# Tandem riding with kids?



## sellsworth (Apr 6, 2006)

My 11-year-old son and I did the Foxy's Fall Century out of Davis, CA this past weekend on a tandem. Of all the rides that I've done this ranks as one of the best. I guess that I have to thank the bike gods that my son likes to ride with me. We've got an Earl and Tiger Woods thing going - he's got all of the talent and I'll have to live vicariously through him. Anyone else done centuries with their kids?


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## fakeplastic (Aug 5, 2006)

sheldon brown has a section about it... pretty cool retro pics too.

http://sheldonbrown.com/tandkids.html

ps. when looking for the link, i typed in sheldonbrown.EDU... shows you how much of an institution he is!


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## threesportsinone (Mar 27, 2007)

I was the kid on the back during all the really long rides. Make sure to give him all the credit after a hill.


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## mandovoodoo (Aug 27, 2005)

No centuries, but plenty of double tandem rides with 2 kids!


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*Tandems worked well til they were 7 or 8.*

then they wanted to go on their own bikes. The boys concluded from stupid comments made by people on group rides that everybody thought I was doing all the work. If they were going to do the ride they wanted the credit. Neither boy has done a century with or without me. I bet it's a blast.


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Payback*



sellsworth said:


> ... Anyone else done centuries with their kids?


Started my son on the back of the tandem at age 7. The next year and each year thereafter we were doing one or more centuries per year. Riding the tandem with your kid will make you a stronger cyclist. It also may allow your kid to develop cycling skills he would never learn on his own bike. It gives your kid a chance to ride with stronger/more experienced riders. This can instill a sense of competition in your young rider and if they are like most kids they suck in information like a sponge. For instance my son learned how to echelon from riding the tandem and also learned how to gutter the 4th or 5th rider in line if he wanted to drop him, a subtle skill that comes from experience. My son also learned how to spin a high cadence which has served him well at the velodrome.

Payback finally came when he was 17 and we rode TOSRV on our single bikes. We rolled out of bed a bit late and started the Saturday century after the main pack of riders had left. I was able to suck his wheel for a good portion of the day, getting payback for all those hard years of dragging him around on the back of the tandem. He and I pulled a long paceline of riders in the last five miles and then he nipped me at the town line sprint over the bridge in Portsmouth.

Have a blast with your kid on the back of the tandem and you can easily ride with him into his teens. How many other dad's get to spend 3+ hours with their kid, two feet apart without the distraction of a television. A great opportunity to talk about all kinds of things and truly instill your principle in your kid. Now we spend that time together on training rides and driving to races. Since he does not read the RBR forum I will tell you he can handily beat me on the road now.


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## Antonio_B (Dec 9, 2005)

sellsworth, how did he hold up? Did he live up to his reputation? This wasn't your first century together was it? 

PS - We'd love to hear a ride report!


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## shayne (Aug 4, 2005)

I love riding on our tandem with my 9 year old daughter. We did 1000 miles together this season. We started her at 4 on a trail-a-bike, upgraded to a better trail-a-bike with 24" wheel and 7 speeds when she was 5. This past summer (2006) we purchased the tandem. This year (2007) we completed our 3rd GOBA, which is a week long, 50+ miles a day, camping tour. We also did a century and raced in 8 time trials. By far the funnest times were the TT's. She was never really that competitive before. Then we won a 10 mile TT and she got to go up on the podium and get a little trophey, all along people were cheering for her and really making a big deal. That got her hooked. We even won a championship in a TT series and are receiving champions jerseys.

The only thing is, I can't get her to ride her own bike at all. She has no intrest in it, what-so-ever. 

I'm sure there will come a day when it's not cool to put on spandex and hang out with good old dad, but until that day I'll enjoy every mile I can get with her.

Here we are, sporting our team kit, right after completing a July 4th metric century.











Shayne


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## sellsworth (Apr 6, 2006)

Antonio_B said:


> sellsworth, how did he hold up? Did he live up to his reputation? This wasn't your first century together was it?
> 
> PS - We'd love to hear a ride report!


Hey there Antonio_B. We were inspired by your riding out in the farms of IN so we did the same in CA. It was our second century and like the first he didn't complain a single time. He really loves riding. Which reputation are you asking about?

Here's the brief ride report - wind, wind and more wind. 

Here's a longer report - first 30 miles flat, next 30 rolling, next 15 mountainous (over Cardiac Hill), last 25 flat. 

Here's an even longer report - we started out really strong and did the first 50 miles in just over 3 hours. On the flats we got dropped only once - we blamed the crosswind. We took one wrong turn and ended up in Vacaville, but some other lost riders got us back on track. We took a relatively long lunch and did a few adjustments to the tandem. We hit the climbs (some stretches at 10-12%) and felt pretty good. We really worked on developing a nice climbing rhythm. Others around us were asking me if they could borrow my son for the climbs. I said "no way - he's my 4-foot lung!" Although I must say at one point I was willing to trade him for a case of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The last 20 miles in the Central Valley wasn't all that fun because we either had a very strong crosswind or a headwind. On the way into Davis we talked about whether we could do a double century together. Maybe in a few years.


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## rule (Dec 2, 2004)

<IMG src=https://i22.tinypic.com/24bjjtk.jpg WIDTH="422" HEIGHT="344">


I just let mine talk. He's good for about 3 hours non-stop if I just let him talk. With breaks, and a few follow-up questions, we can go all day. :thumbsup:


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

On the Seagull Century I saw a lot of folks riding tandem with their kids. There was one family with 2 kids and 2 tandems, Mom and daughter on one and Father and small daughter (with crank extensions) on the other.

Good stuff!


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## Antonio_B (Dec 9, 2005)

sellsworth said:


> Hey there Antonio_B. We were inspired by your riding out in the farms of IN so we did the same in CA. It was our second century and like the first he didn't complain a single time. He really loves riding. Which reputation are you asking about?
> 
> Here's the brief ride report - wind, wind and more wind.
> 
> ...


Ah! That was the reputation to which I referred: The 4-foot lung! Awesome.

It sounds like a perfect primer for a double would be the RAIN next July. You still interested? I can arrange to have that case of Sierra Nevada waiting for you at the finish....


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

zeytin said:


> On the Seagull Century I saw a lot of folks riding tandem with their kids. There was one family with 2 kids and 2 tandems, Mom and daughter on one and Father and small daughter (with crank extensions) on the other.
> 
> Good stuff!


I saw a tandem pulling a trail-a-bike, pulling a trailer! It's the longest bike I've ever seen!:thumbsup:


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## sellsworth (Apr 6, 2006)

Antonio_B said:


> It sounds like a perfect primer for a double would be the RAIN next July. You still interested?


Heck ya - still interested in RAIN, and so is the spare lung. We talked about renting a tandem in Indy. Is there a shop around there that rents tandems? Renting a bike would be nice, especially since then I wouldn't have to trust the airlines with my Calfee!


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