For the first time since lockdown we went cycle touring on our tandem. This has been our favourite holiday choice for many years. Unlike solo bikes you can easily chat to each other and you always get to the top of the hill at the same time. It works for our domestic harmony.

In order to remove any pressure, we chose not to book any accommodation in advance, allowing us to decide each day when we were done. We hadn’t realised that the ‘season’ didn’t start till the end of June, and that many of the hotels and guest houses were shut. Several times we had Hobson’s Choice of room, but they were always fine. 

Now I don’t know whether you know how tandems work. We rarely complete a ride without a passerby joking that I’m not doing anything. Believe me, D knows when I’m not working! The pedals are connected by a second chain so each pedal stroke is done by both of us, and our shoes are clipped in to the pedal (cleats). The only way I could avoid doing anything is by sticking my legs out wide to the sides - far more effort than pedalling. Fortunately the collective memory of Bobby Ball has waned since we got our first machine, so we no longer hear ‘Do ya ride tandem?’ echoing through the countryside. And yes, I do always ride on the back (stoker) as the front (pilot) frame is bigger than the back frame and D is taller than me.

Well, one evening we enjoy a lovely seafood meal, but clearly one part of it was not as fresh as the rest. At three in the morning I feel a rumbling…  I’ll spare you the details, but I was up all night and was empty by the morning.

So here’s another thing about tandems - the pilot chooses the gear to match the combined power. There is no suggestion that we contribute the same number of Watts.   On a good day I might get towards 40% of hubby’s output, but we both do what we can and ride together.

The day after I pulled my all-nighter I didn’t want to stay in the same place, so we agreed we’d cycle along our route for however far we got. I probably didn’t exceed 10% of D’s power, and much of it was more like 5%, but I did what I could. We went about 30km along the coast, taking it easy. It was pretty hilly and we had frequent rests (for my benefit) but between us we got there.

The next day I was considerably recovered and my strength gradually restored. I was happy to rely on D to literally pull me through, and he was happy to give me his strength. We all need to look after each other, to give and accept help.

Many of us find it hard to accept help, maybe because it admits vulnerability, weakness, yet we think nothing of giving assistance to others when we can. Why the double standards?

Susannah

A Moodscope member