OlyBikes Blog: Wind roaring in ears -- Synergistic payback time -- Tandem screams downhill

Another delicious Sunday evening afforded us an opportunity for a ride on our Rans Screamer.

It really earns its name on downhills as we exceeded 40mph (our record is 42.5). Like all tandems, though, it lags going uphill, but that only makes the payback of the descent that much sweeter. Plus, with a 24t small chainring and a 34t cog, it has a great hill-climbing gear, making it pretty easy for a decent tandem team to deal with steep climbs. Even loaded with groceries from the Olympia Farmers Market <http://www.olympiafarmersmarket.com/> the climb from Olympia's downtown to the westside is doable (and Sherman Street has _got_ to be at least a 14% slope).

Sunday's ride was a pleasure-oriented one though, so we were travelling light -- just the necessary tools in case of trouble. This allowed us to accelerate from a stop quickly and cruise around the backroads out near Cooper Point Rd. on a favorite route of ours call "The Shuggie Loop" since we created the route while listening to the amazing "Inspiration Information" by Shuggie Otis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuggie_Otis.>

Like that album, a good tandem ride is a synergistic and sublime experience. One might even say, it's poetry.

- Larry Leveen

OlyBikes Locally-Owned Bike Shop

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Olympia, WA 98501

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- Larry Leveen