Once again, it’s all about the bike
Edinburgh-Manchester by tandem: the final word
So,who should have the final word about our long ride? Me? or Chich? or the spouses who gave us unstinting support while we moaned and groaned about our collective aches and pains? Well, it’s none of the above. It seems that The Beast – our trusty steed – has had the final word. Yesterday, the day after finishing our ride, I was collecting my bits and pieces off the tandem before heading back home. One of these bits was my saddle.
A bit of The Beast - perhaps we were the last straw ...
I removed the front seatpost (and rear handlebars) and took off my saddle, replacing it with the original. I then put the seatpost back, but it would not go into the tubing. Well, if you have a look at the pictures on the right, you will see why.
Suddenly I am forced the wonder whether it was divine intervention that caused our little campervan miShap at the top of Shap (altitude: 1,400ft). Can you imagine riding down from that altitude at speed and hitting one of the many potholes that make up the A6? No doubt Chich and I would have parted company in a rather unexpected manner.
And now, the final wordplay: of all the silly things that go through the mind while churning out the miles, the silliest that occurred to me is this: O TANDEM is an anagram of ED TO MAN. (geddit? EDinburgh TO MANchester).
September 17th, 2011 at 9:02 am
Oh bugger, it could have been like one of those cartoon bikes, where the back person goes past the front!
September 17th, 2011 at 9:09 pm
Well said, Dennis! The Beast is still in our entrance hall, awaiting its fate. We are not sure whether to go back to ebay, and sell it off for parts, or to go to local bike shop. We will keep it for a few days as a reminder of what we have been through: I did not think our adventures would continue into “middle age” like this, but it has been a wonderful, mixed-feeling, blessed experience.