The Two Times ­ Newsletter of the Tandem Club of Australia In Issue No 94 (August-September 2001): * TwoUp preview * Get gorgeous for TwoUp ­ costume special * WA ride report * Tandems for sale *Events listing ****** Presıs Press Welcome to another edition of your Tandem newsletter. It is with sadness that I must convey the unfortunate death of one of our members. Roy Appleton of ŒCycleramaı in Western Australia passed away on August 19th and will be sorely missed amongst the cycling community there. Roy was a great benefit to the tandem cycling community in Western Australia, having sold many of them through his shop, but also loved the sport of cycling himself. Our sincere sympathy goes out to Diane and family on their loss. I must thank Ray Martlew for bringing this sad news to our attention. I would also like to congratulate Ray & Merrill for starting their State Representative duties with such incredible enthusiasm and initiative. Thanks to them we are now reciprocal members of the Bicycle Transport Alliance (BTA) in WA and copies of their regular newsletter will be available in our library along with MBTCs Spokenotes and other newsletters. It also sounds as if their first gathering was a resounding success. I know Sally will be keen to get news from this group in the future in addition to all the articles that will be coming from all around Australia. If you are aware of any cycle shops that stock tandems please pass their names to us and we can find out if they are on our listing already. Your committee has been busy as usual with record keeping, newsletter preparation, memberships, account keeping, replying to enquiries and updating your fantastic website, as usual. Doesnıt leave much time for riding does it? Well, thanks to Jaimie Cook and helpers in Qld thatıs where Iıll be riding next at Tropical TwoUp. Sunshine here I come! The train ride will be twice as long as the weekend but well worth it with over 20 tandems already booked, including a staggering three from New Zealand. Keep Peace in your heart and your loved ones close to yourselves during these troubled times. Kim Travers ****** Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer do! Iım half crazy, all for the love of you. It wonıt be a stylish marriage; I canıt afford a carriage. But youıll look sweet upon the seat Of a bicycle built for two. Henry, Henry, here is your answer true; Iım not crazy over the likes of you. If you canıt afford a carriage, forget about the marriage; Cause I wonıt be jammed, I wonıt be crammed On a bicycle built for two. ******* Tech Talk Inverse braking for tandems Compared with a solo bicycle, a tandem is faster on the flat and considerably faster on a downhill. This is because at speeds over approximately 15km/h the main resistance to motion is wind. As your speed increases and the rolling resistance of the tyres, chain and gearing friction increases in proportion but the wind resistance increases with the cube of the speed! This means that at a steady 40km/h on the flat you are working 40/20 Œcubedı = (40/20) x (40/20) x (40/20) = eight times as hard as at a steady 20km/h. In practice, for the same effort as riding a solo bicycle at 20km/h, on a tandem‹with a partner similarly inclined‹you will attain 25km/h. The speed increase (25/20 = 5/4 = 1.25 times the speed) when cubed gives 1.25 x 1.25 x 1.25 = 1.95 times the wind resistance, which is matched by the tandem having approximately double the power on board as the solo. Extrapolating the relationship, 24km/h solo would take the same effort as 30km/h tandem, 28km/h solo equates to 35km/h tandem, 32km/h solo to 40km/h tandem etc, all in the ratio 5/4. So now you know, nothing should stop you!! Trailer trivia The VICRoads website, under Road Rules for Cyclists ­ says: ŒŠTowing Children in Bicycle Trailers Under the new regulations, a person now may be legally towed in a bicycle trailer, provided: the person riding the bicycle is at least 16 years of age; the person in the trailer is under ten years of age; the bicycle trailer has been constructed to carry a person; and both the person riding the bicycle and the passenger are wearing approved bicycle helmetsŠı What is not stated is whether a trailer includes pedal-powered attachments like Œhitch bikeı or Œally catı Both articles by Andrew McDowall ******* For Sale Trek Tandem, set up for road racing. Shimano Ultegra 27 speed gearing, Racing rims & slicks. Shimano clip in pedals & shoes size 11­12, Spare wheels, tyres & tubes included. Asking price $3500 Allan Lawson 03-9878 3051/ 0414-482 741 . Asking price $1200. Contact Nick Payne, or on 02-6295 7793 ******* Publication details: The Two Times, the newsletter of the Tandem Club of Australia, is published at the end of every odd month (May, July etc). Submissions are welcomed ­ send articles, hot tips, gossip, questions etc to: The Two Times Editor PO Box 12259 MELBOURNE VIC 8006 Send photos as hard copies (to be returned) or as 200DPI TIFF files. Deadline: second Friday of odd month ****** Cover photo: John Milburn as stoker and one of his former Captains named Chris McGrath. The photos were taken in 1993 just prior to our departure for the International Tandem Peace Ride through East Anglia and Norfolk, UK. Get your fuzzy mug on the cover ­ send photo and story (50-word max) to the editor. ***** Editorial This edition should land in your letter box just days before TwoUp 2001. Welcome to all the Queensland and New Zealand members whoıve signed up just for the event; itıs great to have you on board. With members now in every state and territor (and even overseas), we can look forward to more rides, more swapping of tandem tales and more fun. To all our existing members, donıt forget that October is renewal month. So, unless youıre going to TwoUp (where the membership fee was included in the registration cost), fill out the form on p7 and post it, with your cheque or money order, to the clubıs PO Box. That means youıll continue to receive your newsletter, and be covered by club insurance on rides. Speaking of which, there are a few on the calendar in coming months, with rides in Victoria, Queensland and the ACT. You can always add more ­ talk to your state representative. We can advertise them by email between newsletters. Start thinking now about Christmas rides ­ the club provides a small subsidy towards a gathering in each state. Itıs a beautiful time of year ­ get out an enjoy it on your bike, Sally Dillon ****** Vale Roy Appleton Sadly Roy Appleton of Cyclerama suffered a massive heart attack and died on August 19th. Roy (my first recruit to TCA) had a lifetime interest in tandems and cycling generally, having sold more than thirty tandems in WA through his bike shops. He was involved in the cycling sport and industry for some 45 years and will be sadly missed in Perth cycling circles. Cyclerama will be continued by his family under the leadership of son Jeff (well trained by Dad). While the young ones do not share their parents love of tandems they are all keen cyclists and it is hoped that they will continue to include tandems as part of their stock. Our sympathy to Diane and family in their great loss. Ray Martlew ****** TwoUp 2001 preview: Ready for the hill country? We had been putting it off, but eventually we had to do it! Weıve promised a more strenuous ride option for TwoUp, but had yet to ride it ourselves. We started a bit earlier than we normally do for a SEQ TCA ride (OK, 8.30am is not that early, but everyone had at least a one hour drive to the start). Itıs starting to warm up in Qld, with the transition from the low teens overnight to over 20şC usually completed by 9am in the south-east. The good news is all rides during TwoUp 2001 start with a roaring down-hill from the accommodation venues. You can guess what the bad news is...With that out of the way we headed out toward Palmwoods through rolling strawberry country, with the Blackall Range in full view the whole time. About 12km out we started the climb up toward Montville (avoiding the Hunchy Rd Peter Hines)! Even though the climb looks daunting from the bottom, itıs a relatively steady affair with few steep pinches. The rewards are awesome! One lookout on the way up provides sweeping views to the coast over mostly cane and small cropping land. With the spiritual reward taken care of, itıs just a few more kilometers on to Montville for rewards of the culinary and cultural kind, with just too many coffee shops, restaurants, ice cream shops and crafty places to make a choice easy about what to do first. From Montville, we travelled the road along the top of the range to Mapleton which offers a couple of great roller-coaster hills! From Mapleton, thereıs the option of a trip out to Kenilworth (this brings the ride close to a metric century), but we chose the direct route back to Nambour. For the speed demons out there, this is a must-do descent! After the first hairpin you can let it rip! We clocked our fasted max speed to date on this hill, slightly wind assisted by the westerly blowing that day (it may seem irresponsible to actually publish this)! This was a great ride but only one of the options for the Saturday of TwoUp. Iım torn as to which Iıd rather do! See you there! Jaimie Cook ***** Dress Ups for Dummies Thereıs something about tandeming that seems to bring out the extrovert in most of us. Remember first buying your tandem and then scrambling to find matching gear? We went the whole hog, with matching shoes, knicks and jerseys (our tandem was making its first showing as our wedding vehicle, after all). And, although we tend to just throw on whateverıs to hand for tandem outings these days, when it comes to a big gathering like TwoUp, we like to make an effort. Pushed for time last year, I grabbed some fuchsia fake fur, cut out hearts and tacked them onto white shirts (top photo). We also hand sewed a length of fur around the entire tandem to cover up the scratches and dents. Another ŒTour T-shirtı has the dates of all our big tandem tours written with one of those puffy fabric paints in a tube. If you canıt be bothered with that much effort, search the wardrobe for a pair of matching T-shirts. With every company and organised event having its own T-shirt these days, youıre sure to have a pair of something, even if you borrow one from a friend who did the fun run or bike ride with you. Be innovative, like Tony Barter, and offer to be a riding billboard if a company will supply you with two shirts (centre photo: Tony, with Linda wearing his free shirts from Charmaineıs Ice Cream, a Melbourne institution). Of course, there are some people who canıt resist a challenge, and at the Euroa street parade for TwoUp 99, Graham Hill wowed the crowds with Gladys, the dress-shop dummy who sat on the back of the tandem, feet strapped to the pedals (as admired by Fred Surr and Angelika Stoll, at right). Regular stoker Marian Hill did photography duty from the crowd. Sally Dillon ****** State Rides ­ WA It is true. You do meet the nicest people riding tandems. Merrill and I met a few of them on 16 September at our inaugural WA meeting. Philip & Helen Torkildsen were the first to arrive with two-year-old Jake in the trailer. They also brought some friends on short bikes. Tom & Marie Wall arrived soon after, followed by Nicky Armstrong on her penny farthing. She also owns a tandem, but Percy Penguin who follows her in a BOB trailer has trouble reaching the pedals. David Stobie cruised in on a tandem with one of his children as stoker, while wife Sally rode with the other son on an articulated trailer cycle (made by David). Don Stallard arrived with daughter Cassie on a little ungeared tandem with 20" wheels. It is true. You do meet the nicest people riding tandems. Finally Merv & Dawn Thompson unloaded from a friendıs van a freshly and beautifully restored 1939 vintage tandem of unknown brand but German manufacture. At that point it was still unridden but that was soon rectified. They dropped out of a vintage car rally to join us ­ obviously they have their priorities right. There were other who would have been there but for previous commitments, including Keith Clarke who rides with the Blind Association. They have 15 tandems, and he feels sure they would like to ride with us. Ray Martlew ******* Keep the Second Weekend in September 2002 Free! Take your tandem to the Dungog Pedalfest and we guarantee you an excellent weekend of riding. This is exactly what we did last weekend. The Dungog pedalfest is an annual event that raises money for the Westpac rescue helicopter. It is very well organised (with the help of tandem club members Kerry and Richard) there are various rides to suit all abilities. The scenery is magnificent. The Saturday ride climbing to Mt Richardson was challanging, the view spectacular and the free muffins at the top well appreciated. On the Sunday we decided on the 62km loop from Dungog through Glen William to Clarencetown and returning through Glen Martin another scenic undulating ride. We spotted five tandems this year so next year we may see more! We highly recommend this fun weekend. The contact is Dungog is 70km north fo Newcastle, and is accessible by road or train. Anne and Phillip Govoronsky ****** The Tandem Club of Australia committee meets on the second Tuesday of odd months; members are welcome at all meetings. Contact the Secretary for details. ******* Committee Officers President Kim Travers 03-9927 8927 (w) Vice President Andrew McDowall 03-9818 4213 (H) Secretary Janette Beeston 03-9386 3738 (H) Membership Secretary John Milburn 03-9591 0540 (H) Treasurer Will Levecke 03-9888 6658 (H) Technical Officer Derek McKean 03-9471 4506 (H) Newsletter Editor Sally Dillon 03-9867 7443 (H) Information Officer Peter Hines 03-9867 7443 (H) State Representatives Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Nick Payne 02-6295 7793 (H) New South Wales (NSW) Anne & Phillip Govoronsky 02-4977 2375 (H) Queensland (Qld) Jaimie Cook 07-5483 3990 (H) Tasmania (Tas) Wayne Kelly 03-6229 7902 (H) Victoria (Vic) Tony Barter 03-9481 5526 (H) Western Australia (WA) Merrill & Ray Martlew 08-9355 0975 (H) ******** Ride Calendar September 28­30 Nambour, Qld TwoUp 2001 Fun in the sun at the annual TCA bash Fri­Sun More than 50 tandems expected ­ be one of them! Jaimie & Sue Cook 07-5483 3990 OCTOBER 14­21 Brisbane, Qld Bike Week. Show off your tandem. Contact your local bike shop for details. Sun 21 Brisbane, Qld Great Brisbane Bike Ride. Make your tandeming presence felt!! 10km, 35km or 55km. Contact your local bike shop for details & entry forms. November Sun 4 Brisbane, Qld Regular Ride. Janelle Davies 07-3201 0073 Sat 18 Canberra, ACT Mt Stromlo circuit. Meet at 7.30am from outside the Prime Ministerıs Lodge (corner of Adelaide Avenue and National Circuit, Deakin). About 55km, finishing with morning tea at the top of Mt Stromlo Nick Payne 02-6295 7793 (only contactable by email between 13 October and 4 November) Sun 18 Melbourne, Vic Sunday afternoon ride Head to the city and back to the Ricketts Point Tea Room. Meet at the Middle Brighton Pier on the Esplanade (Melway 67 C10) at 1pm. Call Tony Barter 03-9481 5526 to tell him youıre coming December Sun 9 Brisbane, Qld Queensland Christmas Party. More to follow next newsletter; any volunteer organisers? contact Janelle Davies 07-3201 0073 Sun 9 Melbourne, Vic Victorian Christmas Party Meet at the floral clock at 1pm. Dress up your bike (and yourself) to do a tour of the city and ride out to Queen's Park in Moonee Ponds. Please RSVP to Tony 03-9581 5526 ...update your diary now! ******* Tandems on the Web The clubıs website is the place to go for online copies of the newsletter, membership and temporary ride membership forms, plus committee and rep contacts, tech talk, photos & classifieds. Look out for a TwoUp photo spectacular! ****** Wanted More photos...more articles...more snippets of useful (useless?) tandem information. Help make your newsletter bigger and brighter. Send all submissions to the editor at the clubıs PO Box. And, if your local tandem dealer wants to advertise in the newsletter, Sally would love to talk to them! ******* New Members: Welcome to teams whoıve joined since August 2001: NSW Ronald & AlisonMcWhirter Qld Grant Enchelmaier & Sandy Bradley Wayne & Joanne Hedrick Andrew Row & Jade Nixon Alan & Glenys France Raelene & Keith Rowland SA Paul Mathews & Kaye Dwyer VIC Dan & Heather Pelly Brian & Sue Drummond NZ Philip & Louise Shambrook Ross & Maura Skilton Charles & Joanne le Heron ****** Daisy, Daisy, tell me your answer, do... Dear Daisy, I love feeling the wind in my hair while cycling, but the wind in my face is proving a little challenging to deal with. What should I do about my captainıs flatulence? Breathless Dear Breathless You have two options. The first is to control your captainıs diet. Make a public announcement at any function that your captain can not be fed high-fibre products such as baked beans, liquorice or beer. Your captainıs potential embarrassment will be outweighed by your increased comfort. Alternatively, visit a disposal store and buy a gas mask.It will freshen the air and your captain wonıt be able to hear if youıre gasping up hills. Daisy Ask Daisy the answer: email: dear_daisy_daisy@hotmail.com