The bicycle built for two

Best seat in the house

David spends about an hour a day pedalling, but he hasn’t been outside on a bike since he was a kid and had enough vision to see the driveway of his home. 

When the Lions Club of Strathfieldsaye recently donated a brand new tandem to Vision Australia, David was first down at the Tom Flood track to try it out.

First rule with a new machine is get to know your bike. So he went over every inch of it and asked questions about everything. Finally he decided: enough of the theory, let’s test this out!

The person on the back of a tandem is known as the stoker. They get to pedal and enjoy the ride leaving all the hard work to the captain.

The captain is the eyes of a tandem team. They manage the steering, braking and gear changing.

Whether the stoker is blind or sighted, the captain must keep them informed about what’s coming up. If you upset your stoker you’ll lose your riding companion.

Comfort is a combination of saddle selection, technique and core strength

Chose your saddle & match the right techniques

One of the biggest turn offs for the majority of people trying out bike riding is coming to terms with the seating arrangements. Saddle selection is a personal choice of which some will give up after a few attempts because its all too hard in both the saddle selection and to get comfortable. A general rule for saddle selection is the overall length of the saddle is longer and narrower for men, where as women’s saddles are more likely to be shorter and wider. It is also best to check that the saddle is level as a starting point and not tilted forward as some may think as this can create more pressure.

 

 

 

 

Before jumping too far into what saddle may suit there are some skill techniques that can contribute to poor comfort and changing over many saddles may not be only answer.  New riders starting off adopt a posture that is more upright and select a mountain bike or a hybrid as these lend more to this style of posture.  This is not unrealistic but it does place the larger portion of the body weight directing onto the bottom, sit bones and spine. Cycling with ease and comfort is best achieved when the body weight shared over the feet, hands and bottom. When evenly distributed over the three areas the weight on the bottom is reduced. The core strength of the individual will dictate some comfort, if this is lacking then leaning over for any length of time will be a challenge.

Appropriate use of lights helping to keep cycling a non contact recreational sport

Effective lighting on bikes is essential for safe riding and there is a lot of different styles and brands on the market to make a choice from.  The current road rules state the minimum requirement is for the front and rear light to be visible at 200 metres. The brightness of most lights would meet this requirement when the lens is clean and the light is fitted with fully charged batteries.  The continued effectiveness of the lights brightness and power is relative to the batteries power outputs. Keeping this in check is important for your own safety and visibility. Ask other riders how bright the light looks or hold your hand in front of the light to see how much reflection you are getting.

Not all lights however make for safe riding as they don’t necessarily throw a beam onto the road surface but can be seen clearly by other shared road users. Some lights are dependant on the LED (Light Emitting Diodes) and the quality of the lens used but don’t throw a beam. While other lights have employed the use of either a magnifier or a reflector to increase the intensity of the light they omit in conjunction with a lens. 

A threefold cord is not quickly broken

Though one may be overpowered by another two can withstand him and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Australia reflects on the past three weeks for Cadel Evans and while first place was not to be it is still a fine effort from an individual sportsman in his own workplace to put up such a battle.  While hindsight allows now for many to relent on what could have been and possible opportunities missed it won’t change the result. We may never know the toll paid from the fall Cadel experienced how this affected loss of sustained power outputs. The Tour de France is not for the individual it is a team effort and the strongest team gets the prize.  We could say history was being written but it was only history being repeated with the strongest team bringing their chosen champion to victory in the main event.

Bendigo’s growing cycling community network

Bendigo Cycling Community meeting place

Bendigo’s growing cycling community network

There could be no doubt left in anyone’s mind that Bendigo’s cycling community has grown amazingly over the past few years. The health and well being of Bendigo has certainly been improved, many kilo’s many with depression have found freedom many have formed lifelong friendships and partnerships for the future.

There is no hidden agenda when groups meet to have fellowship and a healthy camaraderie it’s beyond understanding. It is hard to imagine where you could meet such a diverse group of people that share a common interest and yet come from such demographically opposed places within community. Have heard it likened to a church without the roof and four walls.