The best day.

There were two really ... both friday afternoons this fall - when kindergarten got done. One we went to the Stowe bike path and the other to Lake Champlain with Brad Powell. Brad took this picture on our way back from riding the causeway then a little apple tour, birdhouse land, miniture castles and the winery. Where Hazel said "they're not gonna give me wine are they?.. How about if I drink it outside?" Oh and we went to the fish hatchery but only saw a brown bunny. And the bike has brought such magic for being such a clunker. A Columbia Twosome from Westfield, Massachusetts. After debating a tag-a-long trailer then looking for kids tandem remote bottom bracket - I just took the hacksaw to the rear triangle on this soft-steel monster. In no time I had a 54cm compatible tandem with a 12" mini stoker. I replaced her cranks with some from a kids bmx bike - drilled holes for the extra chain ring and mounted them on the bmx bottom braket adapters ( a gift from Brad's bike box many years ago.) I flipped her bars - really need something different now that I look at the picture -and we were ready to roll. I lost the rim brake and was thinking I'd solder on some new v-brake mounts but the drum brake is working good enough for now. I need to run the tandem brake line from my bars cause as it is now I operate the front brake and she has the rear. It took a hundred miles or so before that Sturmey-Archer 3spd Drum brake finally broke-in. The cranks are set so that the stoker powers through my deadspot. This bike has always been a bear on climbs but with the increased power to weight ratio of my beautiful stoker chik - I have been surprised by the power surges on the hills. Two days after this photo I raced the Maple-Onion race at Morse Farm... I felt similar power surges in my reserves and blasted through to a surprise first place!
I'm still thinking about building a real tandem for the two of us... hmmmn - Might try Sheldon Brown's method.