By: George and Linda Wells
What a day for a tandem ride -- and what a turnout! 28 teams gathered in Tuckerton for 46 miles of near flat terrain. Mel and Barbara (a.k.a., Tandems East) always run a class event -- this one was no exception.
While The Weather Channel predicted "partly sunny" we didn't see a much of the sunny part; mostly cloudy was the reality. The temperatures were in the mid 50's so most of us were togged up in long tights, long sleeves, and layers. From the beginning the pace was fast and the "Hammer Heads" took off. Because we were doing a lot of administrative stuff we got off dead last and had to chase the pack. (Like I said the HH's were already gone.) We did manage to catch the back of the pack at the first turn and caught our breath drafting a few wheels. Linda had different ideas -- a good stoker kick had me pull from behind and overtake some riders and suddenly we were off chasing the middle pack.
Looking at our computer, we noted speeds in the high teens to low 20's -- we were cooking! Unfortunately, traffic lights kept separating us and then we'd regain contact only to lose it again. We finally made it and held on by the middle of the outbound section. Then it all stretched out again. We managed to eat some bars while riding and made it to the middle point break at Batso Village (where there was a huge craft fair underway). A break was welcome -- and needed.
Once I started feeling the chill, I got Linda back on the tandem and the tandem back on the road. We hadn't gotten too cold so we pushed on with our nose in the wind. Occasionally, we'd get passed by a few teams, grab a wheel for a few minutes, only to find that speeds in excess of 22 were just not sustainable, and we'd drift off the back. However, we were moving and holding well in the high teens all the way.
Then Teams Isherwood, Nicolich-Snope, and Cook-Prudhomme passed by with Larry shouting "grab on." Well, we managed to hang on for about 5 miles (that's hanging on by our fingernails) with speeds topping out in the mid 20's. This was fun, but we could not hang on much longer and slowly drifted behind watching them tear up the road. We managed to get a few more wheels as the miles rolled under our wheels.
In the last five miles my thighs really started to burn, our speed drifted slower and slower -- we were losing it. Good fortune struck as a light turned red forcing us to put a foot down and get a bit of rest. We had recovered enough to get speeds back in the mid teens but the day had taken its toll on this captain's legs. I told Linda that she was going to be critical to our making it back to the start point with dignity. She had enough to make it to the end. We finished with an average speed of 17 mph! A new record for team Wells!
The post ride Pizza was great and it seemed that everybody had a wonderful ride. We got four new member teams added to our growing membership list and sold some of the latest run of jerseys.
The great news is that the season isn't over yet! We have a ride on the third of November and who knows what else might be in store for the club still this year.