Sunday, May 18, 2014

A Jack to go with Jill

Last year at about this time, Jarrod told me that there were some tandems at our community's used bike sale.  My mind started to think a little bit.  The girls are getting bigger, which means two things:  (1)  it takes more work to pull them in the trailer and (2) they could potentially contribute to our motion.

Fast forward to last week when I saw a nice tandem for sale on the internets, but it was in Knoxville, TN.  I inquired, and it turned out the seller has a sister in Savoy and was willing to drive it up here and pay a visit to her.  Done and done.

Here it is:
 A 1980 Jack Taylor touring tandem.  Jill rode with me up and down our street.  She didn't hate it.

That's a huge improvement from our last tandem ride.  We borrowed Kirk's tandem just before dusk and rode up the hill from White Rock to Los Alamos (1000` up).  We were about 2/3 of the way home when it started to snow, hard.  So we had snow, dark, and a bike that didn't fit all that well.  Jill hated not being in control.  Does that say something about her, or just the tandem?  [Ouch].  Probably just the tandem.
The tires are 32 mm, but eventually I'll put on some much fatter tires since there's room.  I ordered a seat post because the captain's post is too short for me.
The other big change will be adding some kid stoker cranks.  Hopefully, they'll be in the mail soon.  And Clara and I will be off on adventures!  Hopefully for years to come.