling community for locals who want to try it, or visitors (not unlike our transcontinenatl CrazyCanuck next month). He's thinking we'll have to cover some costs, so ask folks to put in a couple of bucks each time they use it so we can keep it in good repair; and we're thinking of keeping it under our sun deck with a sign out sheet....

Have any of you ever done something like this before? Any ideas on how to do it "right"? Anything for us to really be worried about?

Just looking for a little feedback and ideas. We're really excited about it!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

Did I mention it is an Ibis??

H&B
~T~

T..i'm happy to be a guinea pig! I've never ridden a tandem but will def give it a shot..

Why not have a little book with it & have folks write about thier adventures on the tandem?

Great idea, CC!! I'll start looking for a cool book tomorrow!

H&B
~T~

Hmmmm..i might have something for you..

Maybe it's the lawyer in me but I'd be really worried about liability, particularly if you're going to ask people for money (any money).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Maybe it's the lawyer in me but I'd be really worried about liability, particularly if you're going to ask people for money (any money).

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Would it make any difference if we suggested a donation to cover maintenance, rather than set a fee?

Does it help that we're in Canada? I think litigation happens less frequently here....

H&B
~T~

I also wonder if you could do a sign out sheet with a liability waiver (e.g. I agree it's dangerous, I accept the risk, I will wear a helmet). Don't know anything about Canadian law, though... Do you have someone up there you could ask? (kind of sad this is what you have to think about).

Otherwise, I think it's a lovely idea. Are you OK with leaving it outside? Any theft concerns in your area (I don't mean the people who are riding it, but others). Also probably should think about how to handle disaster (e.g. taco'd wheel, etc).

CA

I heard of a community who tried to shared bike thing, borrow one when you need it and leave it parked at a visible spot when you're done. As I recall it didn't work out too well because they started on a huge scale and kept misplacing the bikes.

I do remember that they painted them bright gold and posted up community notices, maybe you could do something like that...make it visible and available with an attached note or plate saying where it's home is?