A shiny new toy!

[zoom-zoom]

So Dane has officially done his fastest and longest ride ever, today. 25 miles on the back of the new tandem. He had permagrin the entire face and smiled and waved at cars passing us. He can't wait to go again tomorrow.

Oh, and he's a complete natural. For a kid that weighs all of 60#s soaking wet he was totally bad@ss. The boys dropped me at least once and every time I would pull ahead they would close the gap and pass me...ack!

Here they are stopped for a break ~14 miles in:

[kacie tri-ing]

I LOVE those pictures! He is so happy!!!

[warneral]

that's awesome! I bet it's a lot slicker than my heavy trek navigator with tow-behind wheel. We were passed by a family with a kid who looked to be about 11 years old on a little road bike - clipless even! I was annoyed that he was passing us at a street intersection but honestly I think I was just annoyed how slow we were going LOL

[maillotpois]

That is so awesome!! It is so great that he is loving it. Keep the trips short and fun to begin with. In the early days I always involved a snack/ice cream stop.

DD did her first metric century with me on the tandem when she was about 8, and the Tour de Tucson with her dad at about 12 or 13. She just did the 2 day Waves to Wine.

She's the only stoker on our tandem.

[zoom-zoom]

That is so awesome!! It is so great that he is loving it. Keep the trips short and fun to begin with. In the early days I always involved a snack/ice cream stop.

DD did her first metric century with me on the tandem when she was about 8, and the Tour de Tucson with her dad at about 12 or 13. She just did the 2 day Waves to Wine.

She's the only stoker on our tandem.

That is WAY cool! When Dane is 13 he can officially get involved with JDRF fundraising rides, so it's only a matter of time before that happens. He'd love to do it next year, but at 10 it would really be a bit much, anyhow, especially since our team's destination of choice is usually Death Valley. They rode there on Sat. and it hit 111...not conditions I would subject a young kid to.

Speaking of clipless pedals, we're going to look into that next Summer. Seems like the back of a tandem is a great place to learn that skill.

[emily_in_nc]

Speaking of clipless pedals, we're going to look into that next Summer. Seems like the back of a tandem is a great place to learn that skill.

Yes! That's how I learned, behind my DH. I am not sure if I'd have been brave enough to try them on my own, but after riding stoker for quite some time, it was no problem using clipless on a single bike.

[warneral]

definitely a great way to learn clipless Far fewer bruises and bike dents I would imagine

[Bike Chick]

How cool, Zoom! I love the pictures. This is so right in so many ways!

[jobob]

In the early days I always involved a snack/ice cream stop.

Just in the early days?

Heck, practically all my rides involve that.

[colby]

Those pictures are awesome. He really is a natural. Seeing him smile made me smile.