Fun day on the Pepto-Bike….

Yes, that’s what we’ve taken to calling the tandem. The Pepto Bike. I think you’ll agree based on this picture that the name fits…right?

Anyway, Saturday Deb and I decided to take the bike out for a ride. I’ve found that if I refer to it as “riding the bike” instead of a “training ride on the bike” that my wife feels more comfortable with the idea and is more inclined to go along.

It was actually a pretty decent day, partly cloudy, not too windy and not too cold. And since she wanted to go check out the flea market at the college, we decided to ride the bike over there. (I later realized the genius in this idea since not only did we get some exercise, she really couldn’t buy anything because we wouldn’t be able to get it home)

So, this was to be our third ride on the pepto-bike and our first foray out of our neighborhood and into the world. It’s funny, I was pretty concerned that this was going to be tough and we would have trouble getting used to the tandem thing, but it’s really gone quite smoothly.

Once I figured out that this should be fun, and that I could have my “training rides” on my own time, it was all good. So, with that thought in mind, we set out and headed over to the college. It’s only a few miles to the college and we made really good time. It’s amazing that with two people pedaling, averaging 15-16mph on the flats isn’t that difficult. We even had a couple of bursts up to about 21mph.

We got to the flea market, wandered around for a while. Had a couple of fun conversations with strangers about the bright pink bike for two and then having bought nothing but a couple pair of socks (and some bungees to attach them to the rack) we decided to go for coffee. So, over to Eon café we went where we enjoyed a coffee and relaxed for a while.

After hanging out for a bit and talking to the owner about the pretty bike, we decided to swing through the neighborhood and stop to visit Deb’s dad. He too was very impressed with us. So, having impressed everyone we know and with the afternoon cooling off, we worked our way back home.

All in all we did 8 miles which with the coffee and the visits, is probably the longest 8 mile ride I’ve ever done. Of course with having Deb there it also made it one of the most enjoyable 8 mile rides I’ve ever done...