First Baby Pull with the Tandem

We pulled the baby trailer with the tandem for the first time today through Percy Werner Park on the challenging 11 mile loop. Every thing went well and we made good time. Abby was great and I think she had fun watching us on the tandem. We had a lot of people doing double takes and cars going by slowly as I do not think they had ever seen a baby trailer behind a tandem, especially in the park with all the hills.

First 2007 Mountain Bike Ride

Thanks to Hope for keeping the baby and letting me head out for a ride at Montgomery Bell with Becky and some or her friends. Rode the "Yellow" trail for the first time and "OUCH" is a word that comes to mind. Usually we ride the Red to the Blue and then take the Green downhill section and back out which would usually take about an hour on a good day. 1:36 for this one trail for me so keep that in your head if you have never ridden the yellow loop as it is a totally different experience from the other trails at Monkey Bell. Lots of abrupt up and downs with momentum killers all over the place. Many tricky turns at the top of steep little hills. I see why "Climbing Queen" Becky really enjoys it, but for the Clydesdale's it is a bear. Becky's neighbor Brian did great with his new hard tail bike and he is a great rider.

Ride Stats:
Distance: NA
Time: 1:38
Avg. Speed: NA
Avg. Heart Rate: 145
Max Heart Rate: 170
Calories Burned: 1588
Total Climb: 2759 (That's what it said, really)

Club Ride on the Tandem

Rode the tandem with Hope today with the Harpeth "Polar Bear Racing Team". Hope is a great stoker and makes for a fun outing with such a great engine on the back. Also thanks to Dirk for keeping us going through the winter. It was a cold, windy, sunny day and the club got to see me in tights for a full ride which I think is a first. Seemed like we had the wind in our face all day until the last leg up Leipers Creek back to the school. Happy to be on the tandem with the wind so bad since it does not seem to get blown around so much. The run in up Leipers Creek road with Larae and Frieda in tow was a blast with what felt like a 25 to 30 mph tailwind we were clipping along around 30 mph for a long time. The gusts were so strong that Freida had to back off because the wind was blowing her into us from behind. It was really weird going that fast and not hearing any wind in your ears and being able to talk to Hope without yelling.

Abby stayed with her friend Savanah and a friend of Shavanah while we got our ride it and she was in a great mood when we picked her up so she and the girls must have had a fun Saturday morning together.

Weather at start: 42 with strong winds, wind chill in the thirties

Ride Stats:
Distance: 32.3
Time: 1:52
Avg. Speed: 16.4 mph
Avg. Heart Rate: 149
Max Heart Rate: 170
Calories Burned: 2158
Total Climb: 1560