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Gene and Betty Newton have one of the first Fridays ever: Tandem Two'sDay #104
BF @ NWTR PHOTO GALLERY shot by Lynette Chiang
BF @ NWTR MOVIE(6.6 Mb): You'll need something like Quicktime (free download) to see it.
AS PINT-SIZED PYROMANIACS prepared for their July 4 assault on innocent tin cans and unsuspecting dog houses, over 400 tandems whirled into Eugene for the Northwest Tandem Rally 2003. Multiply that figure out by the number of bottom brackets and you get at least 800 peddlers plus kids, dogs, cheerleaders ... sleepy Eugene was indeed roused from its July 4 morning meditations.
Lodgings for the event were at the Hilton so this was no grimy camping event thank you - for that you'll have to sign up for our September Homecoming 2003/Cycle Oregon blast along with almost 70 BF folk from around the world.
I poked my nose into the action for just a couple of events: the ice-cream social on Friday night, and the short ride in Saturday, so my report is just a blink or two at the frolics.
Highlights for me included Stan and Joan Sanders with their two Yorkshire Terriers Hamish and Kirby, enjoying a ride in the slipstream of their masters' Two'sDay. "It's Kirby's 10th rally and Hamish's first!" said Joan. Well, it was Hamish who eagerly met the camera at the door of their little rack-mounted chariot (see pic below), veteran Kirby hung back as if to say "here we go again...".
Gene and Betty Newton looked the picture of patriotism on their vintage Two'sDay as shown above (frame #104 - BF are up to frame 10,000 and something now).
The angelic blond Replinger-Wildman triplets, who were seen by a BF crew in Portland a few weeks ago, were also spotted zipping along in their little nylon luge behaving like the kind of kids I'd have if I had kids... (see photo gallery). Mum and dad told me they've bought a used Bike Friday Triple Traveler since the threesome weigh in at close to 100lbs now, and the limo ride is about to end...
When it was my turn to ride I jumped on the fancy Ti-Lite tandem XL captioned by salesguy Tim Link. This is a very fast bike and I have a hard time deciding if it or the TwinAir is more the object of unfettered desire (or should it be the object captaining the bike? Boom-boom.)
Theresa Scholz made sure any Oreo-seeking folk were severely deprived by serving delicious local berries at the BF-sponsored rest stop in Mohawk, where Alan Scholz gave test rides to the curious and dubious.
Meanwhile, webguy Steve Moore, Marcus and Walter roamed the tarmac looking for folks in trouble, which were few and far between except for the usual flats and in the case of a couple with a used Two'sDay, a problematic rear hub, which the scholarly yet super handy Walter swiftly repaired back at the shop. (That is one benefit of buying a used BF from BF rather than Ebay - we go over it before you get it. If you do buy a used one from someone, it's worth getting it completely checked out by us or a good bike shop - bike parts are not immortal).
Thank you also to the BF couple who saved my life by buying me ice-cream - I am delighted to report that it was Haagen-Daaz. Then again, we were at the Hilton.
I did take the unabashed liberty to bleat about my just-published-downunder Cuba escapade on a Bike Friday which which will be available in the USA in August, and obtainable from us here at BF, via the BF online catalog. (For those folk who would like to buy a signed, Random House Australia edition complete with strange downunder spellings and funny terms like "torch" instead of "flashlight", email me at lynchiang@yahoo.com).
BF participants (of which there were at least a dozen BF tandems!) who would like to share their stories and/or photos, please email me at bfclub@bikefriday.com and I'll add your words to this page.
Thanks to everyone who helped make the NWTR 2003 an event to "be there or be a boring single bike" every year.
Lynette Chiang lynettec@bikefriday.com
Two riders, two dogs, and a Two'sDay: Stan & Joan Sanders' Yorkshire Terrier Kirby is a veteran of 10 tandem rallies, but this was buddy Hamish's first - and both dawgs are in that box!
And here's a little snippet from Tandem Two'sDay owner Paul Smith, who wandered up to the BF booth to say hi:
A SURPRISE FOR MY STOKER's STAMPER.
My wife and I fell in love with our little Bike Two'sDay after the good time we had on it tooling all over Provence in southern France. The unusual design is fun, turns heads and is our symbol of carefree fun!
Jacque also has a hobby that is all hers (It's not allowed to touch her stuff!). She's a 'stamper'. She turns out beautiful greeting and gift cards from special papers and a host of rubber stamps she collects.
I had an idea for a Christmas surprise for hera Bike Tuesday stamp. It turned out to be easy. I took an image from the Bike Friday web page, printed it off and took it to a custom stamp shop that can make you one from just about any image. They do it now with lasers - so it's fast and cheap - about $12.
The fun part in watching her open the gift was her curiosity when she noticed that the tissue paper she had to peel away in layers, all was festooned with faint gold images of our Bike Tuesday. She loved the stamp.
Now it gets used liberally on every entry form we submit for Tandem Rallies, centuries etc. and, it's the one stamp I have permission to use!
Paul and Jacque Smith Spokane, WA
For more information, follow this link http://www.nwtr.org.