Cheery Cherries--In Tandem?

You've heard the expression, "like two peas in a pod."

Well, I dug into a bag of cherries.  (Summer isn't right without them!)  I pulled out two, attached to the same stem.  And I wondered, "Is this possible?" 

A Clue To The Next Post

Just before Christmas, I spotted this bike on the Malcolm X Promenade, site of the World's Fair Marina.  

I've ridden that way a couple of times since, and the bike was still in its spot.

The brand decal seems to be "WTC."  That acronym, for me, denotes World Trade Center.  Perhaps some company wanted to say they were "giants" among bikes.

It looks like an old Schwinn Twinn tandem if it were made by Columbia, Huffy or one of the other department-store brand bike makers.  Tell-tale signs include the welded frame joints that aren't built up--and smooth and round--like the ones on the old Schwinns.  Also, the one-piece crank is a cheaper version of what Schwinn used.

 

What I found interesting, though, was the drum brake on the rear.  Schwinn used them on some of their "muscle" bikes and, I believe, their multi-geared Twinns. (Most people, I think, bought the coaster-brake model.)  I don't think it's an Atom--which Schwinn used--or an Arai or Shimano, supplied on higher-level tandems during the 1970s and 1980s.

Anyway, the location of this bike--on Malcolm X Promenade, which curves along the shore of Flushing Bay just east of LaGuardia Airport--is a clue to what awaits you, dear reader, in my next post! 

Who's Directing The Ride?

 As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I've ridden tandems only a couple of times in my life.  I can't, therefore, claim to understand the relationships between members of a tandem-riding "couple," some of whom are indeed married or otherwise enjoined.

Somehow I imagine that in at least some tandem-riding couples, one member serves as the navigator.  In some ensembles, the "captain"--the rider in front--is directing the ride and the person in back is mainly supplying muscle power, while other pairings include a "stoker"--the person in the rear--who navigates.

I got to thinking about those relationships when I came across this:

Tandem Role Reversals?

As I have mentioned in other posts, I've ridden tandems only a couple of times in my life.  It's something I would do again if the opportunity presented itself.  Of course, for such an opportunity to present itself, I'd need a tandem partner--and, of course, a tandem bicycle.  About the latter:  Not many of us who live in NYC apartments own them.

Anyway, my experience as a transgender woman has led me to notice some of the male biases in cycling I hadn't noticed when I was still riding and living as male.  

While I was of average height for a male, I am taller than most women.  That means it's still relatively easy for me to get a diamond frame that fits well (though I've still opted for custom bikes, for various reasons) and if I look and wait, I can get a women's or mixte frame that suits me.  On the other hand, it's more difficult for me to buy cycle clothing, as some of my body proportions have changed, in part from my gender transition as well as aging.  So, while it used to be easy for me to buy clothing--all I had to know was my waist and chest (or shirt) size--now clothes that are the "right" size might be too loose or tight in the hips, bust or other areas--or sleeves, pants, tights and shorts (!) might be too short. 

All of that, I believe, is a result of not considering the full range of measurements possible for a woman.  There seems to be an assumption that female cyclists will be young and built like fashion models.  Also, I have too often seen a built-in inferiority complex when it comes to stuff made for women:  It's, as often as not, just less-well-designed or lower-quality versions of stuff made for men.

Oh, there's another bias I've noticed:

The vast majority of high-quality tandems I've seen have "diamond" or "men's" frames in both the front and rear.  In a lot of ways, that makes sense because tandems have such long wheelbases and "diamond" frames are usually stiffer and more stable, than dropped top-tube frames with otherwise similar design and materials.

That itself isn't quite as much a reflection of bias as this:

Just about every tandem I've seen that combines men's and women's designs has the men's or "diamond" frame on the front and the dropped top tube on the rear.  The assumption is that the man will be the "captain" and  the woman will be the "stoker."  I guess it's still that way for most couples who ride tandems, but over the years, I've encountered a slowly but steadily increasing number of couples in which the woman is the stronger or more dedicated rider.  

For such couples, a tandem might look more like this:

unless, of course--to use a somewhat dated metaphor--the woman "wears the pants" in the couple.

Whatever their riding roles and styles, they will surely turn heads if they ride this:

Lyn And Lyn Win



As I've mentioned in earlier posts, I have riddent a tandem twice in my life.  Both times, I was the "captain" or "pilot":  That is to say, I was in front. 



On my first tandem ride, my "stoker" was a blind woman.  She wanted to ride with a group that, at that time, toured various ethnic neighborhoods in New York to sample their foods and restaurants.   The Light House called the group with that request, and I volunteered to pilot a bike Light House supplied.



I soon realized that she needed a tourguide as much as she needed someone to steer the bike.  She was blind from birth, so she had no idea of what, say, a terra cotta-hued cornice looked like.  Unfortunately, perhaps, for her, I was (at least at that point in my life) better at spinning wheels than at spinning narratives.



Someone named Lynette Nixon also piloted a tandem for a blind (or, at least, visually impaired) cyclist.  That is about where the similarities between her experience and mine end.



I don't think Ms. Nixon was as much of a tourguide as I was.  You see, she and her stoker Lyn Lepore were riding on a velodrome--in Sydney, Australia to be exact.  They won the silver medal  in the women's 1km time trial event of the 2000 Paralympics.  Their compatriots, Sarnya Parker and Tania Modra, took the gold in their home country.

L-to-R:  Silver medalist tandem duo Lyn Lepore and Lynette Nixon with Gold medalists Sarnya Parker and Tania Modra at the 2000 Paralympic Games.


Nixon and Lepore also accomplished something else I never will:  They may have been the only tandem whose first names were "Lyn".  I would have loved to hear the crowd cheering for them:  Lyn! Lyn! 


(Hearing such a chant but not seeing them might lead someone to think they were Chinese. )