Public Announcement:
Judy and
Mike are pleased to announce the arrival of a male twin. “The Beast of
Bridgwater” arrived safely at SJS Cycles, one cold afternoon in May. Weight
excessive but both mother and twin well, thanks to maternity staff. Father
daunted.
He’s a he,
not a she, nor some gender neutral kind of hermaphrodite. We know this because
Steve, the cycle mechanic who brought our tandem into this world kept referring
to him as a “he”. Who were we to argue?
Steve makes final adjustments as we take delivery |
And after a few days the Beast is
revealing he has a tough, almost brutish, maleness about him that we don’t
like. He’s not for the faint hearted as
he fishtails his way along the road, threatening to toss us both over the handlebars at a
moment’s notice. These traits – apparently not unusual in heavily laden tandems
– have come as a surprise to us. While we did our best to research tandems on
the internet our actual experience is close to zip.
Disarray as we fled to a public park in Bridgwater to lighten our load and rearrange it. |
Better but not great. |
The worst
moments are when starting off, or pedalling hard in a low gear – say up a hill.
The steel frame of our bike flexes, causing us to wobble alarmingly. It quickly
becomes a fight for control with us winning – so far.
Judy the Stoker says ….
The view
from the back seat is surprisingly pleasant.
Shielded from the wind and with not a jot to do other than pedal and
ease pressure when changing gear, surveying the surroundings has been fantastic. Arm
stretching, calisthenics is all par for the course – so far, so good.
With Judy's nephew Richard and his fiancee Sarah in London |
Yo Man,"Stoker" I like that! At last a look at the Beast mark 11, and what a fine looking lad he is! Wonderful to hear all is going well and to see you enjoying a beer or two. Big smiles all round. p.s. lovely photos of jack
ReplyDelete'The Beast of Bridgewater'-great name-is there a nick name yet? What an amazing bike! You've each won $20 in Bonus Bonds...will that help the travel funds? Judy - The Stoker...love it! Just stay attached as you swing fishtailingly. Love the pic of you both in London with Sarah and Richard. Hope you're having a great time, meeting good people, enjoying the food and wine and that the weather is kind! xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a bike! May we have a short try when we'll meet?
ReplyDelete