Miles of Smiles

On of the things that always amazes me is the reaction we get from time to time about our tandem. A lot of people smile, wave, or even give us a "thumbs-up". Occasionally they are downright weird, like the "professional" looking rider (in wannabe pro-team colors) who passed us and remarked that our bike was "weird looking". I responded that our bike was a standard tandem configuration (which it is), while silently thinking to myself that this guy wasn't the bike aficionado that he made himself out to be. And there are the usual "He's not pedaling!" comments that I just ignore. But the positives outweigh the negatives.

Today we were riding into Squirrel Hill along the Forbes Avenue bikelane. I heard a car coming up behind us, and wasn't too concerned because I knew he could get around us easily. I was surprised when I heard him slow down as he came alongside of us. I looked over, and saw the car in the left lane, with the passenger window rolled down, and the passenger taking a photo of us with her iPhone. As soon as she took the photo, they sped up and drove away without saying a word.

Last week we were riding on Beechwood Boulevard when we started to pass a runner (on the sidewalk) going uphill. She turned and saw us, called out "You're not going to pass me!" and promptly accelerated. She was apparently talking to someone via a Bluetooth headset, and was telling whoever she was on the phone with about the guy on the tandem trying to pass her. KJ wasn't that intent on pedaling at that moment, so we let her win ;)

If you're towing a trailer or a tag-a-long behind your tandem, you'll get even more smiles and comments. The most memorable one we received was on the Yough Trail, when another rider passed our tandem plus tag-a-long on our way back to Boston. He looked us over as he passed us, and when he got to me he asked "Do you need a commercial license to ride that?"

I love the comments and the looks. It makes our day brighter, and reinforces how important it is for me to do this with KJ.