TwoUp 2000 Canberra, 10th - 12th November It was very fitting in this Millenial Year that the Tandem Club of Australia should meet in Canberra for the 20th Anniversary of its birth. It was also appropriate that in this Olympic year, the gathering had the largest number of participants (102) who came from 6 States of Australia, from as far as Gympie, the one and only Queensland team (Good on ya, Jamie and Sue Cook!), as well as a couple (Donna and Duane Gregory) from the USA. It was also the first time that a participating couple (Derek McKean and Kim Travers) had cycled the furthest (900 km) to join the event. The collective distance travelled to arrive at the meeting point, The Rex Hotel, was itself a record breaker. There were other superlatives: the longest tandem (Mike Watson alias the Pater Optimo Maximo, along with Cathy, Abigail and Sam), the shortest tandem (Sally and Peter Fisher), the most enduring tandem team (Graham and Margaret Day, 37 years as tandemists together), and out of all the Two Up years, this one was the wettest. The rain did not dampen the spirits of the participants. After a pleasant and noisy morning tea at the Rex, the fit and the fast chose the ride up Mount Stromlo (50 km) where they got a commanding view of the clouds. Various time trials and other foolish activities were indulged in, in pursuit of (edible) gold medals and other ephemeral honours. I was told that lunch at the Red Belly Black cafe was great, and the panorama breathtaking. We, the slow and sensible riders, chose the Federation Square ride of about 35 km., where we were able to listen to the croaking of the frogs and the sounds of the birds in the wetlands. A pleasant lunch stop at Federation Square gave us some respite from the wet conditions. (We were also absolutely mobbed by autograph hunters, who, with the Paralympic tandem races still fresh in their minds, were sure that we were the ones they had watched on the telly). The two sodden groups met up at the wonderful Bicycle Museum, where we marvelled at the variety, sizes, shapes, and sheer ingenuity of human powered vehicles over the years. The very popular "side by side" bike was ridden by a few couples and found to be not as easy to steer as they thought. The evening meal at the Haig Italian Restaurant started with the most delectable calamari e pesci fritti and complimentary champagne, and ended with an elegant dessert and complimentary port. The highlight of the evening was however, the Auction, conducted by Sally La Presidente Dillon. Ms Dillon auctioned items from as small as a lamp dynamo, to as large as a Stoker. The items were pre-loved, still loved, ceased to be loved, or had never been loved at all. Sally kept the reserve prices very close to her chest, and those objects which did not reach that price were duly passed in. The deposit was 100%, and the settlement contracts completed immediately. Co-auctioneer Charlie Farren assured the prospective purchasers that the items were not from a deceased estate, and neither were they from a diseased state, and hence crossing borders was not going to cause quarantine problems. (Several door prizes were 'drawn' but as the number of non winners far exceeded the winners, a hand re-count was ordered and a court appeal is pending) Sunday was even wetter, and a post breakfast meeting at the Rex Hotel stretched to near lunchtime. Awards were presented to those who had participated in the time trial. First across the line were the sprightly Nick Payne and Ann Armstrong, followed by the shy Charlie Farren and her consort, Paul. Third in line was the NSW team of Allan and Chris Gallard. Best effort up Stromlo went to Janette Beeston and her team. The best dressed bike was that of Peter if I only had a purple heart Hines and the similarly attired, indefatigable Sally. We were then regaled with the history, provenance, and dare I mention, prices of certain special bikes and their various parts. It became apparent that most tandems have come to occupy a place similar to that of a beloved family pet, if not that of a spouse, from the way some tandemists talked about their machine! It is also obvious that more people are taking their tandems further afield, and in more creative ways (kiddie trailers etc) as well as in more compact forms. Wet weather notwithstanding, it was decided by the group to proceed with the ride around Lake Burley Griffin, which proved very enjoyable. I personally had not realised previously how large the loch was, since we had only driven past it and not around it, before. The bird life and the native vegetation are quite extensive along the paths, and a tribute to Canberra. In fact I think Canberra probably rivals Melbourne as the Garden City (I hate to say!) The most pleasant part of the afternoon was a lunch stop at the Kingston Art and Craft Market. There were such indispensable items as singing bowls, terracotta terriers, therapeutic hot pillows, wooden flowers, catnip-stuffed toy mice (for your moggie), and the mandatory hand-painted-ceramic-feng-shui-incense-blowing Buddhas. Donna and Duane Gregory bought a set of hand puppets in the shape of native birds, with a view to having them stuffed in the U.S.of A. along with the Aussie dollar. At the end of the ride we stopped behind the barricades to watch the last twenty laps of the Commonwealth Bank Classic criterion, ourselves creating quite a spectacle as we arrived together as a group. Those of us who stayed back in Canberra for an extra night, met for a very pleasant meal at an Italian restaurant, and spent quite a convivial evening, talking and laughing loudly and generally giving everybody else a headache. As always, it was sad to say goodbye to old friends, and to the new ones we had made this weekend. But for most of us, we hope, it is an 'arrivederci' till next year. A big "thank you" to the organisers and the planning committee, both in Melbourne, including those who could not make it to the TwoUp, and in Canberra, with special thanks to Judy and Stewart Durrant, also to Annemarie and Rod Driver who were such generous guides. Georgina Scillio (caption for photo by Andrew McDowall) Rob Dexter, Janette Beeston and Oliver on their new BikeFriday Family triple at TwoUp, with Byron in the trailer President's Report It's the season to be sociable, and what better way to do that than on a tandem? You can zip around town with your favourite person, on your favourite mode of transport. Zebidee is wrapped in tinsel and has been doing the rounds of Christmas parties with us. Life hasn't slowed down much since TwoUp, which, despite Canberra's downpour, was a great event. Fifty tandems came from all over Australia and even the USA to join the fun, a 40% increase on last year's numbers. Canberra was certainly a popular destination, especially for ACT and NSW tandemists, of course, and the club gained lots of new members from those states. In fact, ACT and NSW membership doubled in the lead up to the event! I had a great time meeting new members and renewing friendships with old ones and got a terrific buzz from cycling as part of such a mass of tandems. Here's hoping for an even bigger turn up next year! We're banking on the Sunshine State living up to its reputation, as Queensland state representative Jaimie Cook and his wife, Sue, have offered to organise TwoUp 2001 on their home turf. They've settled on Nambour, a small town in the heart of some fantastic cycling. It's inland from Noosa, and close to the scenic Glasshouse Mountains. There's a train from Brisbane and the airport bus connects from Maroochydore. I'm certainly looking forward to catching up with lots of Queensland mates in September, and indulging in macadamia nuts and juicy pineapples - oh, and the beach, which is a bike ride away from Nambour. But that's 10 months away, and there's lots more tandeming to be done before then. Wishing you many safe and fun tandem adventures in 2001. Sally Membership report Are you still a member? Don't forget that all Tandem Club memberships now expire in October. That means, if you didn't renew when you entered for TwoUp, or sometime in that month, you're unfinancial. Please send your cheque for $10 to Kim Travers, at the club's PO Box, to avoid missing out on the next newsletter and other tandem news. coming events Queensland January 7: Redcliffe along the foreshores. Contact Davies family ( 32010073 February 4th: Noosa, bring your swimsuits ? Contact Hamilton family ( 54424086 March 4th: Nambour hinterland. Contact Cook family ( 54833990 April 1st: No fools in Rosewood. Contact Davies family ( 32010071 Queensland has been selected to host the Tandem Club of Australia Two-Up 2001 Rally. It will probably be in September at the Sunshine Coast over 2-4 days. Please give suggestions or indications of support to any of the above tandemists and pass on the news to any other tandemists. Poster offer If you like the wonderful 1890s poster on our TwoUp entry form and fliers you can purchase your very own. The kangaroo and emu design has been reproduced in full colour on quality paper (450mm x 575mm, 18" x 23"). Send a cheque for $25 to The Tandem Club of Australia, PO Box 12259 Melbourne 8006, and we will post it to you free anywhere in Australia. Last Chance for Wine Orders We've extended the ordering period for your Tandem Club wine until Friday 9 February. You can use the existing order form, sent out in previous newsletters, or download it from the Club's website. Send the forms and your cheques direct to Swords Wines. Several bottles of champagne have been popped in our house for Christmas; it's $9 a bottle. The port costs the same, and the Cab Sav $12; deliveries costs $10 per case (or part thereof). The minimum order is half a dozen, so get a few friends together and grab your bottle to celebrate the club's 20th birthday.Thanks to Christine Bland the label looks fantastic and worthy of any elegant table; it's printed in soft gold and black, on cream, as shown above (to see it in full colour, go to our Web page). Semi-tropical TwoUp , 28-30 September 2001 TwoUp 2001 will be held in Nambour, Queensland, a sugarcane centre located in SE Qld, about 130km north of Brisbane. Attractions Nambour is central to the Sunshine Coast hinterland townships of Maleny and Montville (noted for their coffee, art and craft culture) to beaches and tourist attractions such as the Big Pineapple and the Ginger Factory. Accommodation Several large caravan parks offering: swimming pool, recreation room, camping, cabins and en-suite cabins are being considered that will cater for the entire group. Rides A variety of rides will be offered over three days to make the most of the location, attractions and rider abilities. Getting There Nambour is serviced by the Bruce Highway, electric train from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast airport at Maroochydore (with some direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne). Weather Expect overnight minimums around 10 degrees, maximums in the mid-20's and the month of September has one of the lowest chances of rain for the year! Victorian Christmas Party Around 15 tandems turned up for the Victorian Christmas party, a silly Olympics at the Glenferrie Velodrome. We rode in jingly, tinsely style along the Yarra to the velodrome, with Byron Dexter (aged three) graduating to the back of the tandem with mum Janette, while five-year-old Oliver took to the back of another with dad Rob, to be part of the winning team in the slow race. The Cox family put together a great dress-up relay; eggs were bounced over the track in the egg and spoon race, while Sally Donaldson had her first attempt captaining in the swapsy race. Steve Nurse had a head start in the totally stoked race (only the stoker pedals) as he was riding his home-made dragster tandem, steered from the back. Visitors from Seattle, Duane and Donna, enjoyed slightly warmer Christmas celebrations than normal, cooled off by frequent squirts from the water pistols commandeered by the children. Kim and Michael Travers kept the kids busy with chalk graffiti on the rack track and put together some great surprises for everyone. It looks like this one will become a permanent fixture of the Tandem Club calendar, and hopefully state representatives will run similar events in other states next year. (caption for photo by Sally Dillon) Michael Travers dressing up as a fireman for the dress-up relay at the Christmas party Xmas Race. Wanted to buy Anka De Reuver & daughter Dushka are seeking to purchase their own tandem. They live in Taree so for all you members who live in proximity or have some possible leads for a secondhand tandem or even new please contact Anke on asap. Anke is captain at 6 ft & Dushka is stoker at 5 ft 4 ins....sorry....approx...180cm & 165cm at a guess. They are trying to keep to budget so pre-loved would be fine. Any advice or contacts would be greatly appreciated. For sale Touring Tandem (separable for travel). Functional art by Wayne Kotzur. All cromoly frame, very stiff and light, comes apart for storage or travel and reassembles as solo bike. Softride stoker suspension beam, suspension stem, 26inch wheels, 3rd drag brake, strong Mavic double eyeletted rims, slicks, cromoly racks front and rear. XT/Deore. Excellent condition. A fast, very impressive machine. $4000ono. Ian (02) 9550 2805 (ah) or (n.b. I've a recumbent tandem now!) Longest Bicycle According to the Guinness World's Records 2001 Calendar, the longest true bicycle (i.e., without a third stabilizing wheel) ever built was designed by Super Tandem Club Ceparana (Italy), and measures 25.88 metres in length and weighs 1,750 kilograms. Forty riders rode the giant a distance of 112.2 metres at Ceparana, Italy on September 20,1998. Though the bicycle travels well in a straight line, cornering remains a problem. There's even a picture. albeit very tiny on the back of the box. Folks, that's one BIG bike. how the heck do you transport the thing? Wait, I know it has 40 sets of S&S couplers, and stacks into a 5 metre long carrying case. With 20 shoulder straps. or maybe a forklift attachment! Peter Hines Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 I have reported on this gearhub a few times since the prototype was displayed over three years ago, and it is time for an update. For those who don't recall the details, the Rohloff hub is a 14-speed hub gear with a prodigious overall ratio range of 526% and almost precisely-even ratio gaps of 13.5% throughout the range, with each ratio selectable in turn by twisting a single twist grip. Drive losses are very low and the whole thing is made to a standard that promises long service life. All this technology fits into a hub just 1.7 kg in size. The latest news is that all models of the Speedhub have now been approved for tandem use. Although it was designed from the start with tandem use in mind, the manufacturers were only approving specific installations on request, but that caution has proven unnecessary. The mechanism has proven to be very strong. Audrey and I now have one fitted to our tandem and are pleased with it so far. The installation took a bit of mucking around because of the extra cable lengths needed and the necessity to run it along the bottom of the frame, but the end result was well worthwhile. I've done a fuller report of the hub (installed on my single bike) in the current issue of Australian Cyclist, and the only thing to add is that gearchanging takes a bit more premeditation on a tandem, at least with out-of-phase cranks. On a single bike it is easy to change on the null points at top and bottom of the pedal stroke but I have to notify Audrey of many more changes now than was necessary with the derailer, so that we can let up enough for the change to occur. Despite the sometimes slower gearchanging, our travel times on a 22 km cross-town route seem to be around 10 - 15% faster, because we can access the right gear for each circumstance. With recognised experts reckoning the derailer to be close to the limits of development, we should be seeing a lot more hub gears in the near future. It's already happening in Europe where there is a whole range of new or recently re-designed hub gears, notwithstanding the sad collapse of Sturmey Archer. The Rohloff is currently the most advanced hub gear of the lot, and certainly the best suited to Australian touring conditions. John Harland Photo captions for TwoUp photos: (1) Donna & Duane Gregory showing off the S&S couplings and softride on their tandem (Photo by Andrew McDowall) (2) Peter & Sally by Lake Burleigh Griffin, twoUp (photo by Sally Dillon) (3) The Watson family brought an articulated quad, with trailer (winning the prize for the longest bike!) Cathy & Abigail shown in this photo by Andrew McDowall (4) Wayne Kelly and Dianne, from Tasmania, didn't win the time trial, but they certainly looked as if they enjoyed it. (photo by Will Levecke) (5) Andrew McDowall shows off the vintage tandem frame he bought at the auction while Carolyn tries hard not to look impressed by it. (photo by Will Levecke) About the TCA Newsletter This newsletter is published on the 20th of every odd month (ie January, March, May etc). The final submission date is on the 6th of the month of publication. Articles are welcomed from members and personal notices are published free of charge. We reserve the right to decide what is published. Material (including graphics) may be edited unless specifically requested otherwise. Submissions can be emailed to the Editor, John Harland at: or posted to the Club's mailbox: PO box 12259, Melbourne 8006 Tandem Club of Australia (A0013906X) Membership application/renewal (cross out whichever is inapplicable) first name family name Rider 1: Rider 2: Address: Telephone, home: Telephone, work: Fax: E-mail:  Are you happy to be on an email list of members? yes no  Long lost members: are you renewing a membership after an absence of a year or more? When were you last a member? _________  Where did you obtain your tandem? (if a bike shop, please provide name and address) Payment details TCA membership $_________ Australian Cyclist magazine $_________ Membership $10 per couple, per year (or portion thereof*) International Membership $25 nett per couple Subscription to Australian Cyclist $25 per year to TCA members Total money enclosed $_________ Please return form and cheque or postal order to The Membership Secretary, Tandem Club of Australia, PO Box 12259, Melbourne 8006 subscription form for Australian Cyclist YES! Please send the next 6 issues of Cyclist to: NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE POSTCODE PHONE Make cheque/money order payable to the Bicycle Federation of Australia for $25 (6 issues/1 year) Credit card payment details Cardholders name ............................................ Card number ................................................... Expiry date ..../..../.... rBankcard rMastercard rVisa Amount $ Date Signature Post to: BFA, GPO Box 765, Sydney, NSW 1043 Or fax (credit card only) to: (02) 9283 5246 Enquiries: Linda Tan on (02) 9283 5200 State and Event Organisers ACT: Stewart & Judy Durrant ( 02-6251 1363 , fax 02-6251 4122 76 Banambila St, Aranda 2614 NSW: Matthew Leditschke & Linda Barnes ( 02-8904 9520 Qld: Jaimie Cook ( 07-5483 3990 GPO Box 725, Gympie 4570 SA: Margaret Day ( 08 8271 5824 9 Church Rd, Mitcham 5062 Tas: Wayne Kelly ( 03 6229 7902 (H) 3 Auburn Rd, Kingston Tas 7050 TwoUp 2001: Jaimie Cook ( 07-5483 3990 GPO Box 725, Gympie 4570 Tandem Club Committee 2000/2001 President Sally Dillon (03) 9867 7443 Vice President Andrew McDowall (03) 9818 4213 Secretary Janette Beeston (03) 9386 3738 Treasurer Will Levecke (03) 9888 6658 Technical Officer Derek McKean (03) 9471 4506 Information Officer Peter Hines (03) 9867 7443 M'ship Secretary Kim Travers (03) 9471 4506 Social Secretary Tony Barter (03) 9481 5526 Newsletter Editor John Harland (03) 9387 4086 Web page: Members are welcome at Committee meetings, on the second Tuesday of odd months. Contact the Secretary for details. Membership Renewal If your address label is highlighted it means your membership is due. To renew, fill in the form on the inside back page and send with a cheque to the Membership Secretary, TCA, PO Box 12259, Melbourne 8006 Tandem Club of Australia Inc. Association No A0013906X PO Box 12259 Melbourne 8006